NFL: NFC East All Playoff Teams?
The NFC East division in the NFL has been a joke over the past several years. The division this season has been totally different and it is time to have a conversation about it as well.
In this division, everyone is .500 or better. As of right now, three of the four teams would be in the NFL Playoffs if the season today in the NFC Conference. 1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-0 record, 1 seed), 2. Dallas Cowboys (6-2 record, 5 seed), 3. New York Giants (6-2 record, 6 seed), and 4. Washington Commanders (4-4 record, 8 seed).
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are on track to be the number one seed in the NFC and they may wind up with a 15-2 record once this season ends. It is very hard to go undefeated. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is the real deal and wide receiver A.J. Brown is helping this offense explode.
The defense is very good. They have an excellent running game led by Miles Sanders. Head coach Nick Sirianni will be the Head Coach Of the Year Award winner most likely.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have an elite defense. It starts with Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and Demarcus Lawrence. Dallas may not win the division because of Philadelphia's ridiculous season, but the Cowboys will be very dangerous in the playoffs this postseason because of that side of the football.
Dallas's season is going to ride on quarterback Dak Prescott. They shouldn't ask him to do much. They just need Prescott to be a game manager. The running game led by Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard should be enough and so should wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and tight end Dalton Schultz. Head coach Mike McCarthy has been out of the spotlight this season thanks to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
New York Giants
The New York Giants have been overachievers, thanks to head coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. New York has squeezed every ounce of their players this season, especially quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley. Not having enough wide receivers on the outside and special teams could be their downfall.
However, after the bye week, they face the Houston Texans and the Detroit Lions before a Thanksgiving Day showdown on the road against the Dallas Cowboys. New York still has five divisional games to play so anything can happen. A reasonable schedule down the stretch for the Giants should get them to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with this good defense led by rookie Kavyon Thibodeaux.
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders just about two weeks ago were an afterthought for the postseason, but they are 2-0 since Taylor Heinicke took over as the starting quarterback over Carson Wentz due to injury. Washington pulled off upsets against the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Commanders' next two weeks will be telling against the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington is tied with the San Francisco 49ers (4-4) for that spot, but the 49ers own the seventh-seed tiebreaker. If the Washington Commanders can be at .500 or better, it is a whole different ball game with other divisional games on the schedule upcoming. Head coach Ron Rivera has turned this around and Antonio Gibson and Terry McLaurin are the two best weapons on the offensive side of the football as well.
At the end of the day, it is a potentially nice thought to have all four playoff teams from the NFC East division. However, the odds are, it probably won't happen. The way the division is now, it will probably finish that way as well.