So the New York Giants and Washington Redskins were able to shock the NFL world with their wins, and the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL with their losses. The Eagles loss cost defensive coordinator Juan Castillo his job and head coach Andy Reid a morsel of respect. Many felt the promotion of Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator was ill-advised, 22 games later those great minds have proven to be correct.
Now with the Birds facing a litany of questions there is no better time to be facing the bye. The Cowboys will travel to the Queen City to face the 2012 NFL version of the “Ultimate Weapon” in Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Meanwhile, the Giants welcome rookie quarterback sensation Robert Griffin III to town.
The New York Giants shocked some by the way they handled the supposed imperial San Francisco 49ers, yet the question is where the Giants that dominate or were the Niners just off. It could quite possibly be a mixture of both. New York, offensively, is always a threat to score with quarterback Eli Manning at the helm. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw is a physical player who can also bust a 60 yarder at any given moment. This gives the Giants an advantage against most teams, but specifically teams like San Fran that struggle with the explosive plays and gamebreakers.
Enter the Washington Redskins, who oddly enough are tied with the Giants at 29.7 points per game. The Redskins have arguably the best playmaker in NFC East, in Robert Griffin III. The rook took over last week’s contest against the Minnesota Vikings, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for over one hundred yards in just 13 carries.
The Giants will be ripe for an upset, but the Skins are not the team poised for the picking. If this was Griffin’s second year it would be likely the quarterback would repeat his dominant performance, however part of being a rookie is inconsistency. Expect this pattern to ultimately be Griffin’s undoing, despite some jaw dropping plays by the quarterback.
This will be a close contest that the Giants will try to give away, but Washington will find a way to give it back. NY wins 36-34
The Dallas Cowboys are the epitome of a conundrum. Five weeks into the season no one knows who this team is. The Boys defense, which had played well through the first three weeks of the season, has now given up 30 points in back to back games. The offense finally found the vaunted balance that the world had been clamoring for against the Baltimore Ravens, rushing and passing for over two hundred yards, but still lost 31-29.
The Cowboys are vastly talented, but voided of leadership and this week will serve as the last gasp before the season goes awry. Arriving in Texas is the Carolina Panthers and their 1-4 record. Cam Newton has disappointed this season and the Panthers have disappeared in games. Dallas should win this game handedly 27-13, but if the Boys loss do not expect a win anytime soon.