The 2026 season kicked off with head-to-head matchups of NFC East teams. The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon, while the Dallas Cowboys headed to MetLife Stadium for a Monday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants.
Because each team played a divisional opponent in Week 1, there is a very rough divisional hierarchy in place heading into Week 2:
NFC East Standings:
1. New York Giants (1-0); Point differential: plus-8
2. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0); Point differential: plus-2
3. Washington Commanders (0-1); Point differential: minus-2
4. Dallas Cowboys (0-1); Point differential: minus-8
It's important to remember, however, that these standings are based on not just one game, but the first game of the season which always brings a learning curve. The standings will undoubtedly change as rookies gain confidence, offenses and defenses settle into new schemes and coaches switch up on-field personnel. All that to say, Week 1 rankings aren't something to put much weight into this early in a season.
That being said, they do provide a very rough outline of certain qualities teams possess and set a standard as weeks continue to stack as the season gets underway. Let's take a deeper look at what worked and what didn't for each team in the NFC East and how they look heading into their Week 2 matchups:
Washington Commanders
What worked: Against a team full of offensive weapons, Washington held Philadelphia to 318 total yards and three touchdowns (No. 17). Running back Saquon Barkley was held to just 83 yards on 15 carries, although he ripped off a 42-yard to set up the Eagles' second touchdown.
The defense sacked quarterback Jalen Hurts three times, one of those being credited to rookie linebacker Sonny Styles. The play features Styles exploding out of position on the blitz and running over Barkley before taking Hurts down hard for a loss of six yards.
A big addition to the defensive line is Dorance Armstrong, who will play on Sunday after serving a one-week suspension for violating the League's personal conduct policy.
Room for improvement: The game was Jayden Daniels' first since Dec. 7, 2025, in which he left early in the third quarter after reaggravating his elbow injury. Daniels' 52.9% completion rate (18/34, 164 yards, two touchdowns) is a bit misleading. Of his total incompletions, six were intentionally thrown away, and two were good pass breakups by the Eagles.
Philadelphia pressured Daniels on 19 of 38 dropbacks (50% pressure rate), per Next Gen Stats. Washington allowed a combined 13 pressures and one sack against the Eagles' front.
A bright spot among the up-and-down offense was rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams (four receptions, 64 yards, one touchdown). The third-round pick finished as the Commanders' highest-graded receiver with a 91.0 overall PFF grade (fourth among 58 qualified receivers) and a 90.7 PFF receiving grade (fourth among 58 qualified receivers).
The Commanders showed a lot of promise in what they can do with the football, and beating Dallas could prove that they are a legitimate
The Washington Commanders and global design firm HKS released the first interior renderings and animation of the new stadium's seating bowl.
Looking ahead to the Dallas Cowboys: The Commanders keep it rolling in the division, heading to AT&T Stadium to face the Cowboys. Both teams are heading into Sunday afternoon with a division loss, meaning the stakes are that much higher to avoid going 0-2.
Washington has time on its side, as the Cowboys have a quicker turnaround and rest period having played Monday Night Football. Dallas, however, has home=field advantage with the addition of it being the Cowboys' home opener.
Against the Giants, Dallas not only struggled to defend the run (165 rushing yards allowed) but also couldn't get their own ground game going against the Giants' defense (No. 5; 69 rushing yards allowed). Cam Skattebo put up 81 yards and a touchdown with 18 carries against the Cowboys' defense, which is a good sign for the Commanders run game.
Commanders RB1 Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merrit finished with similar numbers (63 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries) to Skattebo against a No. 24 Eagles rushing defense that allowed 132 rushing yards.
New York Giants
What worked: The Giants' offense was firing on all cylinders against the Cowboys Monday night. Jaxson Dart (23/29, 230 passing yards, 54 rushing yards, three touchdowns) made smart throws and knew when to use his legs. In the first game back from their respective injuries, Skattebo ran well and Nabers (six receptions, 69 yards) made his presence known.
The biggest offensive weapon, however, was Isaiah Likely (eight receptions, 78 yards, two touchdowns). The tight end fits seamlessly into New York's offense, which could be attributed to his familiarity with head coach John Harbaugh from their time in Baltimore. Nonetheless, Likely led Giants' receivers with the highest overall PFF grade of 88.7, third among qualified tight ends overall and fourth among them with an 82.8 receiving grade.
Check out the top shots of the Washington Commanders during their Week 1 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Room for improvement: The Giants also failed to sack Dak Prescott, which takes away opportunities that might have generated fumbles, loss of yards or fourth-down stops. That doesn't necessarily mean the pressure wasn't there; it just means the pass rush needs to finish the job and not let the quarterback evade the pocket.
Another issue the Giants had was ball security. They committed four fumbles, only one of which was lost. The lost fumble in particular was committed by Tyrone Tracy Jr., who had the ball punched out by Quinnen Williams. Tracy also fumbled during the preseason.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles Rams (0-1): The Giants are going into SoFi Stadium with the added confidence that comes with beating a divisional rival. Couple that with winning their Week 1 game for the first time since 2022, and they feel like they can accomplish anything.
The Rams, however, were embarrassed on Thursday Night Football in the League's first game in Australia. They haven't played a game since that 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which gives them over a week of rest.
The additions of Myles Garrett and the unretired Aaron Donald make the defense scary, while more experience in Puka Nacua and a veteran under center in Stafford make the offense threatening. Two early losses change that rapport and continue to build momentum for a new-look Big Blue.
With Donald out and Garrett not as healthy as expected, the Rams' defense was ineffective at stopping Brock Purdy (25/34, 205 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) and the passing offense (205 yards). On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles' offense just couldn't get going, with Stafford finishing without a passing touchdown (15/25, 155 yards, one interception).
Philadelphia Eagles
What worked: The Eagles came out strong, improving to 6-0 in season openers under head coach Nick Sirianni and Hurts since 2021. It's Hurts' fifth offensive coordinator since his debut in 2020, so he's used to the carousel and can adapt accordingly.
Dallas Goedert (four receptions, 77 yards, two touchdowns) was Philadelphia's leading receiver in Week 1. The tight end earned an 81.1 overall PFF grade, 6th among 34 qualified tight ends. His PFF receiving grade of 78.2 ranked 8th among that group and he averaged 19.3 yards per reception.
Philadelphia's defense made plays when they were needed. Jalen Carter blocked Drew Stevens' extra point attempt to keep the Eagles up 14-9 at halftime, and Moro Ojomo wrapped up John Bates to spoil a two-point conversion that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter.
Room for improvement: It was interesting to see DeVonta Smith have such a quiet outing. Touted as the No. 1 receiver after the departure of AJ Brown, Smith finished third in receptions for Philadelphia behind Goedert and Dontayvion Wicks (two receptions, 73 yards, one touchdown).
Another surprisingly quiet day was had by Saquon Barkley (15 carries, 83 yards) against the Commanders. Other than his 42-yard run, the running back didn't do much damage. Barkley has tapered off significantly from his dominant 2024-25 season, in which he rushed for 2,005 yards on 345 carries.
Looking ahead to the Tennessee Titans (0-1): The Titans' home opener was spoiled by the New York Jets, who defeated the home team 23-10. The Titans had trouble across the board against the Jets, held to just 195 total yards (127 passing yards, 68 rushing yards).
The Titans' defense forced just five incompletions from Geno Smith (19/24, 215 yards), who led the League in that statistic last year. That doesn't bode well for Tennessee against Hurts, who has Smith as a top target. The wideout typically does well against Robert Saleh-led defenses, catching eight passes for 70 yards the last time the two matched up.
Cam Ward showed a lot of promise during his rookie season, and it will be interesting to see how he operates against the Eagles' intense pass rush, which pressured Daniels on 50% of his dropbacks in Week 1. Tennessee's offensive line will have their work cut out for them in protecting Ward, who, along with Smith, was the most-sacked quarterback last season (55 sacks).
Philadelphia's offensive line will be without three-time Pro Bowler Landon Dickerson, who was placed on IR with a knee injury. Dickerson allowed four total pressures in pass protection and a sack in Week 1, earning a 37.6 overall PFF grade that is last among 64 qualified offensive guards.
Dallas Cowboys
What worked: Aside from a costly interception he threw just before halftime, Prescott (22/34, 175 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) played well. The Cowboys finished last season with one of the top offenses in the league.
What is surprising, however, is the team's top receivers. CeeDee Lamb (five receptions, 44 yards, one touchdown) and Javonte Williams (five receptions, 31 yards, one touchdown) led Dallas in receiving yards, with George Pickens (three receptions, 28 yards) trailing at No. 3.
Williams did well hauling in passes, but he also led the ground attack. He finished the game with a 78.9 overall PFF grade, 4th among 43 qualified running backs. His PFF rushing grade of 76.4 ranked 7th among that same group, and he also forced two missed tackles as a runner. His offensive duality makes him effective in the offensive scheme and makes it hard for defenses to predict how he will be used.
Room for improvement: The Cowboys hurt themselves against the Giants, committing eight unintentional penalties for a total of 85 yards. One of those penalties -- a taunting call on Javonte Williams – pushed the Cowboys back 15 yards and could be a reason Brandon Aubrey missed the 48-yard extra point attempt.
Dallas' defense, which finished last season allowing the most points per game with 30.1, seemed to still be figuring things out under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. The Cowboys' defense gave up 394 yards and four touchdowns, ranking No. 26 to open the season.
On the offensive side, Pickens needs to be better. As the No. 2 wide receiver, Pickens can't be third in receptions if the Cowboys' passing offense is going to be as good or better than it was last year. His lack of receptions and targets (six) is likely due to his drops, and his PFF grades display that. Pickens got a 1.3 overall PFF grade, which is 60th among 65 qualified wide receivers. His PFF receiving grade of 51.4 ranked 60th among that same group.
