The NFL's NFC East Division Best in Football

Cowboys, Redskins and Giants Lose, Eagles Win

Oct 13, 2008

It was a dramatic week of NFL action that has the NFC East getting a little more crowded

It's getting interesting again in the NFL's best division as the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants all suffered upset losses and the Philadelphia Eagles won.

In Washington, the St. Louis Rams (1-4) beat the Redskins 19-17 on a 49-yard field goal by Josh Brown as time expired for their first win of the season. Neither Marc Bulger nor Jason Campbell threw a touchdown pass in a game where all of the Rams' points came courtesy of four field goals by Brown and a 75-yard fumble return of one of Washington's three lost fumbles in the game. The Redskins (4-2) came into the game without having committed a single offensive turnover on the season.

In Arizona, the Cardinals (4-2) took an early lead against the Cowboys (4-2) when J.J. Arrington returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals lost the lead after two touchdown passes by Tony Romo but tied it in the third quarter before pulling ahead 24-14 with just over three minutes left in the game. The Cowboys then proceeded to pull within three points when Marion Barber caught a Romo pass just beyond the line of scrimmage and took it into the end zone for a 70-yard score. After Dallas was able to get the ball back, kicker Nick Folk tied the game as the clock ran out to send it into overtime. The Dallas high didn't last long as the Cardinals blocked a punt deep in the Cowboys' zone just a minute into the period and recovered the ball for the game-winning touchdown. The Cardinals have now beaten the Buffalo Bills and Cowboys in consecutive weeks and sit atop the NFC West standings. Dallas received some bad news on Monday as they learned that Romo will miss four weeks due to a broken finger. Brad Johnson will become the new starter in Dallas.

The Giants visited the Cleveland Browns on Monday night and were believed by most to be headed to 5-0 on the season. But they were on the wrong side of Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson's best game of the season and were crushed 35-14. Anderson finished with 310 passing yards and threw two touchdowns with no interceptions. He had thrown only three touchdown passes and been intercepted six times in the first four games. Meanwhile, Eli Manning played a game he'd like to soon forget. He was picked off three times and tossed only one touchdown. One of the interceptions was returned 94 yards for a Browns touchdown in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.

In San Francisco, the Eagles had to try to do it all without Brian Westbrook, who missed his second full game of the year. In stepped back-up running back Correll Buckhalter and he took charge, rushing for 93 yards and one touchdown while amassing 83 receiving yards. The Eagles (3-3) went into the fourth quarter down 26-17 and rattled off 23 unanswered points to defeat the 49ers (2-4) 40-26. Donovan McNabb was proficient, completing 23 of 36 pass attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns after throwing just three TD passes over the previous four games. Rookie receiver DeSean Jackson caught six of McNabb's passes for 98 yards to lead all Eagles receivers. The Eagles will have next week off before meeting Atlanta the following Sunday. Westbrook should return to the lineup to help the Eagles try to climb back into the division.

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