Week 5 handed the Cowboys a lifeline, even if Dallas had to sit there and watch it happen.
The sour part came first. The Cowboys opened the week by getting blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, a loss that dropped them to 2-3 and made their performance on both sides of the ball look even worse in the moment. But Sunday flipped the mood around just enough for Dallas, because the rest of the NFC East stumbled hard.
The Commanders finished the weekend as the division’s messiest story. After Treylon Burks made a big play in overtime to get the ball to the New York 39, Washington had itself in field goal range with 1:02 left.
Rachaad White then added two more yards on a run, setting up a chance to finish it off. Instead, with 55 seconds left and no timeouts, Washington let the clock bleed in brutal fashion.
Once the ball was finally snapped, Jayden Daniels ran around too long before going down, and there wasn’t enough time left to get off another play. The game ended in a tie, leaving Washington at 1-3-1 and alone in last place.
The Giants managed to waste opportunities too. They reached the end of overtime with a missed field goal from Dominic Zvada, his third attempt of the game, then got the ball back and moved into field goal range again.
But Cam Skattebo fumbled it away. After erasing a 14-point deficit in the final quarter, New York still walked away with a tie.
Philadelphia didn’t exactly help itself either. The Eagles still hold the tiebreaker over Dallas because they are 1-0 in the NFC East, while the Cowboys are 1-1.
But they also let a game slip away against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After taking a lead with eight seconds left, they gave up a 53-yard kickoff return from Ameer Abdullah to the Philadelphia 39, and Cam Little finished the job with a 57-yard field goal to hand the Eagles a 19-17 loss.
That made it three straight losses for Philadelphia, with its only wins coming against the 1-3-1 Commanders and the 0-5 Tennessee Titans. It’s a rough look for a team that was sitting on a lead with just seconds left.
So while Dallas is still carrying the weight of that ugly loss to Tampa Bay, the division picture is suddenly far less grim than it looked on Thursday night. The Cowboys are still in the race, and they get a chance to keep clawing back with a Week 6 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, who just shocked the Chicago Bears. After that comes a late-October meeting with the struggling Eagles.
The setback against the Buccaneers hurt. No question. But after Sunday’s chaos across the division, the Cowboys are still alive, and the road back is right there in front of them.
In Other News...
Commanders Enter Giants Showdown With One Huge Question Under Center
Washington is back home for a familiar kind of NFC East test, facing the Giants in its third division game in three weeks as it tries to keep pace in the standings. The Commanders also spent the week sorting through a long injury list, with six players ruled out, leaving little margin for error as they turn the page on another important game in the division.
Under center, the plan has been set for Sunday. Jayden Daniels will start at quarterback, with rookie Athan Kaliakmanis behind him on the depth chart, after Marcus Mariotas latest knee setback forced the team to adjust again at the game's most scrutinized position. For a Commanders team trying to improve its place in the NFC East, how long it can stay on that track is still the question hanging over the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Let A Wild Chance Slip Away In Frustrating Giants Tie
The Commanders spent Sunday in a game that kept swinging between opportunity and frustration, and it ended right back where it started: in a 27-27 tie with the Giants after overtime. Washington had chances to leave with a much cleaner result, especially in a game where New York handed the door open late, but the visitors could never quite turn those moments into a finish that counted.
For a team still searching for traction, the tie lands like a missed opening more than a consolation prize. Washington is now 1-3-1, a record that reflects how thin the margin has been in several of these early games, while the Giants moved to 3-1-1. The Commanders will be left sorting through how a game with so much in play still slipped through their hands when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Passing Game Suddenly Rests On Terry McLaurins Hamstring
Terry McLaurins hamstring has turned into one of the most important subplots of the Commanders Week 5 prep, with the receiver listed as questionable for Sundays game against the Giants. Washington also is already without Stefon Diggs, which leaves the passing game thinner than it would like at a time when every available target matters.
There is at least some optimism McLaurin will suit up after missing the Week 4 loss to Indianapolis, but even that does not come with a full workload expectation. If he is active, the Commanders appear likely to ease him back in with limited snaps, leaving his availability and effectiveness as separate questions heading into a division game that could use all the help it can get. [Read more 🡒]