The Eagles’ bye week could have gone better but hope remains

The good part about the Philadelphia Eagles’ bye week Sunday was that the Birds were unable to hurt you by losing.

The bad news is that all of their division rivals decided to hurt you by winning their games.

The Washington Commanders blew out the Cleveland Browns, 34 to 13. Jayden Daniels didn’t even have his best game this season but, big picture, he looks like a legitimate threat early on. The Commanders lead the league in points scored, with eight more than the next closest team (the Baltimore Ravens). They also rank third in point differential. With just how good they’ve been offensively, regression is probably coming for Washington at some point. For now, though, they’re legitimately one of the best teams in the NFL. Who would’ve thought?

The New York Giants secured a win over the Seattle Seahawks with late game heroics, 29 to 20. Facing 4th-and-4 with 1:05 on the clock, the Seahawks opted to attempt a game-tying field goal from 47 yards out. The G-Men blocked the kick and returned it for six to give them a two-possession lead. But it’s not just like the Giants got totally lucky in Seattle. They outgained their opponent, 420 to 333. New York also overcame a 14-point swing on a play where a 4th-and-goal run from the half-yard line resulted not in a touchdown but instead a fumble that was recovered 102 yards for a Seahawks score. And they won despite notably missing their top wide receiver (Malik Nabers) and leading rusher (Devin Singletary). The Giants have two wins from their last three games and all of their losses their season have come to quality opponents: the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, the aforementioned Commanders, and Dallas. Speaking of the devil …

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20 to 17. It sure wasn’t pretty; Dak Prescott turned the ball over three times, including twice in the red zone (who does he think he is, Jalen Hurts? Sorry.) But Prescott ultimately did lead a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to give the Cowboys a three-point lead with just 20 seconds remaining in the game.

And so the NFC East standings now look like this:

1) Washington Commanders: 4-1
2) Dallas Cowboys: 3-2
3) Philadelphia Eagles: 2-2
4) New York Giants: 2-3

Looking ahead to Week 6, the Commanders are 6.5-point road underdogs to the Ravens, the Cowboys are three-point home underdogs to the Detroit Lions, and the Giants are 3.5-point home underdogs to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have a golden opportunity to get to 3-2. They’re entering this week’s game against the Browns as 8.5-point home favorites. Things are shaping up for them to make up some ground in the division.

We’ll see if they can actually take advantage.