Following the Dallas Cowboys’ blowout loss to the Washington Football Team, it seems no one wants to win the NFC East. Things could get interesting in the division race after Daniel Jones and the NY Giants’ loss to the Eagles.
Seven weeks into the 2020 NFL season, and the NFC East is unquestionably the worst division in football.
The NY Giants looked like they were going to pull off an NFC East upset last Thursday night, but Carson Wentz led the Eagles on a pair of fourth quarter scoring drives to pull off a 22-21 comeback win.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Giants, the NFC East, and the NFL after seven weeks:
1. Daniel Jones and Carson Wentz
Daniel Jones has played in 20 games, and he’s completed 427 of 690 passes (61.8%) for 4,437 yards (6.43 ypa), 29 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. His passer rating is 83.0. He’s run 76 times for 575 yards and two scores.
Through his first 20 games, Carson Wentz had completed 468 of 754 passes (62%) for 4,840 yards (6.42 ypa), 22 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. His passer rating was 81.4. He’d rushed 66 times for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But, the key is that Wentz had turned the corner. Over his next nine games, before a season-ending injury late in the 2017 season, Wentz completed 176 of 293 passes (60%) for 2,238 yards (7.64 ypa) with 27 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 107.6. He rushed 44 times for 202 yards.
Daniel Jones has nine games left this year. What can he do with them? How will this comparison look in January?
Interestingly, there are a lot of similarities between Wentz and Jones. Both are athletic. Jones runs a bit more, and Wentz is stronger and more inclined to elude would-be pass rushers behind the line of scrimmage. Both can make spectacular throws, but follow them up with mind-numbing mistakes. Both show flashes of brilliance, and moments of rookie-level ineptitude.
Of course, working in Daniel Jones’ favor is that he’s still only 20 games into his career. Carson Wentz has now played 63 games and he’s still making some of those mistakes. It should be interesting to watch Jones’ development over the next year or so in a division that should be wide open next year.