NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said he knows the job isn’t finished after winning the division.

“I’ve been No. 1 in the league in offense,” McCarthy said via Jon Machota, “that doesn’t guarantee you a championship. And when your team is lopsided that way, it’s a lot harder on the defense and the special teams. I think you’re seeing a team that’s more balanced, it’s more complementary, and has the ability to win the game in all three phases. And that’s what we want to be.

“We still have a lot of work to do and I think our guys recognize that. We want to play complementary football, this ain’t about statistics.”

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott believes there is more room to grow.

“There is no ceiling (for this team),” Prescott said. “It doesn’t matter really who we’re playing, when we’re playing our best ball we’re going to be a tough group to stop on all three phases. When you see that tonight, the special teams getting a score, the defense getting a score, and our offense doing it in the different ways that we did we’re going to be tough. We got to make sure that we continue to trend in the right direction and play our best ball that we have all year long moving forward.”

Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence said the defense is playing with a ton of confidence.

Eagles

• Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said RB Miles Sanders has a broken hand, but won’t go on injured reserve. (Eliot Shorr-Parks)
• Sirianni added OL Nate Herbig has a knee sprain and RB Jordan Howard (neck) is feeling good after an MRI. (Zach Berman)
• Sirianni doesn’t know when G Brandon Brooks will return from his pec injury. He said he’s continuing to rehab. (Jeff McLane)
• Eagles QB Jalen Hurts admires first-round WR DeVonta Smith‘s preparation habits in his first year in the NFL: “DeVonta may be in his first year, but he’s a true pro in how he prepares with the different things that might come up in a game.” (Josh Tolentino)

Giants

• Fansided’s Matt Lombardo writes that two potential GM candidates to keep an eye on for the Giants are former Browns GM John Dorsey and Seahawks exec Alonzo Highsmith. 

Washington

• Washington DT Jonathan Allen said the fight between him and DT Daron Payne wasn’t personal: “I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist…If you look at how that game went, emotions are high, things are high, things happen.” (John Keim)
  
• Payne agreed with Allen’s take: “Just a little brotherly disagreement; maybe the wrong place, wrong time, but it happened.” (Keim)
• Washington HC Ron Rivera said S Deshazor Everett was released from the hospital after being involved in a fatal car crash on Thursday. (Nicki Jhabvala)
• Rivera added QB Taylor Heinicke will start but QB Kyle Allen will “probably” play this week against the Eagles. (JP Finlay)
• Rivera believes Sunday’s blowout vs. Dallas was just one bad game, not indicative of the direction of the team. (Jhabvala)