SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Interesting to see what the quarterback situation is in the National Football League NFC East division as the four teams are down to their final four regular-season games.
There’s the first place New York Giants and their 23-year-old second-year starter Daniel Jones. After missing the upset win at Seattle last week because of an hamstring injury, he’s optimistic, as is the training staff, but their first-year head coach isn’t as confident.
“I feel like I’m good to go,” Jones said after stretching with his teammates and then going through a light practice on Wednesday. “I’m moving around good and throwing the ball good, but it’s up to coach Judge.”
That’s in regard to head coach Joe Judge in his first year with the Giants after a stretch with the New England Patriots, and he confirmed that he’s still not as confident after 34-year-old backup Colt McCoy quarterbacked the team to the upset win at the Seattle Seahawks.
“I now Daniel is going to tell us everything we want to hear,” Judge said, “but we need to use our eyes instead of our ears, and I figure we will know by Friday whether he does or not. As for Daniel, he just wants to get back out there. He’s young and very athletic.”
Jones is the youngest, least experienced quarterbacks of the four teams in the hunt for the top spot and a berth as host of the opening round of the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys lost their starting quarterback, talented Dak Prescott, for the season when he fell to the turf with a brutal ankle injury. The usual back-up, Andrew Dalton, who started for nine years with the Cincinnati Bengals, was still recovering from a shoulder injury, and so Dallas tried two inexperienced players in that spot, they were average, and then 35-year-old Dalton recovered and is now in charge, and has gotten better after being sidelined for awhile. But his team is 3-9 and in the division basement.
The Philadelphia Eagles have gone in another direction. Disappointed with their 5-year starter, Carson Wentz, they announced Wednesday that they are starting rookie Jaylen Hurts, their 56th pick in the college draft who finished second in the 2019 Heisman Trophy awards in his one season running the show for Oklahoma.
This followed on the heels of back-to-back Sooners’ Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kylie Murray, both starting now in the NFL, Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns and Murray with the Arizona Cardinals. Hurts is more of an option quarterback with a quality arm and fleet feet and savvy. Eagles are 3-8-1.
Call it what you want, but the newly named Washington Football Team, which says it’s only temporary after turning down other nicknames to replace the long-time Redskins, turned to back-up Alex Smith, who needed about two seasons to recover from multiple injuries that required multiple surgeries, and he’s been the one keeping this franchise in the hunt.
He’s had some downers, but mostly the 35-year Smith who previously played for the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers has been very effective after taking over from 2-year starter Dwayne Haskins, Jr. Washington is 5-7, tied with the Giants who have the tiebreaker, and its four remaining opponents have 20 wins and 27 defeats to go with one tie.
The Giants might have the advantage in these final four games. They are home for three of them, that being Arizona, Cleveland and Dallas, with a short flight to Baltimore the only away test. The combined won-lost from these four is 25-23, with the surprising Browns at 9-3.
Philadelphia’s four remaining opponents are 25-24 in combined wins and losses, but it first has to face the challenge at home versus the 10-2 New Orleans Saints. Then it flies to Arizona, to Dallas, and is home again against Washington in the season finale. The Eagles are 3-8-1 (the tie with Cincinnati) and must fare well versus the Cowboys and Football Team.
Now Washington (how about the former Redskins?) heads for San Francisco Sunday, then returns home with a visit from Seattle, which is probably still fuming from its setback to the Giants, and staying home when the Carolina Panthers visit, and then wind up by playing at Philadelphia.
As the current standings stand, the AFC East has the Buffalo Bills on top at 9-3, followed by the 8-4 Miami Dolphins, and with the New England Patriots in an unfamiliar position at 6-6 and maybe falling short of the playoffs. In the AFC South, it’s the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans in an 8-4 first place deadlock. In the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first loss, but at 11-1has a two-game lead over Cleveland, and with the Baltimore Ravens at 7-5. In the AFC West, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have clinched a playoff spot at 11-1, and the Las Vegas Raiders are next at 7-5.
In the NFC South, New Orleans has also clinched a spot in the playoffs at 10-2, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer next at 7-5. In the NFC North, it’s Green Bay on top at 9-3, and three games up on the 6-6 Minneapolis Vikings, while both the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions are 5-7. In the NFC West, Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams are both at 8-4 and tied for first, with Arizona at 6-6and San Francisco 5-7.
NEW YORK GIANTS
Dec. 13 (home) to ARIZONA (6-6)
Dec. 20 (home) to CLEVELAND (9-3)
Dec. 27 at BALTIMORE (7-5)
Jan. 3 (home) to DALLAS (3-9)
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WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM
Dec. 13 at SAN FRANCISCO (5-7)
Dec. 20 (home) to SEATTLE (8-4)
Dec. 27 (home) to CAROLINA (4-8)
Jan. 3 at PHILADELPHIA (3-8-1)
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Dec. 13 (home) to NEW ORLEANS (10-2)
Dec. 20 at ARIZONA (6-6)
Dec. 27 at DALLAS (3-9)
Jan. 3 (home) to WASHINGTON (5-7)
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DALLAS COWBOYS
Dec. 13 at CINCINNATI (2-9-1)
Dec. 20 (home) to SAN FRANCISCO (5-7)
Dec. 27 (home to PHILADELPHIA (3-8-1)
Jan. 3 at NEW YORK GIANTS (5-7)
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