NFC East Heating Up, as Both Cowboys and Giants Win

NFC East is going to be super interesting in the upcoming part of the season. All the franchises here have their plans for reaching the playoff, and after today’s games in Atlanta and New York, we can expect lots of exciting games in this division.

Two teams which were criticized a lot since the start of the season, and who were considered to be a huge disappointment are fiercely trying to improve that impression. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Atlanta Falcons 22-19, while the New York Giants came out as the winner from a shootout against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-35.

Dallas Comes Up Huge in Atlanta

The game in Georgia had a dramatic ending, and the hero of the day was Brett Maher, who could have winded up as the biggest loser of this match. After missing a PAT earlier in the game, Maher made a 42-yard field goal as the time expired.

Cowboys’ kicker was busy this afternoon as he often went on court to take shots from a distance. Though, we need to mention Ezekiel Elliot who picked 201 yards today, 122 by carrying and 79 through the air. Zeke was simply unstoppable for the Falcons defense, and he scored one of today’s two TD’s for the guests. The second was provided by Dak Prescott, whose game could be described as excellent, despite not having a single touchdown pass. With 22 of 32 and 208 yards, and particularly with the last 51-yard long drive which set up the ideal position for Maher, his contribution in today’s win was huge.

Maher. For. The. WIN! @DallasCowboys https://t.co/Adfmk5ajoo

— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2018

Dallas was on the verge of running a 10-point lead, which they had some 12 minutes before the end, because of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, who tied the game at 19-19, with 1:52 to go. Fortunately for the guests, that didn’t happen.

They now travel to Washington to face the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day. It is going to be a decisive game for Garrett’s boys, but having in mind that Alex Smith is not going to play, we have to say that their chances for a win are very high.

Barkley and Manning Dominate In New York

The New York Giants made their first consecutive wins in the last two years. After defeating the 49ers last week, they came on top against the Buccaneers. It was the highest-scoring game of the season for the hosts, who are now fired up and are aiming a miracle, as they want to reach the playoffs.

Eli Manning was almost perfect. He didn’t make just one completion, and went 17 for 18 and had 231 yards along with two TD passes. Despite being sacked 4 times, the veteran quarterback had 155.8 passer rating. But the star of the night was a much younger guy, Saquon Barkley, who had 142 rushing yards in 27 snaps, carried the ball into the end zone two times, and caught it once. It was a big night for the 2nd pick from this year’s draft.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVhNjEgyTU/

The Giants led right from the start, not allowing the guests to get the momentum in the first half. But the interesting things started happening since the third quarter, when Ryan Fitzpatrick sat on the bench after three interceptions, leaving his place to Jameis Winston, who set up four touchdowns from that moment on. The younger of two Buccaneers quarterbacks threw for 199 yards and 2 TD’s, having 12 completions in 16 attempts. In those moments the visiting team was looking very sharp, and they even had a chance to make a complete comeback.

23 seconds before the end, Tampa received the ball on their 20 yards. Winston threw the ball down the field, but it ended up in the hands of Giant’s cornerback, B.W. Webb. It was the play which decided the game, and Bucs lost the fourth match in a row.

The next game Giants play is crucial for all the playoff plans. Manning and the boys are going to Philadelphia, to face their bitter rivals, the Eagles in a divisional derby. If they win this one also, be sure that the NFC East is going to be the most exciting assembly to watch until the end of the regular NFL season.