What's the Word: TEN sacks, TWO defensive touchdowns, one BIG win for the Eagles in Week 5

Week 5 treated the Eagles well, and I mean really well. In 31-6 victory over the Jets the Eagles defense put up record numbers including a whopping 10 sacks and 2 defensive touchdowns. Before you go on to say "well of course they preformed well, they were playing the Jets" let's remember this is the NFL and anything can happen. While I do agree with this statement, and even I stated in my previous blog that I expected an easy win for the Eagles, the way in which they won was what I would like to touch on.

Defense. The Eagles defense has struggled this season and let's not pretend we haven't noticed the lack of sacks up until this last game. While they have gotten the job done in most situations, it has not been the defense we were expecting going into the season. However after watching Week 5 post-game interviews, it is clear this game was a huge confidence boost for the D-line. I expect more from them going into Week 6.

PC: Philadelphia Eagles

Again, kudos goes to the O-line for creating holes for Howard and the run game. This part of the offense has the potential to create big plays and be a key factor in the success of the team. In Weeks 1 through 3 we saw how rough this team can look without a successful run game, so I expect Peterson to continue working on improving this side of the offense.

While the Eagles win was incredibly important to the team and their confidence moving forward, the Cowboys loss was equally, if not more, important. The 'boys took on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Dallas and fell 34-24, effectively moving their record to 3-2, tying them with the Eagles for first place in the division. After losing to the Saints the week before, the Cowboys have now lost two games in a row, against two teams with records above .500. This is important to note because their first 3 wins came from teams with losing records. It should leave everyone questioning, "are the Cowboys really as good as everyone thought?" If you ask me, the answer is no....but it is still very early in the season and with a BIG Week 6 and 7 coming up, the division is still up for grabs.

In Week 6 the Eagles will travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. This is going to be a tough game and a win is imperative in order to keep pace with the Cowboys, as I expect them to handle the Jets in their showdown this week. The key to an Eagles win will be the run game once again. I also expect Carson to launch the ball this week in hopes of getting the passing game going as well. A win (or loss) for both the Eagles and Cowboys in Week 6 would bring them in to Week 7 tied, as they head to Dallas for Sunday Night Football. These next two weeks are going to be exciting for the NFC East as the division race continues.

The Redskins (0-5 following last weeks loss to the Pat's) will travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins (0-4) in a battle for the title of "worse team in the league", while the Giants (2-3 following their loss to the Vikings) will inevitably fall to the Patriots in New England.