They were who we thought they were. The “they” in this sense being the four franchises of the NFC East. With the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles away on a bye week, it was time for the other three teams to play for a chance to catch Philadelphia’s favorite birds. The Dallas Cowboys proved that even as mediocre as they may be, they are still a better team than the ramshackle roster that is the New York Giants.  As you could expect from Washington’s other contests this year, the most controversially named franchise in sports didn’t fare well against the best the bay area had to offer.

Dallas Cowboys(6-5) 24 New York Giants(4-7) 21

Tony Romo finally broke character. Fourteen plays, 64 yards, and a game winning field goal can be added to the oft maligned quarterback’s resume. While a victory over the disappointing Giants will not do much to quell the raucous nature of the self-proclaimed “Romo-haters” a group in which I am a card-carrying member. But no libel shall come forth on this day, as the veteran leader deserves all the credit forthcoming. However, until Romo leads his Cowboys deep into the playoffs or perhaps even a Super Bowl, his critics will not be silenced. In the game in which the Cowboy’s gunslinger threw the 200th touchdown of his career, to tight end Jason Witten, Dallas can celebrate and focus on the impending playoff race.

Though the Cowboys believed they had the game in hand with a lead of 21 to six, Eli Manning led his Giants back to a tie game after throwing touchdowns to the forgotten Brandon Myers and the typically irrelevant Louis Murphy to tie the game late in the fourth quarter after a successful two-point conversion on the following play. Though Eli brought his beloved Giants back from the edge of their grave yet again, Manning’s counterpart did his best WWE-style super-kick and finished the job while laying the Giants’ 2013 season to rest. New York finished division play with just three wins, which leaves them a game behind in a best case scenario. (Dallas has four division wins and Philadelphia has three, though the two teams meet in Week 17 in a game which will likely decide the NFC East.) But I digress, despite playing four of their best quarters of football all season, the Giants defense folded at the end, crushing the playoff hopes for the city that never sleeps.

San Francisco 49ers(7-4) 27 Washington Redskins(3-8) 6

In what could have been a valiant attempt by Mike Shanahan and company to save Washington’s season, the Redskins were obliterated by one of the best teams the NFC has to offer. RG3-8 continued his disappointing season, and Washington fell in embarrassing fashion on “Monday Night Football”. Perhaps the only bright side in Washington’s defeat was the team’s run defense, which held Frank Gore to just 31 yards on 13 carries, and the 49ers as a whole to 76 yards on 33 carries. Despite limiting the main strength of the back to back NFC Champion 49ers, Washington was as putrid as normal in the secondary and allowed Colin Kaepernick to throw for 228 yards and three touchdowns in the rout.

For all intents and purposes Washington’s season is over, and all the team’s fans will have to remember from such a disappointing year will be how their favorite team’s name is a racial slur. Mike Shanahan and his offensive coordinating son Kyle Shanahan will likely be updating their resume’s soon, as you can shut the book on the 2013 Washington Redskins.