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NFC East race tightens as Eagles’ luck runs out

Originally posted on Inside The Star
By Richard Paolinelli | Last updated Oct 7, 2025 8:30 AM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles had gone 20-1, including their playoff run last year, since losing at Tampa Bay in the fourth week of the 2024 season.

They hadnt lost at home since a 22-21 loss to Atlanta on Sept. 16, 2024.

An impressive run to be sure. But one that had been filled with more than any teams fair share of luck.

On Sunday, the Eagles luck finally ran out.

The Denver Broncos rolled in and left Philadelphia with a 22-21 victory, fueled by a daring gamble by head coach Sean Payton.

Down 17-3 to start the fourth quarter, the Broncos would score 18 unanswered points for the win.

After cutting the Eagles lead to 17-16 on a touchdown, Payton went for two, instead of the tie, and Denver converted it for an 18-17 lead. When Denver added a field goal, it gave his team a four-point lead with 71 seconds left.

Unable to settle for a tying field goal, the Eagles had to get into the endzone.

They failed to do so and suffered their first loss of the season. And now, the NFC East is very tight instead of being a runaway.

More importantly, the Eagles aura may be gone.

Dallas Cowboys (2-2-1)

The last time the Cowboys rolled into New York to face a winless Jets team that had gotten their doors blown off the week before, the Jets won the game.

Dallas wanted no part of repeating history.

Scoring 13 points in a two-minute period toward the end of the first half sealed a big win for Dallas. They cannot squander wins against beatable teams in the first half of their schedule.

Next Game: at Carolina, Sunday, Noon.

New York Giants (1-4)

For the first half of the game, it looked like the Jaxson Dart experiment was going to payoff with a two-game win streak.

The Giants got out to a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter on Darts second touchdown pass to Theo Johnson.

New York never scored another point. The Saints tacked on 23 unanswered points in return. The only question at this point?

Will Brian Daboll get fired before the season ends or will the Giants wait until after they lose the season finale to Dallas?

Next Game: vs. Philadelphia, Thursday, 7:15 p.m.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-1)

Is it me, or does it seem like the Eagles have been shying away from the Tush Push the last two weeks? An odd coincidence after the NFL got ripped for not calling them for offsides and false starts.

One thing is for certain, the Eagles could just as easily be 0-5 this year as they are 4-1.

On Sunday, the breaks theyve been getting this year did not appear to save this team.

The Eagles are now just one game ahead of the Commanders in the NFC East. The Cowboys are just 1.5 games back.

Philadelphia still has two games against Washington and one against the Cowboys in Dallas.

The division race is finally on.

Next Game: at New York Giants, Thursday, 7:15 p.m.

Washington Commanders (3-2)

Washington got its Heisman Trophy-winning starting quarterback back on Sunday.

Jayden Daniels led his team to a 27-10 win on the road against a very good Chargers team.

The win was huge for the Commanders, not only in getting back into the groove they were in last year, but in closing the gap with the Eagles. The two teams will not meet until Week 16.

They meet again two weeks later in the season finale in Philadelphia.

Odds are, if one team wins both games, they win the division. Either way, that Week 18 game will probably be for the division.

Next Game: vs. Chicago, Monday, 7:15 p.m.

This article first appeared on Inside The Star and was syndicated with permission.

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