NFC East: Division up for grabs after Redskins Week 9 loss
With the NFC East leading Washington Redskins dropping back to Earth in Week 9, the division is waiting for someone to take firm control.
Coming into Week 9 of the 2018 NFL season, the Washington Redskins appeared to have a stranglehold on the NFC East. Looking at a matchup at home against an injury-riddled Atlanta Falcons team, the Redskins sat at 5-2 on the season, 1.5 games ahead of the 4-4 Philadelphia Eagles and already looking at a 2-0 mark in divisional matchups.
Put simply, things were shaping up for the Redskins to potentially run away with the division, a sentiment made even more palatable by the Trade Deadline acquisition of safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Unfortunately for Washington, their Week 9 matchup with the Falcons went about as poorly as possible for them.
For starters, the bad injury luck of the Falcons this season seemingly rubbed off on the Redskins on Sunday. Throughout the matchup, Washington saw virtually their entire offensive line forced out of action due to injury. One of the biggest strengths of this team, the injuries were felt in a big way by Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson in trying to move the ball effectively.
With those injuries and with a subpar defensive performance, the Redskins were bulldozed by the Falcons in Week 9, letting Matt Ryan and Co. move the ball in any way they pleased and not being able to muster much consistent offense of their own.
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In truth, this fall-back-to-Earth moment for the Redskins seemed inevitable to a degree. Their 5-2 mark coming into the week seemed like them playing above their heads, particularly on offense where they sorely lack weapons. And with the offensive line getting banged up, that lack of weapons became even more apparent. What’s more, it feels fair to say that their now 5-3 record might leave room for regression to the mean.
Due to that, the NFC East as a whole looks to be the most wide-open division in football. The caveat to that, however, is that one of the teams in the division has to step up and take control. The aforementioned Eagles sit at 4-4 with their bye in Week 9 while the Dallas Cowboys are at 3-4 awaiting a home Monday Night Football matchup against the Tennessee Titans. Only the New York Giants, currently sitting at an abysmal 1-7, aren’t within striking distance in the division.
Adding intrigue is the fact that both the Eagles and Cowboys, like the Redskins with Clinton-Dix, made moves at the Trade Deadline that could potentially give them a second-half boost. Philadelphia added Golden Tate to a depleted receiving corps, which could help their offense become a more consistent threat.
Meanwhile, Dallas acquired Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders to give them a viable No. 1 receiver and, though the first-round pick they sent in return may be rich, there’s no doubt that Cooper immediately upgrades their group of pass-catchers.
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How the additions of Tate and Cooper affect the Eagles and Cowboys, respectively, could ultimately help to determine how the NFC East plays out over the remainder of the season. With what the Redskins showed on Sunday in Week 9, they clearly don’t have as strong of a hold on the division as it may have seemed. As such, if another team is going to step up and take it, the time to do so is now.
Whether that happens or not, suffice it to say that the race in the NFC East is anything but decided at this point.