The NFC East set an unwanted NFL record on Monday night when the Washington Commanders fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 23-17. With that loss, the division became the first in league history to go winless across consecutive weeks in which every team played, and two teams met, finishing 0-6-2 over Weeks 5 and 6.

From a New York Giants perspective, the outcome carried a dual edge. All three divisional opponents failed to win, leaving the Giants alone in first place at 3-2-1. The Philadelphia Eagles sit at 2-4 after consecutive defeats, the Dallas Cowboys are also 2-4 following losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers, and the Commanders drop to 1-4-1.

New York’s relative position in the standings held steady even as the rest of the division continued to stumble.

That stability, however, came with a clear cost. The Giants had a clear path to widen their lead and instead settled for a 27-27 tie against the Commanders in Week 5 before dropping a 34-27 decision to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Both results featured missed opportunities: Overtime fumbles and clock-management miscues in Landover, followed by turnovers and a fourth-quarter rally that fell short against a Saints team that had been struggling.

Under head coach John Harbaugh, and with Jaxson Dart already sidelined for the season by a knee injury, the offense has yet to settle at quarterback between Jameis Winston and J.J. McCarthy.

The division remains wide open because of its collective struggles, but the Giants leave the week with a reminder that first place can be more fragile than the standings suggest. They travel to Houston next Sunday with a chance to begin converting the division’s shared issues into a more comfortable cushion.

The record the NFC East just set is one no team wants to share, and New York still has work to do to make sure it does not remain the story of the season.