Nfc East

COWBOYS @REDSKINS Sunday, 8:20p.m. TV: Chs. 11, 4 Radio: 980AM Line: Redskins by 3 The Washington Redskins should know by the time they take the field Sunday night at FedEx Field to face the Dallas Cowboys whether the game will be a playoffs-or-bust deal for them. The Redskins and Cowboys will be playing with the NFC East title at stake. The NFL announced Sunday night that the game was being moved to 8:20 p.m. under the sport's flexible-scheduling arrangement with NBC. So while there is a scenario in which the Redskins could reach the NFC playoffs as a wild-card team even if they lose to the Cowboys, it already will have played out before the prime-time game in Landover.

COWBOYS @REDSKINS Sunday, 8:20p.m. TV: Chs. 11, 4 Radio: 980AM Line: Redskins by 3 The Washington Redskins should know by the time they take the field Sunday night at FedEx Field to face the Dallas Cowboys whether the game will be a playoffs-or-bust deal for them. The Redskins and Cowboys will be playing with the NFC East title at stake. The NFL announced Sunday night that the game was being moved to 8:20 p.m. under the sport's flexible-scheduling arrangement with NBC. So while there is a scenario in which the Redskins could reach the NFC playoffs as a wild-card team even if they lose to the Cowboys, it already will have played out before the prime-time game in Landover.

NFC East Philadelphia Eagles 1 PREDICTED FINISH 2004 record: 13-3, first place, lost Super Bowl. Coach: Andy Reid (seventh season with Eagles, 71-37). Key stat: Averaged only 28:26 of possession time. Schedule: They'll play a rough schedule, which comes with winning the division. 2005 opponents 9-12 at Atlanta, 9 p.m. 9-18 San Francisco, 1 p.m. 9-25 Oakland, 1 p.m. 10-2 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. 10-9 at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. 10-16 Open date 10-23 San Diego, 1 p.m. 10-30 at Denver, 4:15 p.m. 11-6 at Washington, 8:30 p.m. 11-14 Dallas, 9 p.m. 11-20 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. 11-27 Green Bay, 4:15 p.m. 12-5 Seattle, 9 p.m. 12-11 N.Y. Giants, 4:05 p.m. 12-18 at St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. 12-24 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. 1-1 Washington, 4:15 p.m. WR Terrell Owens (above)

The other three NFC East teams might have celebrity quarterbacks and they may have started the season with high playoff expectations, but in the season's opening act, it's the Redskins who've quickly stolen the division spotlight. With a 2-0 record and sole possession of the NFC East lead, the Redskins have roared out of the starting gate to the surprise of many — but certainly not all. "Nothing really has surprised me," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said of his team's first two games.

One by one they fell in ghoulish fashion. The Dallas Cowboys lost to Denver on Thanksgiving after their kicker missed a makable field goal in the fourth quarter. The Washington Redskins lost to San Diego after they intercepted quarterback Drew Brees three times, but couldn't tackle running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The New York Giants lost in Seattle when a kicker who missed only two field-goal attempts all season missed three with the game on the line. Overtime losses, all; squandered opportunities that will be lamented later.

LANDOVER -- After eight years without a tie in the NFL, the Washington Redskins and New York Giants played the second one in two weeks.After an ugly overtime last night in which the Redskins had three turnovers and a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Michael Westbrook, the game ended in a 7-7 tie that left the Giants in first place in the NFC East.There were 22 punts, 10 sacks and Washington quarterback Gus Frerotte put himself in the hospital by ramming his head into a wall.Philadelphia tied the Ravens, 10-10, a week earlier for the first deadlock in the league since 1989.

The Washington Redskins' statement game today will end in either an exclamation point or a question mark. Washington travels to the Meadowlands to meet the New York Giants at 1 p.m. in a game that could go a long way toward determining who has a foothold in the contentious NFC East. Redskins@Giants Today, 1 p.m., chs. 45, 5, 1430 AM, 106.7 FM Line: Giants by 2

ASHBURN, Va. - History would appear to be on the side of the Washington Redskins. As Washington prepares to kick off its second round of NFC East opponents with a 1 p.m. clash against the New York Giants today at FedEx Field, the Redskins are faced with the possibility of completing a season without a win against a divisional foe. The Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Giants have beaten Washington by a combined 83-44, and after today, the Redskins...

PHILADELPHIA -- The Buffalo Bills won yesterday with a draw play that wasn't in the game plan, a blocked punt that wasn't designed to get the block, and a goal-line stand that might alter the balance of power in the AFC.Other than that, the Bills' 24-17 triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles held all the usual elements of their decade-long mastery of NFC East teams.Among those elements were key contributions by Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and yes, even Jim Kelly.The biggest was delivered by Smith, Buffalo's All-Pro pass rusher, who sacked quarterback Ty Detmer on fourth down in the final 30 seconds with the Eagles threatening on the Bills' 3-yard line.

The road to a prospective playoff berth for the Ravens passes through the Meadowlands this weekend. The territory is not new to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who prepped for the trip with 10 years in the NFC East. Harbaugh revisits his past Sunday when the Ravens meet the New York Giants. The best division in the Super Bowl era still flows through his blood. "I'm more comfortable [playing] them than maybe some of the teams in the AFC North right now, personally," he said this week. "But you know what?

Jamison Hensley Super Bowl ¿ champion: Patriots AFC ¿ championship game: Patriots over Texans NFC ¿ championship game: Saints over Packers AFC division playoffs: Patriots over Chargers; Texans over Steelers NFC division playoffs: Packers over Eagles; Saints over Falcons AFC wild-card playoffs: Texans over Ravens; Chargers over Jets NFC wild-card playoffs: Falcons over...

I guess Ray Lewis was right when he said that crime in the AFC North would go up during the NFL lockout. OK, that isn't exactly what he said, but whatever. Four players from the division have been arrested in the past 10 days, pulling the AFC North into five-way tie for arrests since the lockout started on March 11. The AFC West, AFC South, NFC North and NFC East each have four arrests apiece , but the AFC North had none before Steelers receiver Hines Ward was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence on July 9. Then the Bengals started being the Bengals, and next thing you know, the AFC North was back in this thing.

Philadelphia 38, NY Giants 31 East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Eagles have found several ways to deal the New York Giants heartbreaking defeats over the years, and they added another one to the list on Sunday. There was "The Fumble" in 1978, and there was Brian Westbrook's punt return in 2003. On Sunday, with these teams tied for the NFC East lead, it was the electric DeSean Jackson, whose 65-yard punt return on the game's final play lifted Philadelphia to a 38-31 victory over New York in one of the most memorable games in the NFL this season.

There's something about Archie Manning's easygoing drawl that makes you think nothing gets him too bothered. But don't be fooled. He's as antsy as you might expect the father of two NFL quarterbacks to be at this time of year, especially with Peyton and Eli Manning heading into the biggest games of the season. Archie and his wife, Olivia, will be in Indianapolis on Sunday to watch Peyton and the Colts in a do-or-die game against the Jaguars. In their direct line of vision will be a TV tuned to the Giants game at the same time, with Eli facing the Eagles for first place in the NFC East.

Look at who's the boss Keith Groller, The Morning Call Mike Shanahan to Washington and Bill Cowher to Cleveland seem like plausible scenarios, except that both the Redskins and Browns have new guys in charge - Bruce Allen in D.C. and Mike Holmgren in Cleveland - and Shanahan and Cowher aren't exactly the types who enjoy taking orders. If the Skins really want Shanahan as reported, they'd be wise to sign him now before Dallas implodes in the playoffs and Jerry Jones offers him half the state of Texas to lure him to the southwest corner of the NFC East.

The argument could be made that the Washington Redskins are playing better than any other team in the NFC East right now. Yes, those 3-6 Redskins without Clinton Portis . Better even than the division-leading Dallas Cowboys, who they play today in Arlington, Texas, in the 99th game of their bitter rivalry. Simply put, the last-place Redskins are the only NFC East team that won its last game. Could it be the sign of a turnaround toward a late-season surge? "I just sense that we won one game; we won our third game of the season.

PHILADELPHIA - Vindication gets better and better for Donovan McNabb. His horrid, early-season slump? A faded memory in fanatical Philadelphia these days. The quarterback's October promise that the NFC East title still would pass through here? Sheer prophecy. McNabb's Eagles dispatched yet another would-be threat to their NFC East throne yesterday. They hammered the NFL's No. 1 defense for 403 yards, turned quarterback Quincy Carter into a jittery apprentice and shoved coach Bill Parcells to the edge of tolerance.

The road to a prospective playoff berth for the Ravens passes through the Meadowlands this weekend. The territory is not new to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who prepped for the trip with 10 years in the NFC East. Harbaugh revisits his past Sunday when the Ravens meet the New York Giants. The best division in the Super Bowl era still flows through his blood. "I'm more comfortable [playing] them than maybe some of the teams in the AFC North right now, personally," he said this week. "But you know what?

News item: The Ravens hope to bounce back from their tough Monday night loss when Kerry Collins and the undefeated Tennessee Titans visit M&T Bank Stadium this afternoon. My take: Collins has to be looking forward to his reunion with Chris McAlister, who was one of his leading receivers in the January 2001 Super Bowl. News item: The Orioles' front office will assemble in Sarasota, Fla., this week to hold the team's annual organizational meetings, during which Andy MacPhail will compile information heading into the free-agent and trade markets.