Tobalical: With Win Over The Cowboys, The New York Giants Lead The NFC East – But Is That A Good Thing?

By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @tobalical

How many twists and turns can we see during a 17-week NFL season? More than any psychological thriller for sure, and it seems the NFC East has had more twists than any division in the NFL thus far in 2011.

When the lockout ended, the Philadelphia Eagles went on a spending frenzy. Immediately the team that seemed just a few pieces away from a championship at the end of last year, would now be complete. They were without a doubt the clear favorite for the NFC East crown. The dream team was born, but the nightmare was just beginning for Andy Reid and the Eagles.

At the end of week five, the “unstoppable” Eagles had fallen to a 1-5 record, and any shot of the playoffs were all but done at that point. All of a sudden there was a new and surprising top team in the NFC East division – The Washington Redskins.

In 2010, the Redskins were abysmal. Mike Shanahan had thrown his eggs into the Donovan McNabb basket, and he had inherited many headaches like Albert Haynesworth… However as the 2011 season had kicked off Shanahan had cleaned house on his roster. McNabb was gone, Haynesworth was gone, and all of a sudden the team began to cruise.

Heading out of their week five bye, the Redskins sat at 3-1 atop the division and it looked to be theirs for the taking. However Mike Shanahan opted to bench starting quarterback Rex Grossman for a few weeks after one bad game. In came John Beck, and out went the Redskins chances at the divisional crown. Going into week 12 the Redskins were riding a six game losing skid, and Mike Shanahan was left to ponder what the heck had just happened.

As the Redksins faltered, a new face now looked to represent this division in the playoffs. That face was none other than Eli Manning and the New York Giants. In week nine, Manning went toe to toe with Tom Brady – remember heading into the season Manning famously said he was in the same league as Brady as far as skill – and came out on top 24-20. The Giants were now 6-2, and had momentum on their side after winning three straight games, but then of course the wheels would fall off.

Four straight losses to the 49ers, Eagles, Saints and Packers knocked the G-men from the lead of the division and put them in a very precarious position heading into a showdown this past week with their division-rival – and now division leading – Dallas Cowboys in week 14.

The Cowboys were all of a sudden one of the hottest teams in football, and had utilized a ground game that came out of nowhere with the emergence of rookie running back DeMarco Murray, and Tony Romo had become one of the best at airing it out with help from free agent acquisition Laurent Robinson who has been playing out of his mind.

In week 13 the Cowboys had a chance to all but seal the division in a game against the Arizona Cardinals, but as has been the case all season long with the leader of this division lady luck bit the team from Big D.

With just seconds remaining in the game, Cowboys rookie kicker Dan Bailey lined up for a 49-yard field goal attempt. The clock was ticking, tick, tick, tick. But the ball was snapped with just about five seconds remaining on the clock, Bailey hit the kick perfectly and the ball went through the uprights to win the game, Bailey who had been consistent all year long had come through again – but there was just one problem. Head coach Jason Garrett had called one of his team’s remaining two timeouts just before the ball was snapped, so the Cowboys would have to try the game-winning field goal again.

This time around the kick was no good, and the Cardinals would go on to captialize – winning the game in overtime.

Even in losing, the Cowboys still held the division lead, but the margin was now very slim. A loss to the Giants would effectively hit the reset button on everything… and somehow someway the Cowboys found a way to lose.

In the loss the Cowboys lost running back DeMarco Murray to a broken ankle, and they are now in dire need of some wins down the stretch if they want to make it into the playoff tournament. It looks like the New York Giants are in the driver’s seat to win the division, but haven’t we been here before?

Keep an eye on this division over the last few weeks of the season.