Eagles drop out of first place in the NFC East. For now, at least.

The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat winner since 2004. It’s looking like it won’t take much for the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles to become the first team to do it since then. After five weeks, the Birds aren’t far off from the division lead.

NFC EAST STANDINGS

1) Dallas Cowboys: 2-3
2) Philadelphia Eagles: 1-3-1
3) Washington Football Team: 1-4
4) New York Giants: 0-5

Pretty embarrassing.

Let’s dive in a little deeper to each team.

DALLAS COWBOYS

Sunday’s win over the G-Men was a Pyrrhic victory for Dallas. They won the game to (temporarily?) take first place, sure, but they potentially lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott for the entire season due to a gruesome injury.

Andy Dalton didn’t look awesome in relief of Prescott but he ultimately made some critical throws to set up a game-winning field goal. Dalton might be competent enough to help Dallas win the division in 2020. He still has some great offensive weapons to work with, though the Cowboys being without their starting offensive tackles for the year is an issue. And the Dallas defense is still awful.

The Cowboys are set to host the 3-2 Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football next week. That game could go either way.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Eagles actually did some nice things against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday! They played inspired football, the offense came alive, Carson Wentz turned in his best game ... but it was all for naught as the defense ultimately failed them.

The Eagles can do enough to win the division. But that’s really not saying much. You’re probably sick of me using the term “false positive” a lot by now but I’m truly worried that’s what could happen for this team. It’s one thing if the Eagles go on a strong run and really deserve to make the playoffs. That’d be cool! But if they only win the NFC East and go to the playoffs for a fourth straight year because they’re merely less horrible than their rivals ... that’s not something to be proud about. Such a result could hinder changes that are needed to foster long-term success.

Of course, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. There’s no guarantee the Eagles make the playoffs. They could very well drop to 1-4-1 next week with a loss to the 4-1 Baltimore Ravens.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM

The Football Team benched Dwayne Haskins for Kyle Allen. Allen managed a 83.5 passer rating while missing some time due to injury. Alex Smith actually played, which is incredible, but only completed nine of his 17 attempts for 37 yards. They were defeated easily by the Los Angeles Rams.

The Football Team might be able to pick up their second win with the Giants up next. Or they might drop to 1-5.

NEW YORK GIANTS

The Giants came the closest they have to winning a game this year but it wasn’t good enough. They’re now 0-5. And since the merger in 1970, no team that’s started 0-5 has ever made the playoffs. Hard to see this team being the first one with the way that perpetual turnover machine Daniel Jones is playing. The Giants’ 2019 first-round pick has logged nine combined interceptions and fumbles this year. He’s only thrown two touchdown passes and they both occurred in Week 1.

Next up for the Giants is a home game against Washington. They might finally get on the board with a win?