DALLAS — The bye week for the Dallas Cowboys means fans were given the rare opportunity to sit back and relax without having to watch nervously as their favorite team puts them through the emotional ringer.
However, that doesn’t mean that there was nothing to be invested in as Week 7 of the NFL unfolded. The NFC East had an interesting day and although the early playoff picture didn’t shift much, the Cowboys gained some ground without playing.
Coming into the week, Dallas was in second place inside the division and that couldn’t change no matter what happened. They were also entrenched in with a Wild Card spot as one of a handful of teams in the NFC keeping their heads above .500.
Here’s what transpired in Week 7 and what it meant for the Cowboys, who were on the mend and itching for their season’s second act:
Washington loses ground
The Cowboys were in no danger of getting passed in the standings by the Commanders, who were 3-3 heading into the matchup with another divisional opponent, the New York Giants. Yet the Commanders could have stayed within one loss of the Cowboys by beating their 1-5 rivals, who were without their starting quarterback.
With a chance to gain ground in the division and avoid an 0-2 start in the NFC East, the Commanders couldn’t find a way to beat the last place team. Both teams struggled on offense due to leaky offensive lines, combining to allow 10 sacks. That’s good news for the Cowboys and their pass rush who still have three games to play against these porous units up front.
The loss saw the Cowboys pick up a game in the loss column and it was Washington’s third loss in the conference. At 3-4, the Commanders lost ground behind Dallas with the Giants still bringing up the rear at 2-5.
This was exactly how the Cowboys were hoping for this game to play out, they got some breathing room between them and the third-place team.
Philadelphia bounces back
After an ugly loss to the New York Jets in Week 6, the Eagles bounced back with a big win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. It was a battle of 5-1 teams and the Eagles managed to leave the game with just the one defeat.
The Eagles won this game with their passing game stepping into the forefront. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for a score. Wide receiver A.J. Brown had another monster night, his fifth straight game with at least 125 yards receiving.
However, Hurts did account for two more turnovers that kept the Dolphins in the game. Hurts’ fumble in the first quarter gave the Dolphins three points and later in the game, a pick-six interception led to a tie game in the third quarter. The interception was the eighth for Hurts on the season, which is tied for the league lead. Through seven games, Hurts has already surpassed his interception total from last season.
The Eagles struggled to run the ball for the first time this year and still won by double-digits, but Hurts has been giving the ball away. The Cowboys have an opportunistic defense that will need to capitalize on any mistake Hurts makes when the teams play in a few weeks. Dallas remains one-game back of the Eagles in the loss column.
NFC West results factors in for Cowboys
The Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers aren’t in the NFC East, but their games in Week 7 do factor into where things stand for the Cowboys in the NFC. With the win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks improved to 4-2, tied with Dallas in the wild card standings, and they currently own the tiebreaker over the Cowboys.
It’s probably early to start thinking about tiebreakers, and the two teams do play later in the year, but the Seahawks and Cowboys will likely be fighting for postseason positioning throughout the fall and winter.
For the Rams, a 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers brought them under .500 for the season. The Cowboys will host Los Angeles in Week 8 in a game where the Rams will be trying to avoid going 3-5. It will be a desperate Rams team heading to AT&T Stadium, so Dallas will need to be ready for a scrappy game. The early kickoff time could help the Cowboys coming off a bye week and hosting a West Coast team who played late on Sunday.
On Monday night, the 49ers lost to the Minnesota Vikings, who were playing without their star wide receiver. For a second week in a row, San Francisco looked like an average team. The 49ers are now 5-2, tied in the loss column with the Cowboys, but hold the tiebreaker since they beat Dallas a few weeks ago.
This was a 49ers team that was on top of the world at 5-0, only to falter in back-to-back games after putting all their energy into beating the Cowboys. If the two teams play again, perhaps there’s something in the last two weeks that the Cowboys can take into a third straight playoff meeting. At the very least, the team now knows the 49ers can be beaten.
The Cowboys are still in good shape in the NFC, and they will be competing for a playoff spot. Week 7 results fell the Cowboys’ way and they benefitted without playing a snap. Now the real work begins. Can Dallas make the adjustments and play more consistent football coming out of their bye to become true contenders? We’ll find out over the next 11 weeks of the season.
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