Eagles’ rivals gift Philadelphia early lead on playoff positioning

Week one of the NFL football season is already in the rearview mirror. It was a good one for Philadelphia with many rivals of the Eagles’ falling to 0-1. The Saints lost to the Buccaneers and most of the Eagles’ NFC East foes lost as well. The Washington Redskins were the exception.

NFC East foes underwhelm in season debuts

Washington looked pretty good in a 24-6 win. The Redskins’ defense looked strong and the offense did enough to win with Alex Smith at quarterback. However, it was the Cardinals and they could be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year. We won’t really know anything concrete until a few weeks from now. As of today, the Redskins appear to be a team with a strong defense and an average or slightly below average offense.

Dak Prescott. Photo by AP/Ron Jenkins.

The Dallas Cowboys looked terrible against Panthers. They failed to put up points until the game was virtually over when they scored a late rushing touchdown. Dak Prescott looked slow and inaccurate all night.

Most worrying about Prescott is the fact that he has not shown any development since he began starting. In addition, he seems to have trouble making complex reads and getting the ball to receivers down the field. Most of his throws were check downs. His average yards per attempt was 5.28 which is well below what the Cowboys would prefer it was. The Cowboys seem primed for another year of mediocrity as their offense is disjointed and their defense is not good enough to carry the team to wins.

The New York Giants struggled against the Jaguars. The Jaguars do have an exceptional defense. However, an offense with Odell Beckham, Evan Engram and Saquon Barkley should be enough to score more than they did. The issue was that the Giants’ offensive line was absolutely dominated in the game. Barkley was hit in the backfield on seven of 18 runs but still managed to impress. He exploded for a 68-yard rushing touchdown and managed 106 yards total averaging 5.9 yards per carry despite an offensive line that was abysmal. The Giants could be Philadelphia’s biggest in division rival this year if they sort out their blocking issues.

Eagles gain leverage over the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints

Ryan Fitzpatrick. AP Photo/Bill Feig.

The NFC is by far the more competitive conference in the NFL. It is littered with Super Bowl contenders from the Minnesota Vikings, to the Green Bay Packers. A victory over one head to head and the fact that the Saints lost to a common opponent of the Eagles means that Philadelphia now has an edge over both of these teams. That could come in handily when tiebreakers are taken into effect to decide the seeding of the NFL playoffs.

Featured image from Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire

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