NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

• Per the Athletic’s Jon Machota, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Dallas’ 5-9 record this year is “disappointing” and “surprising” given where he thought they were: “I thought we had, personnel-wise, one of the best teams we’ve had.”
• Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said LG Connor Williams has taken a big step forward and played his best game of the year against the 49ers on Sunday. (Machota)
• McCarthy also commented on finally seeing continuity from his team on defense: “We’re establishing some consistency. You can see that they are flying around and trusting each other more.” (Machota)
• As for the ankle sprain suffered by LB Leighton Vander Esch, McCarthy says he doesn’t see him playing this week and that the injury could take him a couple of weeks to recover from. (Machota)

Eagles

• Per NFL Media’s Will Selva, Eagles DT Malik Jackson said QB Carson Wentz is handling his benching well: “I’ve been benched and it sucks. He’s handling it really well in front of us. He’s not being a distraction.”
• Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald lists the Eagles as one of the five teams with the most sunk costs and least financial flexibility in 2021. 
• Eagles’ C Jason Kelce has earned a $500,000 Pro Bowl incentive. (Joel Corry)

Giants

• Fansided’s Matt Lombardo lists a number of candidates for the Giants if they elect to move on from OC Jason Garrett, including promoting TE coach Freddie Kitchens to the position. 
• Lombardo also mentions Chiefs QB coach Mike Kafka, Bears QB coach John DeFilippo (though sources believe DeFilippo isn’t interested in calling plays in the NFL again), Jaguars OC Jay Gruden, Eagles RB coach Duce Staley and Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron as some other options. 
• Giants’ CB James Bradberry has earned a $250,000 incentive for making the Pro Bowl this season. (Joel Corry)
• The Giants have re-added S Montre Hartage to their practice squad after waiving him. (Dan Duggan)

Washington

• ESPN’s John Keim says Washington is optimistic QB Alex Smith will be able to play this week despite his calf strain. 
• If neither Smith nor QB Dwayne Haskins can go this week, Washington practice squad QB Taylor Heinicke would start against the Panthers. (JP Finlay)