NFC East X-factors Week 6: Welcome back, A.J. Brown

The Cowboys’ Jalen Tolbert and the Giants’ Tyrone Tracy Jr. delivered for the NFC East in Week 5, but which divisional players will be X-factors in Week 6?

Here’s our prediction for all four teams:

Dak Prescott (QB), Dallas Cowboys

Unlike the Cowboys, who barely survived the Steelers in Week 5, the Lions had a week to rest and have Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow back from a pec injury that kept him off the field in Week 4.

Thanks to players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions average the third-most yards (397) and eighth-most points (26) per game of any team. Given the state of the Cowboys’ 31st-ranked running game, Dallas will need to throw the ball if it hopes to keep up.

With 1,424 yards in his first five games, Dak Prescott is already the league’s third-leading passer, but his 65.4 completion percentage and 92.9 quarterback rating place him well outside the top-10 in both categories. He’s thrown a pair of touchdowns in each of his last two games, but he’ll need to do more against Detroit’s 27th-ranked passing defense.

Dexter Lawrence II (DT), New York Giants

You’d never know it by their 1-4 record, but the Cincinnati Bengals are scoring 28 points per game, fourth-most in the NFL. With a league-leading 12 touchdowns and 274 yards per contest, Joe Burrow has the best passer rating (113.6) of any quarterback not named Joe Flacco (115.6).

Getting to Burrow will be a top priority when the Giants host the Bengals this week. Lawrence led the team with three sacks against the Seahawks in Week 4 and trails only the Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson (6.5) with six sacks on the season. He’ll look to keep things rolling against Cincinnati, especially with teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux expected to miss several weeks after undergoing wrist surgery against Cincinnati.

Burrow has been sacked 11 times this season, and another multi-sack performance from Lawrence would certainly help New York’s chances in Week 6.

Philadelphia Eagles (WR), A.J. Brown

Thanks to a hamstring injury, Brown hasn’t played since the team’s opening game in Brazil, where he led Eagles receivers with five catches for 119 yards and a score. He’ll look to do the same against Cleveland now that he’s been cleared to play.

Philadelphia had only two passing touchdowns and averaged just 17.3 points per game without its leading wide receiver. To be fair, No. 2 receiver DeVonta Smith also missed one game with a concussion, but the Eagles offense clearly works better with Brown in the lineup.

Despite Cleveland’s many flaws, its secondary ranks seventh with 184.4 passing yards allowed per game. Browns coach and Philadelphia native Kevin Stefanski could be fighting for his job in this one and will do everything possible to keep Eagles pass-catchers out of the end zone.

Austin Ekeler (RB), Washington Commanders

While all eyes will be on the quarterbacks, Sunday’s game will feature the NFL’s top two rushing offenses. After five weeks, Baltimore leads the league with 211.2 yards rushing per game, followed by Washington with 178.4 yards per contest.

Unfortunately, the Ravens also own the league’s best rushing defense, and with Brian Robinson Jr. listed as questionable with a knee injury for the Commanders, Ekeler could be the key to victory.

Third-string back Jeremy McNichols has three scores and had more carries than Ekeler over the past two games, but most of his touches came in garbage time of blowout victories. Ekeler averaged over 11 yards per carry in each of those games, and with 7.9 yards per attempt for the season, he’ll look to get tough yards against the Ravens.