NFC East Preview: One Playoff Team Won't Live Up To Expectations

We're now going on year 21 of no repeat winners of the NFC East, in what is one of my favorite stats in all of football. It's virtually impossible for this to be real, especially given the division has produced four Super Bowl champions in that span. 11 or 12 win teams have lost the division in each of the last three years. There were stretches where single digit wins was enough to take the title.

It's one of the better divisions in football for the rivalries, as all four teams have lengthy history against each other and in the NFL as a whole. Or maybe it's cause every one of their games are always on Prime Time. Either way, this is the year that streak is broken. It's got to.

Philadelphia Eagles

If you looked at the offensive depth chart in Philly you'd shoe the Eagles in for at least another Super Bowl appearance. They still have the QB, they have Saquon, they have the one-two punch at WR, they have Goedert, and four of the five starters on the offensive line that manhandled the Chiefs in February.

But the other side of the ball looks a whole lot different. Three of the team's four leading tacklers in Super Bowl 58 are gone, and so are key secondary veterans in Darius Slay and CJGJ. That type of turnover is the cost of business when winning a Super Bowl. Everyone wants a piece of the cake, and they're willing to add truffle on top even if it costs more than it should (truffle sucks by the way).

So I can imagine some hiccups on that side of the ball early on, relative to what we saw last year. The good news for Philly is they were so loaded on that side of the ball they still kind of are, with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis up front, Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean in the middle, and Cooper and Quinyon out wide. That's not a defense to scoff at, but to think they'll live up to last year's production is ignorant.

The points the offense will score will guide them through any turbulence they feel on defense, and I think by the end of the year they'll be one of the favorites to play in San Francisco in February. Although they won't be my favorite. The NFC East streak ends with the Birds. Record: 12-5

Dallas Cowboys

Whattttt? Didn't you forget and skip past the Commanders? The team everyone's talking about and that the QB is widely considered top 5 in the league after one year?

I'll get to them when it's time, but I have a take to get off.

Micah's been shipped off, and that entire saga has been an utter disaster. He's undeniably one of the best defenders in football, and the way this whole thing was handled and things Jerry said along the way was pathetic. The one thing he did say that was true, after the trade, was that the defense was bad with him. Real bad. Like 5th worst in yards and 2nd worst in points, including 4th worst in rush defense bad. Micah doesn't help a lot in the run game, so getting a three-time pro bowl run stuffer in Kenny Clark should make that somewhat better (I still don’t agree with the trade, please don't twist what I'm saying).

Even before Micah was gone, expectations for the Cowboys were close to decade lows. The noise from their camp was much more about contracts than playoff aspirations. But I thought before (when I thought Micah would end up signing a deal) that they would surprise some people this year. And even with him gone, my opinion hasn’t changed.

Off the jump, Dak played just half of last season and was uncharacteristically bad in the games he did play. The four years prior he was top 12 in QBR each year, twice in the top four. Last year's 25th ranking feels like more of an anomaly then a trend, so I'll buy some Dak stock when it's very low.

They didn't have a running mate with CeeDee last year, as Jalen Tolbert was Dallas' second leading receiver. Teams started to realize that by taking CeeDee away they took the Cowboys away, and had no concerns about overplaying to CeeDee's side. The acquisition of George Pickens, who is SURE to make some sideline headlines this season, takes a large portion of that defensive strategy away. If there's one thing Pickens is known for more than his mental antics, it's his ability to win one on one coverage down the sideline. That makes this offense much, much more formidable.

This team won 7 games last year. The same question marks on the offensive line, RB, and defense remain, as none of those units were noteworthy last season. So assuming those things equal (or close to equal with Parsons gone), the improvements to the offense should be enough to win two additional games.

I'm not saying they'll be in the playoffs, but I don't think many people expect them to even have a fighting chance. Record: 9-8

Washington Commanders

Here's the real take, as the Cowboys winning nine games and still missing the playoffs isn't causing any fire drills.

I think the Commanders take a step back and miss the playoffs.

I know the cool thing to do is ride Jayden Daniels coattails of his rookie season into an auto-berth into this postseason, potential division winning talks, etc. To talk about the additions of Deebo and Laremy Tunsil being the nitro boosts that take this offense into true orbit.

But I for one have serious concerns. Their defense may have some household names, but they were the third worst rushing defense last year. Marshon Lattimore wasn't the Lattimore from New Orleans when he suited up last year, and if that doesn't change the departure of Jeremy Chinn will negatively affect the secondary.

They must like their rookie backup RB since they traded Brian Robinson Jr for scraps, otherwise I have major doubts Austin Ekeler himself can carry a backfield.

It's almost impossible for Jayden to outdo expectations again this season. And it's common rookie QBs who excel fall back to earth a bit in their second year (alla CJ Stroud), and it doesn't have much to do with them per say. Jayden is a threat that defenses weren't ready for, weren't accustomed to. Now, defensive coordinators who are paid millions of dollars because they're good at coaching defense have a lot of tape on how the Commanders run, and have had a lot of time to design schemes to slow them down (not stop).

This isn't me predicting Jayden Daniels will suck, be a bum or anything of the like. I'm basically predicting this Commanders team will be last year's Texans team. The problem for Washington is they don't play in the AFC South, so any sort of decline will actually cost them. Record: 8-9

New York Giants

I can't wait for the first Jaxson Dart start, probably late October/early November, in a chilly East Rutherford seeing clips of fatso Giants fans ripping cigarettes and calling their tailgate a "Dart Party". We all know it's gonna happen, and will be glorious when it does.

The problem for those fans is the Giants season will already be over.

Russell Wilson is the QB of an offense who is essentially the same unit as last year who was putrid. The same five offensive lineman, the same RB (who was promising), same slew of WRs. The difference is Russell Wilson.

*Yawns*

What year am I supposed to believe I'm living in to think Russell Wilson makes any sort of difference for an offense. We watched him in Denver right? Anyone pay attention to his season last year in Pittsburgh? I envision a similar year to last, with moon balls and slant routes to Malik Nabers that turn into big plays. But that's it, cause there's nothing Russ has shown in this decade that makes me think otherwise.

Daboll is coaching for his job, and the leash on Russ is something I'm interested in watching. But my gut says he sticks with Russ a little too long, long enough for their playoff hopes to be dashed, before he puts Dart in. And if Dart plays well down the stretch, well enough to give the Giants some hope going into next season, that might be enough for Mara to keep his head coach one more year, and see what he can do with the QB he chose.

Having the hardest schedule in the league and one of the hardest I've ever seen feels unfair for this team. But that's life as a New York fan. Record: 5-12