In their Week 13 matchup at home against the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Commanders were 10.5-point favorites. They lost, 34-26, giving the Philadelphia Eagles a temporary two-game lead in the NFC East.
The updated NFC East standings:
| NFC East | Record | Div record | GB |
| Eagles | 8-2 | 3-0 | - |
| Commanders | 7-5 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Cowboys | 4-7 | 2-1 | 4.5 |
| Giants | 2-9 | 0-4 | 7.5 |
This loss is particularly damaging to the Commanders because it comes against a divisional opponent. The Eagles hold a head-to-head advantage over the Commanders, and they have a 3-0 record in the division, while the Commanders are now 2-2 in divisional play. Even if the Commanders are able to beat the Eagles Week 16, evening the head-to-head series, the Eagles would only need to beat the Cowboys and Giants at home to clinch the tiebreaker.
The Commanders got out to a 7-2 start this season, but have since lost three straight games, to the Steelers, Eagles, and Cowboys. The Commanders got all kinds of breaks against the Cowboys, but their offense was unable to capitalize on enough of them through the first three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Cowboys-Commanders went absolutely bonkers, with the Cowboys scoring 24 points to the Commanders' 17. It included two Cowboys kick return touchdowns, an 86-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin, and an ensuing missed PAT by Commanders kicker Austin Seibert.
The Eagles will face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football with a chance to go up by 2.5 games in the NFC East.
MORE: Five things to watch in Eagles-Rams
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