With the Washington Commanders beating the Chicago Bears on Thursday, the NFC East improved to a league-leading 15-6 on the year.
The 2-4 Commanders are joined by three of the NFL's six teams with four wins or more, including the 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles – the only remaining unbeaten outfit.
Pre-season excitement centred on the AFC West and its potential to dominate the NFL, but the NFC East has instead surprisingly come to the fore, tallying five more wins through five weeks.
Of the six defeats for its four teams, three have been against division rivals.
There is therefore great anticipation for the fourth such matchup of the season on Sunday, when the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field.
With the Kansas City Chiefs also facing the Buffalo Bills, there is a compelling case to be made for fans this week getting to watch games between the best two teams in the NFC and the best two teams in the AFC.
Of course, the neutral may prefer to focus on the AFC tussle, where two of the leading quarterbacks in the sport will renew a rivalry last seen in their playoff epic.
But the supporting casts of the Eagles and the Cowboys might make them equally credible candidates as the league's best team come Monday.
It is certainly difficult to argue against the Eagles' start.
Their 5-0 record is their best since kicking off 7-0 in 2004; in fact, that was the last time any NFC East team won more than five games straight at the start of the year. The Eagles have already matched the 2009 New York Giants – the previous most recent example of a 5-0 start.
Outside the NFC East, such streaks have been far more commonplace. There has been at least one 5-0 team in every season since 2015, when there were six, including Super Bowl 50 champions the Denver Broncos.
That the 2015 Broncos were the last team to start 5-0 and then win the title suggests these stretches do not always mean a great deal in the long term, however.
Perhaps then the Eagles would be better served getting the first defeat out the way now, although that would mean losing control of this suddenly fiercely competitive division.
Either way, the Cowboys represent a far more serious threat than their opponents through Week 5.
The Eagles so far rank second in total offense – their 419.8 net yards per game topping the 2021 Cowboys' league-leading 407.0 – but have played defenses ranking 31st, 24th, 19th, ninth and 18th. The Dallas defense ranks seventh, and they have held each of their first five opponents to under 20 points for the first time since 1972.
As Stats Perform's efficiency versus expected model (EVE) ranks the Eagles' offense fourth and the Cowboys' defense fourth, it is clear where this game will be won and lost.
Previously, the Cowboys have had the tools to outgun their NFC East rivals. They have won their last three games against the Eagles by 20, 20 and 25 points – only once before (also versus the Eagles in the 1960s) winning four in a row by 20-plus points against any one team.
This time, with quarterback Dak Prescott still out, the Cowboys will instead focus on capitalising on the Eagles' own injury issues on their offensive line, where there are concerns around center Jason Kelce, tackle Jordan Mailata and guards Landon Dickerson and Isaac Seumalo.
Another big game from six-sack, second-year sensation Micah Parsons could be pivotal.
If the Eagles can negotiate that threat, though, a two-game lead even in this division might be enough to start planning for the playoffs now, given their schedule.
After the Cowboys, the Eagles have a bye week before playing teams ranking 32nd, 30th, 27th, 11th, 16th, 31st, 19th and 24th by overall EVE ahead of facing Dallas again in Week 16.
The NFC East's record winning start belongs to the 1991 Washington team, and the Eagles for now remain a way off the 11-0 sequence that preceded a Super Bowl triumph in a period of domination for this division.
But victory against the Cowboys would at least mean clearing the most significant hurdle in this young team's path.
West Ham 2-2 Liverpool: Antonio header damages Reds' dwindling title chances
Liverpool suffered another blow to their dwindling Premier League title hopes as Michail Antonio's late header snatched a 2-2 draw for West Ham at London Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp's side disappointed in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat against Everton, with Jarrod Bowen's goal and assist inflicting further pain for the Reds on Saturday.
Liverpool responded well to Bowen's first-half opener, edging ahead through Alphonse Areola's own goal after Andy Robertson's 48th-minute leveller, only for Bowen to tee up Antonio's headed equaliser 13 minutes from time.
This draw left Liverpool two points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Sunday meeting with Tottenham and one behind Manchester City – who have two games in hand on the Reds – while West Ham remain eighth.
A tepid opening befitted two sides struggling for form as both failed to carve out any gilt-edged opportunities.
Liverpool wanted a 27th-minute penalty for Angelo Ogbonna's tackle on Cody Gakpo and, though an offside call against Luis Diaz silenced those appeals, that passage livened the game up.
Harvey Elliott's curling attempt was held by Areola after Vladimir Coufal went close at the other end, before Diaz blasted a low strike against the West Ham goalkeeper's right-hand post.
Bowen saw a deflected drive parried behind by Alisson but the West Ham forward headed Mohammed Kudus' left-wing delivery into the far corner from the resulting set-piece two minutes before the break.
Ryan Gravenberch flashed a powerful half-volley over immediately after the interval – and West Ham did not heed that warning sign.
Diaz cut inside from the left to find Robertson before a slight deflection off Lucas Paqueta saw Areola caught off-guard as the left-back found the bottom-left corner via the post.
Gravenberch arrowed narrowly wide before one-way traffic finally paid dividends midway through the second half when Gakpo's miscued strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner forced Areola to turn into his own net after a deflection off Tomas Soucek.
Alisson kept his side ahead with a remarkable stretching stop to thwart Emerson's volley, yet the Liverpool goalkeeper was powerless when Antonio headed into the top-right corner from Bowen's right-wing centre.
Elliott almost snatched all three points in the 89th minute but his dipping effort found the top of the crossbar rather than the right-hand corner from long range.
Reds falter once again
Under Klopp, Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than West Ham (12).
Yet the visiting Reds faltered once more as what appeared to be a promising season continues to unravel in disappointing fashion for Klopp's final campaign.
Having threatened an unlikely quadruple at the start of March, Liverpool now require a minor miracle – and slip-ups from Man City and Arsenal – to muster a slight shot at the title.
Bowen on target but West Ham struggle at home
Bowen had already found the net in the Premier League and EFL Cup against Liverpool this season and became just the second West Ham player to score in three different games with the Reds in a single campaign – after Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.
His well-taken headed opener eased the nervous home crowd, yet this draw left West Ham with just one win from their last nine Premier League home games.
That concerning home form may be what costs David Moyes’ side a higher finish. The Hammers trail seventh-placed Newcastle United by a point, despite the Magpies playing two games fewer.
Swiatek soars into Madrid Open last 16 after dropping just two games against Cirstea
Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.
The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.
Data debrief
Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.
The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.
Ancelotti salutes Madrid's 'commitment and desire' following Sociedad victory
Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's commitment and desire as they edged closer to securing the LaLiga title with a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.
Arda Guler scored the only goal as Los Blancos extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who host Valencia in their game in hand on Monday.
The 19-year-old was making his first start since arriving from Fenerbahce, as Ancelotti rotated his squad ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
And the Italian was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players, who stretched their winning streak to six league matches.
"It was clear that everyone thought we were coming here for a walk," he told reporters. "The only ones who didn't think so were the players. They had commitment and attitude. They had the desire and enthusiasm to keep winning.
"We have a spectacular squad. They have this attitude that they feel like they have to win every game. There are four points left to clinch the LaLiga title, and we are very close."
Guler added on Realmadrid TV: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings.
"This is Real Madrid, the quality of the players is incredible. We're all always ready to play, and I think we've shown that here. I'm waiting patiently, and I'm still working hard every day."
Ancelotti's rotation meant a first start in eight months for Eder Militao, who marked his return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with a clean sheet.
"I've come back to play 90 minutes and I feel like a player again after many months out," the defender said.
"We have to keep winning, we know that nothing is won yet. We have a big advantage, but we have to keep doing a serious job until the end."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
