Eagles Right Back In Playoff Discussion After Wild Week 4 In NFL
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Thursday was a great night for the Eagles. Sunday may have been even better.
The desperate Eagles stole a much-needed road win from the previously undefeated Packers on Thursday, bringing their record to 2-2 on the season.
Injuries and mental mistakes defined the Eagles through the first three weeks of the season. Then the Birds seemed to put it all together in the 34-27 win in Green Bay -- no turnovers on offense and the defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on two goal-line stands.
On Thursday, the Eagles proved they are still one of the NFL's elite teams. And on Sunday, the rest of the NFC's thought-to-be elite teams backed up that idea.
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Let's take a look around the NFC:
Last year's NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams allowed 55 points in a home loss to sometimes-competent and often incompetent Jameis Winston in a home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Superstar running back Todd Gurley is clearly not right and without their bread and butter, QB Jared Goff has been exposed. Goff has six touchdown passes and is tied for the league-league with six interceptions at the season's quarter mark.
The Minnesota Vikings have perhaps the NFL's best running back, the top receiving duo and an elite defense. But Kirk Cousins -- he of the $84 million guaranteed contract -- has been so bad that his receivers are not-so-subtly calling him out after just four games.
Cousins has just three touchdowns passes on the year and is 23rd among qualified quarterbacks in passer rating, according to Pro Football Reference.
The Chicago Bears have arguably the best defense in the NFL, but QB Mitch Trubisky is now expected to miss time with a dislocated shoulder. Of course, Trubisky, when healthy, has been a big hindrance for the Bears' anemic offense, which is averaging just 16.5 points.
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And that brings us to the Dallas Cowboys. After beating three of the worst teams in the NFL, the Cowboys got a dose of reality in a 12-10 loss to Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints.
The Cowboys still lead the NFC East at 3-1 but Sunday cooled any idea that Dallas would run away with the division.
In all, the top teams in the NFC all took big steps back in Week 4.
In Week 4, the Eagles leaped back into the playoff conversation with a statement win.
Next up, the Eagles face the struggling Jets in Week 5 before we'll find out if their most recent win was a fluke with consecutive road games at the Vikings, Cowboys and Bills.
The Eagles still have massive holes on their roster, particularly on defense -- hello, Jalen Ramsey -- but as we saw Sunday, so do the rest of the NFC favorites.
