The Philadelphia Eagles were so bad in their Monday night debacle against Case Keenum and the Chicago Bears that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knew he had to take action.
Even with a 1-2 record coming home from a disappointing loss in Rio de Janeiro, Jones was ready to wheel and deal after seeing the glaring weakness in the armor of the reigning NFC East division champion Eagles.
The Cowboys' trade for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is yet another extremely significant one. Jerry Jones knows his defense needs help, and he's been more than willing to pick up the phone to make a deal. And the timing of this trade is also significant. Jones, along with the rest of the NFL world, saw the Eagles get embarrassed in front of a national audience.
He knew that now was the time to strike.
Cowboys' trade for Joey Porter Jr. comes on the heels of Eagles' embarrassing loss
The NFC East is wide open in 2026.
The Eagles may have won the Super Bowl during the 2024 season, but they no longer strike the same level of fear they did back in that 2024 season. Even last year, it was clear that the Philadelphia offense, in particular, had taken a few major steps back.
The 2026 season has only served as confirmation of what we saw last year. The Eagles beat the Commanders back in Week 1 with just 10 first downs offensively. They needed a dramatic 4th-quarter comeback to beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.
The Cowboys are already having to dig out of a hole at 1-2 this season, but we've also learned a lot about the rest of the division -- especially the Eagles -- in the first three weeks.
The Giants lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season, along with their top pass rusher Brian Burns.
The Commanders are also 1-2, and star quarterback Jayden Daniels is dealing with a dislocated elbow on his non-throwing arm.
The Cowboys have to be looking at the state of the division around them and thinking, "This is our division for the taking...if we can play competent defense."
The second part of that statement has been the most challenging thing for this team to do in recent years. The Dallas defense was supposed to take a big step forward this season after making another flurry of moves in the offseason to upgrade all three levels of the unit.
And defensive coordinator Christian Parker needs time for things to start turning around, but Jerry Jones has also very clearly acknowledged that the personnel is still not good enough.
The Eagles' loss on Monday night to Case Keenum and the Chicago Bears was proof that they're simply not the team they once were.
In fact, that game might have been our clearest sign yet that the arrow is pointing straight down for Philadelphia. They're not executing on offense. Saquon Barkley isn't the same player anymore. The defensive mastermind Vic Fangio had no answers for Ben Johnson and the Bears, even with their 3rd-string quarterback.
Jerry Jones is striking while the iron is hot. He knows he has an elite quarterback and offensive attack. The fact that trade talks for Porter ramped up early in the week is not likely coincidental timing.
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