Eagles are first in the NFC East and Cowboys are last after Week 1

Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season is in the books for the NFC East. All four teams in the division played on Sunday.

Here’s an updated look at the standings:

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

Oof. Not a good start for the reigning NFC East champs! All alone by themselves in the basement.

Yeah, yeah. It’s early. Week 1 can be weird. And so on.

But the fact remains that the Cowboys didn’t look very good during their loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.

And it hardly comes as a surprise given how Dallas only got worse since their embarrassing playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Cowboys had one of the biggest ‘stock down’ offseasons of any NFL team. The vibes are not good down there in Texas.

Dallas made life tougher on Dak Prescott by weakening the offensive line (see: trading La’el Collins) and receiving corps (see: trading Amari Cooper). Accordingly, Prescott struggled against the Bucs. He finished 14/29 for 1364 yards (4.6 average), 0 TD, 1 INT, and a 47.2 passer rating before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with a hand injury. Prescott easily could’ve thrown two or three more picks had the Bucs not dropped them.

The Cowboys’ Week 1 loss means they start the season with a 0-1 record in NFC games. That tiebreaker could be relevant if Dallas rebounds to get in playoff position, which isn’t impossible given their very easy schedule.

Their loss also serves as a reminder that the division is very much there for the taking. The Eagles have an opportunity to seize it. And they’re starting at the top due to their win over an NFC opponent while Washington and New York beat AFC teams. While a win is a win, intraconference victories are more valuable than interconference ones.

It’s a long season. Things can and will change, for better or worse.

Still, it’s OK to look at the standings and take a moment to enjoy the Eagles being at the top and the Cowboys residing at the bottom.

Programming note: It’s NFC East Mixtape tradition to talk about the teams in order by their division standing. And so RJ Ochoa (from Blogging The Boys) and I will be getting to the Cowboys last this week. Subscribe to the Bleeding Green Nation podcast feed so you don’t miss this week’s episode!)