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12/23/24

NFC EAST WEEK16 REVIEW

 

       DALLAS COWBOYS- 7-8

The Cowboys have already been eliminated from playoff contention however, they have continued to fight even without key players that are pivotal to the structure of their team.  They’ve been decimated all year long on defense with half their starters missing time.  They lost their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, and were down the tight end Jason Ferguson to injuries.  DaRon Bland was hurt through the first 11 games of the season.  Tonight, he reminded everyone just how special a player he is.  Bland showed up in a massive way taking his opponents to the turf for 8 tackles, 7 solo, 1 pass defended, plus the game-winning play, stripping the ball away from Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.  There was only 1:40 left on the clock when the fumble took place.  Tampa Bay was attempting to complete their fourth-quarter comeback but unluckily it came while being down only two points and without enough timeouts to help them get the ball back.  With the 26-24 loss Tampa no longer holds their own fate for the postseason.  Dallas has now won four of their last five games, are now 7-8, and appear a little more like the team we thought they would be this season, at least from a defense perspective.  They would undoubtedly be better on offense too had Dak and Zack Martin played.

 

        NEW YORK GIANTS- 2-13

It has been a rough season for the G-men to say the least.  Nothing had seemed to go right from the offseason losses, most notable being Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney.  They finally gave up on their quarterback Daniel Jones, and not to pile onto all the criticism about Jones but I’ve been saying ever since the Giants replaced Eli Manning in favor of D.J. that he didn’t seem like he would be a great starting QB in this league.  Maybe he was just in the wrong environment, and maybe he’ll eventually get another chance to lead another team.  Either way, the Giants have moved on and have something to look forward to next season.  One thing that New York fans should be excited about is this rookie wideout Malik Nabers.  He is the real deal and will only get better as he matures and develops chemistry with whoever their new starting quarterback will be next year.

The Giants lost their tenth straight game likely locking up the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.  They need a passer and luckily for them, they will be able to grab a pretty good one with a few of them at the top of any QB-needy team’s draft boards.  It looks as though the two favorites for New York to draft with the first pick will be either Cam Ward out of Miami or Shedeur Sanders from Colorado.

 

        PHILADELPHIA EAGLES- 12-3

The Philadelphia Eagles came into their week 16 matchup red-hot.  They had been rolling on all cylinders, winners of their last ten straight.  The Birds came out with grit and determination to beat down this Commanders group in all facets.  They started the game off with an 8-play drive that led to a rushing TD by Barkley.   Upon Washington’s first possession, more specifically on their first offensive play, they fumbled the ball right back to Philly.  Then the Eagles jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, though on their third possession, they did have a turnover of their own.  Kenny Pickett threw an interception into the chest of linebacker Frankie Luvu.  Yep, that’s right Kenny Pickett threw an INT, he was brought into the game after quarterback Jalen Hurts had to leave the game.  At first, it seemed as though it would just be a quick visit to the medical tent, then it proved to be more serious upon the side reporter making it known that Hurts had been brought back to the looker room and after a further evaluation he had been downgraded to out with a concussion.  It did feel slightly peculiar how it went down, Jalen got up on the initial play and gave the sideline a thumbs up and he didn’t seem to show any signs that would make you think anything was wrong.  Though once the offense left the field Hurts never came back.  It was a tough loss for the Eagles this past week, losing to the Washington Commanders in the final moments of the game.  However, the bigger loss was Jalen Hurts, hopefully, he will be able to play next week when the Birds host the Dallas Cowboys who just shocked the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday Night.

 

        WASHINGTON COMMANDERS- 10-5

The expected winner of the Rookie of The Year award, quarterback Jayden Daniels displayed the biggest showing of his inaugural NFL season on Sunday afternoon.  Jayden completed a monstrous game passing for 258 yards on 24/39 passes, threw 5 TDs, and sprinkled in 9 carries on the ground adding up to another 81 yards.  This was the most impressive game from his rookie campaign to date.   With 339 all-purpose yards while scoring five times; yea I think we just crowned our ROTY.  Though it wasn’t pretty at times, losing the turnover game; 5-2 (Washington lost 3 fumbles, Daniels threw 2 interceptions) while also ceding 13 more minutes of offense to Philly in the time of possession battle will usually end in a loss.  Daniels led the Commanders on the final drive of the game with 1:58 seconds left, burning up too much time for Philly to even have another chance to do anything.  The rookie took his team 57 yards on nine plays and ended the drive on a 2nd & goal from Philly’s 9-yard line when he found veteran receiver Jamison Crowder between multiple defenders and made a beautiful throw for the touchdown with only six seconds remaining in the game.  That score put Quinn’s boys up by one point, so they decided to go for the two-point conversion.  It was a massive win for the Commanders and with another win next Sunday Night at home when they take on the Atlanta Falcons, they can clinch themselves a playoff berth.  

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