The New York Giants sat idle in Week 8 and watched the rest of the NFC East stumble in a way that expanded their division lead.
Sitting at 4-2-1, the Giants entered the bye already atop the standings with a 1.5-game advantage over the Dallas Cowboys and emerged with a larger cushion after both Dallas and the Philadelphia Eagles lost.
Dallas fell to 3-5 after a 33-30 overtime defeat to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys held a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter but surrendered a late rally, including a tying score with six seconds left in regulation, before the Cardinals prevailed on a field goal in overtime.
The loss left Dallas two games behind New York in the division race.
Philadelphia dropped to 2-6 after a 27-10 loss to the Washington
Commanders. The Eagles built a 10-0 first-quarter lead but then allowed 27 unanswered points as the Commanders pulled away on Sunday night. Washington improved to 2-4-1 with the victory and moved past the Eagles in the standings, though both remain well behind the Giants.
The results produced the ideal NFC East scenario for New York. The Giants now hold a two-game lead over the Cowboys and Commanders, and a three-game cushion over the Eagles.
New York returns from the bye with a visit to the Eagles on Sunday. A win in Philadelphia would further separate the Giants from the rest of the NFC East and reinforce the advantage gained during the week off, which would be especially important with a Thursday night game against the Commanders coming in Week 10.
As head coach John Harbaugh has said, these might be the two biggest games of the season.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants expand NFC East lead during Week 8 bye week
