NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

• Per the Athletic’s Jon Machota, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called the idea of HC Mike McCarthy being one-and-done in Dallas “ridiculous” in a radio interview: “Not one time have I been in any discussion, had any dream or given any thought to not having Mike McCarthy.”
• The Cowboys placed impending free-agent CB Chidobe Awuzie on the COVID-19 reserve list due to close contact situation but “definitely” expect him to return to practice Wednesday, according to McCarthy. (Pro Football Talk) 
•  McCarthy was hopeful to have CB Trevon Diggs (foot) and S Donovan Wilson (groin), back at practice as well.” (Michael Gehlken)
• Cowboys DC Mike Nolan was proud of the defense’s effort against the Bengals: “There weren’t any lapses. That was our most complete game to date.” (Gehlken)
• Nolan also mentioned that rookie DE Bradlee Anae was performing at a high level during practices: “We talk about him every week with the possibility of him being active. There’s a lot of people in his corner.” (Gehlken)
• McCarthy felt surprised when he learned that VP Stephen Jones was asked about his job security of his job beyond the season: “I understand how the business works. I understand the job and the responsibility of media to ask questions. I respect that. And I know you respect that I just stay focused on my job.” (Machota)

Eagles

• The Athletic’s Bo Wulf and Zach Berman note that with a guaranteed salary, Eagles S Rodney McLeod is likely to be on the team in 2021 despite his late-season ACL tear. It’s an injury that takes 9-12 months to recover from, so Wulf and Berman write the Eagles should plan accordingly at safety.
• Eagles ST coordinator Dave Fipp expressed confidence in K Jake Elliott despite a number of misses this year, including a chip-shot field goal at the end of the first half against the Saints this week: “With Jake, the guy’s got a pretty strong track record. This is the first blip on the radar with him.” (Berman)

Giants

Giants’ HC Joe Judge knew that QB Daniel Jones wasn’t at one hundred percent but was willing to live with limitations caused by his leg injury.

“If Daniel is healthy to play and he looks the way he did in practice last week, I’d have no hesitation playing Daniel at all,” Judge said, via Newsday. “All options are always on the table in terms of what we are going to do about our game plan, but to answer the question directly and simply, yeah, if Daniel is healthy enough to go out there and we think he’s not at [risk] to be hurt, then we’ll play him. We knew there were things that would come up in the game and some limitations he was going to have. We were willing to live with those.”

• Per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Judge said Jones didn’t aggravate his hamstring injury against the Cardinals but he did suffer some “wear and tear” and visited with doctors Monday. 

Washington

Washington first-round DE Chase Young had another terrific day as he continues to make a strong case for defensive rookie of the year. Young returned a fumble for a touchdown and added a sack, two pass defenses and another forced fumble in a 23-15 win against the 49ers. But Young and Washington have their sights set much higher after two straight wins to take the lead in the NFC East. 

“We’re not done yet,” Young said via ESPN’s John Keim. “I like to think, ‘What would Kobe [Bryant] do?’ He wouldn’t be smiling. He’d put his head down and keep working until he achieved what he wanted to achieve. . . . That’s the vibe of the team right now. We’re not satisfied.”

• NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero says as of now Washington feels pretty good about QB Alex Smith (calf strain) being able to play this week against the Seahawks.
• The injury is to the same leg Smith had surgically repaired but Pelissero says Washington will focus on getting Smith rest over reps in practice this week.