With just two games slated as Week 11 NFC East division action, many supposed a dull weekend would follow. Those folks would be dead wrong, as this past weekend a new division leader took stride ahead of the mediocre pack making up the NFC’s most populated fandom. Ahead of it all is the Philadelphia Eagles, who boast the NFL’s best ground-offense and league-leading rusher, LeSean McCoy. With a loss to the new division-leaders, the Washington Redskins are all but out of contention for the NFC East title after falling to 3-7 Sunday in Philadelphia. As for the resurgent Giants, big blue dominated a Rodger-less Giants team and won its fourth straight contest. Before Giants fans get too excited, pay attention to the men under center in each of the Giants’ four wins: Josh Freeman Matt Barkley an injured Terrelle Pryor, and Scott Tolzien in his first NFL start. Don’t get too excited New York, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys are coming off a bye week for a Sunday afternoon date at the Meadowlands, and need a victory just as badly as the Giants do. With Philadelphia heading into its bye in Week 12, Dallas versus New York takes center stage in the NFC East.

New York Giants(4-6) 27 - Green Bay Packers(5-5) 13

Sunday afternoon in New York had all the makings for a Cinderella story. Rookie Scott Tolzien taking over for face of franchise Aaron Rodgers in a game that would put the Pack right back in the highly-competitive race for the NFC North. Unfortunately for the Lambeau faithful, Tolzien looked more like Christian Ponder than the aforementioned Rodgers, and Green Bay was left with the sour taste of defeat in its mouth as the Giants reached .500 for the first time this season. The Packers looked lost on offense, and incompetent on defense, and the New York Giants battled back into the race for the NFC East.

Before Giants fans start buying their NFC East Champion t-shirts, they should check the combined win-total for the last four quarterbacks their “dominant defense” has defeated. Between Pryor, Tolzien, Barkley and Freeman, only one had started more than 10 games in the NFL at the time of meeting, and only Pryor had been his team’s starter prior to the matchup with New York.  While Jon Beason has completely rejuvenated a struggling Giants defense, this team is still far from a legitimate contender in 2013.

Philadelphia Eagles(6-5) 24 - Washington Redskins(3-7) 16

Mike Shanahan may want to update his resume, as last season’s division-champion Washington Redskins have not lived up to par in Robert Griffin III ‘s second season. There are not many silver linings in this playbook, as the Redskins are in the top third of the league in only one category, and absolutely horrendous on defense. Placing 26th against the pass and 19th against the run, Washington’s defense resembles the team’s starting quarterback: overrated, overpaid, and devoid of all hope.

Speaking of the man formerly known as Washington’s favorite son, Griffin III has struggled thus far in 2013, and is off pace of his rookie statistics. Both touchdown passes Griffin III threw on Sunday came in the fourth quarter, which was too little too late from the struggling sophomore. Though Griffin III played in just 15 games a season ago, he has nearly surpassed his passing totals from his rookie campaign; the Washington quarterback has already thrown 10 interceptions, doubling his total from all of last year. Furthermore, his 59.7 completion percentage this season is noticeably less than the 65.6 percentage he had during his rookie campaign. While Griffin III has thrown for nearly as many yards, 2,714, and completions, 372 as he had in his rookie campaign (3,200 yards and 393 completions). While the sophomore quarterback is throwing for much more volume, his effectiveness has been utterly ineffective thus far in 2013.

On the victorious sideline on Sunday afternoon was the Philadelphia Eagles, who have won three straight heading into their bye week to secure first place in the NFC East. With Dallas playing the Giants with a chance to tie the Eagles in first in Week 12, the Eagles should not rest on their laurels during the week off, after all, there is much work to do on the defensive side of the ball. While Nick Foles has fixed the team’s offensive woes, a shoddy secondary continues to serve up yardage at a terrific rate. A unit allowing over 300 passing yards and 117.8 rushing yards per game has no shot at a Super Bowl, unless its offense is tremendous. Luckily for Philadelphia, Foles and Mccoy have turned this unit into the 2nd ranked rushing offense and 8th best passing offense, and bailed out their defense in the process. While Billy Davis’s unit leaves much to be desired, there is hope for Chip Kelly’s offense yet. If the Eagles’ defense can rectify its shaky standing, the Eagles may be able to steal a division title from the Cowboys in 2013.