Dallas Cowboys: Week 5 NFC roundup that affects America’s Team

With the conclusion of Week 5 around the NFL, these Dallas Cowboys find themselves amongst the NFL’s elite teams with confidence rising daily. That is quite the turnaround from where this team found themselves last year at this time.

The Cowboys defeated the New York Giants to extend their lead in the NFC East but those pesky Philadelphia Eagles got a win against the Carolina Panthers to steady their ship at 2-3. The Giants are in my opinion the walking dead as a tough schedule combined with the injury bug makes me feel like any momentum the Giants gain in the future will be more for next season rather than competing this year.

Those same Eagles get to test their skills against the defending champions as Tom Brady and company travel to Philadelphia on Thursday night. A 2-4 record before the weekend begins is a very real possibility for Philadelphia.

The Dallas Cowboys are among the elite teams representing the NFC

Tampa Bay has an issue in the secondary but as long as Brady can continue his aerial dominance, Tampa looks like a good bet to win the NFC South. The Atlanta Falcons got another win this weekend in London but struggling to beat a rebuilding New York Jets team is not a win that could change their narrative. Atlanta is struggling so I would keep an eye on them before the NFL trade deadline.

With the Washington Football team losing to the New Orleans Saints, It looks like good and bad Jameis Winston is still a thing. The Saints are on a bye this week and have two weeks to prepare for the Russell Wilson-less Seattle Seahawks who travel to Pittsburgh for an underwhelming Sunday night matchup.

Washington gets the daunting task of hosting the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend who are reeling from their Sunday night loss to Buffalo. The Chiefs can and more than likely will get back into their division race which should push Washington to equal the Eagles at 2-4 in the division if both teams lose this weekend.

The injured Giants get to host the Los Angeles Rams who last played on Thursday night. Ten days to prepare for the Giants feels like an unfair advantage for the Rams. This is a typical trap game so do not be surprised if the Rams start off slow against the Giants. I know this is wishful thinking and it goes against the Cowboy’s first goal but the Giants upsetting the Rams would be helpful in Dallas attaining the number one seed.

The Rams defeated the Seahawks which leads me to believe that Seattle might be out of the playoff race before Russell Wilson gets back. The NFC West is a tough division yet that division beating up on each other only helps the Cowboys reach their second goal which is getting the number one seed.

The only undefeated team resides in the NFC West yet the Arizona Cardinals travel to Cleveland to face the Browns. With the Browns losing to the Chargers last week, another loss furthers the gap between them and division rival Baltimore.

If Arizona finally loses, the Cowboys could tie the league’s best record with a win in Foxborough. Arizona defeated the San Francisco Forty-Niners who now have both top quarterbacks injured. San Fran already has a quarterback controversy so this week’s bye week could not have come at a better time.

They now have two weeks to prepare for their Sunday night matchup against Indianapolis. If neither of those guys can play in two weeks, San Francisco might be in trouble.

Then comes the NFC North. The Green Bay Packers escaped with a win in Cincinnati when they probably should have lost. The Minnesota Vikings continue to underachieve as they kicked a last-second field goal to avoid being upset by the winless Detroit Lions.

The Chicago Bears defeated the Las Vegas Raiders who get a head start on the NFL coaching search. Chicago is set to live and die with rookie quarterback Justin Fields but Chicago’s head coach Matt Nagy might be on the hot seat.

Fields is clearly not ready to play a traditional dropback game and former Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton should be the starter if that’s what the Bears want to do offensively. If Nagy would devise a game plan better suited for Fields’ skillset, this Chicago team could be dangerous.

Chicago hosts Green Bay this weekend so Fields, who is the likely starter this week, will get another bite at the apple but I feel like his development could be hindered by all of these early-season hits he is taking.

The Cowboys are sitting pretty as their schedule doesn’t look as daunting as it did earlier in the season. With the team expecting a number of contributors back sometime soon, this team’s arrow is definitely pointing up.