Giants Path to NFC East Crown Clearer on Thanksgiving
The New York Giants have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, especially after an entire dinner was consumed and both the Eagles and Cowboys lost on Turkey Day.
The Giants now know that with a win on Sunday at the Redskins, New York is going inch even closer to the NFC East title, and a playoff spot that seemed up in the air as recently as 24 hours ago is now coming into focus.
The Eagles look dreadful. They were blown out by the Lions on Thanksgiving 45-14, with Matthew Stafford throwing five touchdowns for Detroit. It was the second straight week in which a quarterback threw five TDs on the Eagles. Not to mention Mark Sanchez was woeful yet again. While he didn't throw any interceptions, Sanchez was sacked five times and lost a fumble that turned into a nifty Calvin Johnson touchdown.
The Eagles (4-7) are in total collapse mode. The players look totally dejected and it won't get any better when they play the New England Patriots on the road next week. While the Eagles expect Sam Bradford back for the Patriots game, let's be honest, they are starring at 4-8 and an uncertain future. And speaking of uncertain future, how about Chip Kelly? What is his future with the Eagles?
Rumors have abounded that Kelly will jettison the Eagles for college, but there is a good chance he could be fired. Kelly took a lot of power in the front office, and tried to legitimize dumping LeSean McCoy and keeping Sanchez, and adding Tim Tebow in training camp. This is also the same guy who signed DeMarco Murray and has totally screwed him up. In short, Kelly's future in dark green is not looking promising. If the losing continues, a mutiny could be in the offing.
And how about the Dallas Cowboys? Once Tony Romo returned last week in Miami, everyone in Big D thought the Cowboys could pull off a miracle and steal this division. Some even said that even at 3-7 the Cowboys had the best team in the NFC East. No one will be saying that anymore. The Cowboys got destroyed by the 11-0 Carolina Panthers 33-14 on Thursday, with Luke Kuechly leading the way with two interceptions of Romo, including one he returned for a touchdown.
To make matters worse for the Cowboys, Tony Romo is lost for the season when he re-injured his left clavicle after getting sacked into the field turf at AT&T Stadium. This is the same injury Romo suffered in Week 2 that cost the quarterback seven games this season. Dallas was 0-7 without Romo. Now the Cowboys chances are totally shot. While Matt Cassel did ok under center for four weeks, he still didn't win a single game for Dallas. At 3-8, and having lost tiebreakers to the Giants and Eagles, the Cowboys are pretty much dead in the water at this point.
So there it is, it is all in front of the Giants now. The Redskins and their high potent offense are the only legitimate threat that stands in the way of a Big Blue Christmas celebration. The Skins have been a weird team to figure all year. One week their offense is blowing people away, like they did against Tampa Bay and New Orleans, the next they are getting destroyed by unbeaten juggernauts like the Patriots and Panthers.
Kirk Cousins has been pretty accurate all year, and the Redskins running attack Alfred Morris and Matt Jones has been tough at times this year, although inconsistent. The Giants had a lot of success against this trio back in Week 3, and will need to really step it up, especially defensively to beat the Skins at Fed Ex Field, where they are 4-0.
Can the Giants get the job done? Remember this is the same Giants team that has had trouble closing out four games they should have won this year in the fourth quarter. This is the same Giants team that lost two games by only a single point. If the Giants are going to be serious and start to put this division away, they need a big team performance on the road this week in D.C. The NFC East is all their's if they want it.
The Giants now know that with a win on Sunday at the Redskins, New York is going inch even closer to the NFC East title, and a playoff spot that seemed up in the air as recently as 24 hours ago is now coming into focus.
The Eagles look dreadful. They were blown out by the Lions on Thanksgiving 45-14, with Matthew Stafford throwing five touchdowns for Detroit. It was the second straight week in which a quarterback threw five TDs on the Eagles. Not to mention Mark Sanchez was woeful yet again. While he didn't throw any interceptions, Sanchez was sacked five times and lost a fumble that turned into a nifty Calvin Johnson touchdown.
The Eagles (4-7) are in total collapse mode. The players look totally dejected and it won't get any better when they play the New England Patriots on the road next week. While the Eagles expect Sam Bradford back for the Patriots game, let's be honest, they are starring at 4-8 and an uncertain future. And speaking of uncertain future, how about Chip Kelly? What is his future with the Eagles?
Rumors have abounded that Kelly will jettison the Eagles for college, but there is a good chance he could be fired. Kelly took a lot of power in the front office, and tried to legitimize dumping LeSean McCoy and keeping Sanchez, and adding Tim Tebow in training camp. This is also the same guy who signed DeMarco Murray and has totally screwed him up. In short, Kelly's future in dark green is not looking promising. If the losing continues, a mutiny could be in the offing.
And how about the Dallas Cowboys? Once Tony Romo returned last week in Miami, everyone in Big D thought the Cowboys could pull off a miracle and steal this division. Some even said that even at 3-7 the Cowboys had the best team in the NFC East. No one will be saying that anymore. The Cowboys got destroyed by the 11-0 Carolina Panthers 33-14 on Thursday, with Luke Kuechly leading the way with two interceptions of Romo, including one he returned for a touchdown.To make matters worse for the Cowboys, Tony Romo is lost for the season when he re-injured his left clavicle after getting sacked into the field turf at AT&T Stadium. This is the same injury Romo suffered in Week 2 that cost the quarterback seven games this season. Dallas was 0-7 without Romo. Now the Cowboys chances are totally shot. While Matt Cassel did ok under center for four weeks, he still didn't win a single game for Dallas. At 3-8, and having lost tiebreakers to the Giants and Eagles, the Cowboys are pretty much dead in the water at this point.
So there it is, it is all in front of the Giants now. The Redskins and their high potent offense are the only legitimate threat that stands in the way of a Big Blue Christmas celebration. The Skins have been a weird team to figure all year. One week their offense is blowing people away, like they did against Tampa Bay and New Orleans, the next they are getting destroyed by unbeaten juggernauts like the Patriots and Panthers.
Kirk Cousins has been pretty accurate all year, and the Redskins running attack Alfred Morris and Matt Jones has been tough at times this year, although inconsistent. The Giants had a lot of success against this trio back in Week 3, and will need to really step it up, especially defensively to beat the Skins at Fed Ex Field, where they are 4-0.
Can the Giants get the job done? Remember this is the same Giants team that has had trouble closing out four games they should have won this year in the fourth quarter. This is the same Giants team that lost two games by only a single point. If the Giants are going to be serious and start to put this division away, they need a big team performance on the road this week in D.C. The NFC East is all their's if they want it.
Comments