Despite being the worst division in the league along with the AFC South, it’s hard to take the eyes off the playoff race in the NFC East, with the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys all sporting losing records.
But, someone has to win the division and make the playoffs. The Cowboys, with a 4-8 record, might end up going there, as shocking as it may sound. The Redskins, a truly bad team who have no clue if they’re headed into another rebuild or can work on their future with what they have, lead the division. The Giants keep blowing opportunities and might have lost confidence in their superiority in this division, while the Eagles, just before they got knocked out, managed to beat the New England Patriots and breath life into their sidetracked season.
Standings
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2–2 | 5–4 | 257 | 287 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2–2 | 3–6 | 278 | 302 | W1 |
| New York Giants | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2–3 | 4–5 | 307 | 296 | L3 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–2 | 3–7 | 223 | 277 | W1 |
This is it, in all it’s glory. Three 5-7 teams, one 4-8 teams. A lot of losing between all of them, although the Giants have outscored their opponents by just a bit (their wins and their losses have been mostly very close games) and the Cowboys, with a horrendous offense that can’t score, has the best defense in the division, which usually makes for hard to watch games for those who need to see teams getting into the end zone on a regular basis, no matter who is that scores. The Cowboys are the only team in the division with a winning record against the other three.
Cowboys Remaining Games
It doesn’t look good for Dallas, who have to play in Green Bay against a Packers team probably buoyed by their incredible Hail Mary win against the Detroit Lions with 10 days of rest for Green Bay, then face the Jets with six days of rest on a Saturday night game, followed by an away game against the Buffalo Bills before finishing the season at home against the Washington Redskins, a team they already beat. They’re underdogs in probably all four games and although their defense has been able to slow down everyone except the Patriots and Panthers, the sorry state of their offense means this isn’t the ideal way to finish a sorry season.
Giants Remaining Games
The Giants, maybe even more so than the Cowboys, are in trouble. They have two road games against Miami and Minnesota. While the Giants can tackle anyone on a good day, the Dolphins game in Miami seems like their most winnable one out of the four (We’ll get to the home games in a minute). From how the Giants have been playing in the last month, especially late in games, it doesn’t really matter who they’ll face: They’ll find a way to mess it up. They have a home game against the Panthers, which might not be as scary as it sounds if the Panthers clinch home field advantage by then. Their season finale is at home against the Eagles, something of an Achilles heel for them.
Eagles Remaining Games
Three home games, one on the road to finish things against the Giants. The Eagles do well against New York (beat them 27-7 earlier this season), but their other home games don’t sound too promising, including the 10-2 Arizona Cardinals, just the kind of team built to eat the Eagles for breakfast. The Buffalo Bills, just like the Eagles and their fourth rival in the final month, the Washington Redskins, are an unknown quantity. Anything can happen, but as long as it’s Sam Bradford at quarterback and not Mark Sanchez, there’s hope for a good finish.
Redskins Remaining Games
The division leaders have three road games for the big finish: In Chicago, in Philadelphia and in Dallas, with a home game against the Bills. That doesn’t sound too good, especially not against Buffalo who can make Kirk Cousins hurt and turn the ball over, usually the difference between win or lose for Washington. But visiting a still hopeful Bears team, not to mention the huge question marks of Philadelphia and Dallas, promises a finish no one can predict.
And who makes it?
Really impossible to tell. The Cowboys probably won’t, and although the Giants are the best team, more or less, in this group, there’s just something off with this team on every level, offense and defense. The Eagles might have gotten the win to save their season, and their schedule might be the least terrible, which gives them a slight edge, but not one you can put your trust in.
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