NFC East Standings Report - NFL Week 5

It's that time of week where BGN checks up on the Eagles' divisional neighbors: their NFC East rivals.

Only three teams played since Washington had a bye week. The Cowboys hung tough with the Broncos but ultimately Romo'd themselves into a loss. The Eagles beat the Giants by 15 points in a divisional battle.

Here's a quick glance at the standings.

NFC East Standings:

1) Dallas Cowboys (2-3)
2) Philadelphia Eagles (2-3)
3) Washington Redskins (1-3)
4) New York Giants (0-5)

In terms of record, the Cowboys and Eagles are tied for first. However, Dallas owns the tiebreaker currently due to their stronger strength of victory.

WAS remains third while the Giants are buried in the basement.

Week 5 Breakdown

1) Cowboys

Dallas played the Broncos in a highly entertaining and close game. Tony Romo had a historical performance in more ways than one. His passing numbers were great, but he ultimately hurt Dallas when he threw an interception late in the fourth quarter. Romo'd. Consider it a moral victory for the Cowboys if you believe in those. For now, we'll just count it as a loss for them though.

There is no way to sugarcoat the disappointment of losing that game. The Dallas Cowboys had played the Denver Broncos to a draw, 48 - 48, until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Then one of those turnovers that so divide opinion about Tony Romo occurred in the worst of circumstances. Until that moment, Tony Romo had played one of the most brilliant games of his career. He kept the Cowboys from folding with surgical drives and long bombs all day, matching Peyton Manning in scores and keeping hope alive. The Cowboys got the ball back with a chance to win it in the final minutes. On a couple of bad plays they ended up backed up in their own territory, one was a penalty that wiped out a long kick return by Dwayne Harris and a sack followed that.

Then, on a play that will be dissected and examined, Romo felt some pressure and tried to force one into Jason Witten. The Broncos picked him off and ran out the clock, kicking the game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock.

Up next: Home game against the 1-3 Redskins who are coming off their bye week.

2) Eagles

Philly beat NYG and moved to 2-3 on the year. It wasn't a pretty win, but in the end they got the job done. A 2-0 divisional record currently leads NFCE teams in wins (DAL is 1-0).  Nick Foles took over for an injured Michael Vick which now has people buzzing about the Eagles QB situation.

Michael Vick's injury was upsetting, especially after not completing a pass in the first quarter. A lot of people are going to be calling for a switch after the last three games of Vick playing seemingly average, but I think this hamstring injury will keep him out against Tampa Bay. I do not think Chip Kelly wants Vick's hamstring dealing with the heat, but that is just my opinion.

Nick Foles was terrific today and there is no argument there. He was not afraid to throw deep, he was accurate and was smart with his choices. I was impressed. While the Giants were not that great on defense, Foles still was able to handle his own and went 16-of-25 for 197 yards and two touchdowns in just over two quarters.

Up next: Away at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Foles could be the starter if Vick misses the game due to injury.

3) Redskins

No game because they had a bye week. Redskins fans are hoping their quarterback Robert Griffin III looks sharper after getting a week's rest.

My biggest hope for the 2013 bye week is that it offers Robert Griffin III the perfect spot to rest as well as digest the first four weeks of action. Since he played in zero preseason games, the first four games of the season represented his first live action since his surgery. No practice session can simulate a real NFL game, so Griffin had to use the top of the schedule to reacclimate himself to things. Regardless of how much more comfortable he is under center after the first four weeks, what won't go away is the knee brace and the lingering effects of the surgery. I suppose my most optimistic thought is that the healing process that is ongoing was given a real boost by the week off. Maybe--just maybe--he will have a little bit more of that RG3 magic than he did in his first month of live action. Either way, the bye was probably placed perfectly for Griffin. Even if we had managed to win more than one game, it always seemed to me to be the kind of timely mini-break a guy might need if he was coming off major reconstructive surgery on his knee.

Up next: Away game at the Cowboys. A win over Dallas could help get their season back on track.

4) Giants

This team is pretty bad. 0-5 along with 0-2 in the division and 0-3 in the conference isn't a good look. NYG is frustrated with the play of their quarterback, Eli Manning.

What is there to say that hasn't already been said? Three brutal fourth-quarter interceptions on three straight possessions, hardly befitting a player who has been one of the league's best fourth-quarter quarterbacks during his career. Add three intentional grounding penalties and it was a totally amateurish performance from a player who is much better than that.

Up next: Away game at the Bears... on Thursday Night Football. Oof. NYG is starting 0-6 right in the face.

More from Bleeding Green Nation:

• Michael Vick Injury: Eagles QB is Day-to-Day
• Philadelphia Eagles Week 5 PFF Grades: Vick, Foles graded positively
• Michael Vick injury: QB expected to miss Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, per report
• Chip Kelly rules Philadelphia
• Eagles-Giants Week 5 Snap Counts
• Week 5 Report Card: Referees are awful but Eagles beat Giants