New York Giants won over the visiting Dallas Cowboys

It was a busy Sunday for the dismal National Football League NFC East.

The fading New York Giants did their part in the afternoon, stopped a 3-game losing skein in disposing of the red-hot visiting Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, 23-19, then held a mock celebration hours before the visiting Washington Football Team took the field at Lincoln Financial Stadium against the already-eliminated Philadelphia Eagles in the night game.

With the Giants holding the tiebreaker after sweeping Washington, it was unbelievable what transpired in Philly before an almost empty ballpark. The Giants, one of the quartet to go from top to bottom in the minus .500 division, were banking on Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts, who replaced starter Carson Wentz after six games, to pave the way to a victory. The former Oklahoma Sooners’ Heisman Trophy runner-up last year wasn’t exactly paving the way, but he did run for a pair of 6-yard touchdowns.

So at that point, with Philadelphia down by 3 points in the third quarter and holding its own on defense, out went Hurts, replaced by 4-year back-up Nate Sudfeld, and all of a sudden the Giants had to figure out what was going on. Hurts never returned and Sudfeld never did what was expected. In his first possession, Sudfeld was intercepted. Next, he accounted for a pair of fumbles, completed only 5 of 12 passes for 32 yards, and the East Rutherford, N.J. tenants were stunned.

But Sudfeld stayed in and down went the home team, 20-14. Why the move by head Eagles’ coach Pedersen? Don’t ask the Giants, who were not shy about mounting their displeasure.

Said safety Darius Slayton: “Why in Gods green grass earth was Hurts replaced”?.

Added stellar running back Saquon Barkley, one of the league’s finest players who was injured in game three and sidelined for the remainder of the season: “What is going on here, I find this hard to believe. Why switch quarterbacks when Hurts was a talented option player and the other guy (Sudfeld) was constantly chased by, couldn’t move the ball, and there went the game.”

There were numerous other comments from the Giants and other staff members, but first-year head coach Joe Judge didn’t say much, realizing his team played well enough to win its game, but not happy with the way the other game went.

With several of their best players sidelined by injuries and COPID-19, the Eagles pieced together a slew of dumbfounded decisions, but were still hanging in there. But when they needed someone like Hurts to run the show, he stood without his helmet on the sidelines and just conversed with teammates. Yes, he was upset, but later said he did know that Sudfeld was going to take some needed snaps, and he cut it short after that.

Pedersen, thought, had his own explanation of where scrutiny abandoned.

“I was envisioning to win,” he said. “I had some of my uninjured players in the lineup, but did want to get Sudfeld in. It was my decision and sorry it upset the Giants, but, again, we just wanted to beat Washington, and didn’t.”

And so in Saturday’s first round of the playoffs, the 4th seeded former Redskins will get a visit from Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 5th seeded wild card who finished second in the NFC South. The Footballers, the only team in their division to score more points then they allowed (335-329) comes in at 7-9 and the Bucs at 11-5.

Also on Saturday, the Buffalo Bills (13-3) and winning the AFC East while perennial power division rival New England Patriots missed the post-season for the first time since 2002. But the Miami Dolphins and their stellar campaign were also ousted when routed 56-26 in Buffalo. And the New Jets went 2-14 and with the number two pick behind the 1-15 Jacksonville Jaguars in the college draft scheduled for June.

Now it’s the rejuvenated Bills as the 2nd seed in the AFC and facing the 7th seeded Indianapolis Colts (11-5), who became a wild card while the Tennessee Titans (11-5) won the AFC North. And in the other Saturday tilt, it matches the 6th seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-6) wild card at the NFC West Seattle Seahawks (12-4), who lost the tiebreaker to the Rams.

On Sunday, it will be the AFC 5th seeded Baltimore Ravens (11-5), who beat the Fins to the post-season, playing at theTitans (11-5) who won the tiebreaker over Indy. Then comes the recharged Chicago Bears who snuck in at 8-8 and is the 7th seed as the NFC South runner-up, and who now visit the 2nd seeded New Orleans Saints (12-4), the NFC South winner.

In the night game, it’s the 6th seeded Browns (11-5) in a rematch versus AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) after defeating a rested Pitt team at home last week to gain the wild card position. Now, with the Steelers back at almost full strength after sideling most of its starters last week, it will be a tougher task this time for Cleveland when it now visits Pittsburgh.

In the AFC, it’s now Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) as the top seed, Buffalo as the No. 2, Pittsburgh as No. 3, and Tennessee as No. 4. In the NFC, the top seed is the Green Bay Packers (13-3), No. 2 is New Orleans, No. 3 is Seattle, and No. 4 is of course Washington.

In the Sunday games, it was Tampa Bay rolling over the Atlanta Falcons, 44-27, the Rams over the Arizona Cardinals, 18-7, to eliminate the Cards, the Pack over the Bears, 35-16, the Ravens over the Cincinnati Bengals, 38-3, the Browns over the Steelers, 24-22, the Seahawks over the San Francisco 49ers, 26-2, the Saints over the Carolina Panthers, 33-7, the Los Angeles Chargers over the Chiefs, 38-21, the Bills over the Dolphins, 56-26, the Patriots over the Jets, 28-14, the Minnesota Vikings over the Detroit Lions, 37-35, and the Las Vegas Raiders over the Denver Broncos.

Oops, can’t forget the Giants taming the Cowboys, 23-19, to end their own losing skein and abruptly ending the Dallas 3-game win streak, and then, a drum roll for Washington’s go figure, mysterious 20-14 triumph over the Eagles.