NFC East sees turnaround
Division no longer other foes’ patsies
The NFC East is no longer the laughingstock division in the NFL.
After combining to win just two of their first 21 non-division games this season, the teams from the NFC East have been knocking off some powerhouses in recent weeks.
Philadelphia beat NFC leading New Orleans last week in the first game with rookie Jalen Hurts starting at quarterback. That came a week after Washington handed Pittsburgh its first loss of the season and the New York Giants upset Seattle on the road.
With Washington winning again last week against San Francisco and Dallas knocking off Cincinnati, the NFC East won three non-division games in the same week for the first time since Week 3 in 2018.
In all, NFC East teams have an 8-5 record the past four weeks when playing games outside the division, the most wins of any division in that span.
For the season, NFC East teams are 10-23-1 (.309 winning percentage) when playing teams outside the division, the worst in the NFL this season. But after being in
danger of setting the record for the worst season for a division since the merger, the NFC East is assured of not breaking the mark set by the 2008 NFC West, which combined to go 10-30 (.250).
The NFC East is actually outperforming its mark from last season when its teams went 12-28 outside the division. With two wins in the final six non-division games this season, the NFC East can top that mark.
Monday mayhem
The Monday night thriller between Baltimore and Cleveland proved to be one for the statistical history books.
The nine rushing touchdowns in the Ravens’ 47-42 win tied an NFL record for the most in a game that was last accomplished in 1922.
The teams combined for 20 points in the final
two minutes, starting with Lamar Jackson coming out of the locker room after getting treated for cramps to throw a fourthdown, 44-yard TD pass to Marquise Brown on his first play back with 1:51 to play.
After the 2-point conversion put Baltimore up seven, Baker Mayfield answered 47 seconds later with a game-tying 22-yard TD pass to Kareem Hunt.
That left Jackson enough time to put the Ravens in position for Justin Tucker’s 55-yard field goal with 2 seconds left. Baltimore added a safety on the final play when Jarvis Landry was forced out of bounds in the end zone on a lateral play.
It marked just the third time in the past 20 seasons that teams combined for at least 20 points in the final 2:00 of regulation.