NFC East Finally Gets a Repeat Champion? Predicting Season Records for the NFC East

Written By Bentley Holley

Photo Courtesy: Mitchell Leff, Getty Images

It is well known at this point that for 20 seasons, the NFC East has not had a repeat division champion. In that time, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles have each won the division seven times, with the New York Giants and Washington taking the crown three times each.

With a division as unstable as this one, there is reason to believe that once again, a new team will be hosting a playoff game when January rolls around. Will the Cowboys repeat for the first time in two decades? Will the Eagles recover from last year’s drop-off? Will the Commanders or Giants make a surprise leap? It is unclear what will happen now, especially since rosters are not even finalized, but it is always fun and worthwhile to speculate team records before the season.

4. New York Giants | 2023 record: 6-11 | 2024 prediction: 5-12

Photo Courtesy: Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports

It seems like an eternity since Brian Daboll came in and guided the Giants to a surprise playoff appearance, including an upset of the Minnesota Vikings, during his first season as the Giants head coach. After paying Daniel Jones a $40 million contract after the 2022-23 season, the Giants were hopeful to continue on the trajectory they set under Daboll. As it turned out, the 2023-24 campaign was a complete bust as Jones was injured, Saquon Barkley missed a few games, and the team never really seemed to be able to get out of their own way.

Going into 2024-25, the Giants hope to make a rebound to their previous heights. While Jones will be returning healthy, in what is likely a “prove it” year for the former No. 6 overall pick in 2019, Barkley left in free agency to join the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. This leaves the Giants with a major hole in the run game, while also having to face the star running back twice a year for the foreseeable future.

The hope is that 2024 No. 6 overall pick Malik Nabers, a wide receiver out of Louisiana State University (LSU) will be able to prop up an offense that is devoid of star talent. While it’s likely Nabers will put up good numbers as the number one option, the team as a whole is still lacking and is a couple of years away from truly contending, even if Jones performs closer to his 2022 form.

3. Washington Commanders|2023 record: 4-13 | 2024 prediction: 6-11

Photo Courtesy: SBNation, Hogs Haven

For the Commanders, last year was a season they would like to forget. While Sam Howell was a reasonably bright spot last year, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards. The problem, however, came from Howell’s tendency to throw interceptions. Howell threw for only 21 touchdowns, with a matching 21 picks. With a star WR in Terry McLaurin on the team, that simply was not enough to keep the starting job.

At the midseason point last season, a previous bright spot of the Commanders was upended as they made trades that sent both Chase Young and Montez Sweat away for picks. The Commanders do still have DE Dante Fowler Jr., DT Daron Payne, and DE Jonathan Allen to anchor their defensive line, but they are lacking in overall depth with those trades. At the linebacker position, the Commanders chose to bring in LB Bobby Wagner, who has been a great tackler but poor coverage player in recent years. After choosing CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr. over Christian Gonzales last year, the Commanders will have to live with that pick again this year and hope that Forbes develops into a better player than he was last year after he got torched on national television by WR A.J. Brown.

Going into the 2024-25 season, the Commanders opted to take quarterback Jayden Daniels out of LSU with the #2 overall pick. The Commanders’ search for a franchise quarterback continues with Daniels, who brings athleticism and strength to the team. Alongside him, the team brough in RB Austin Ekeler from the Los Angeles Chargers. Ekeler is one of the premier pass-catching backs in the league and will be a two-headed attack with RB Brian Robinson Jr. The offensive line leaves a lot to be desired and the receivers outside of McLaurin have a lot to prove.

2. Dallas Cowboys | 2023 record: 12-5 | 2024 record: 10-7

Photo Courtesy: CBS Sports Images

The Cowboys are probably the hardest team to rank within this division. If you believe some pundits, the Cowboys will not be able to overcome the Dak Prescott contract drama and will fall apart completely. If you watch a different program or read a different report, you may hear that this is actually the Cowboys’ year for real this time. No matter what side you’re on, there’s no debating this team does have talent on it as it stands right now.

Starting off the with the defense, the Cowboys have one of, if not the very best defensive players in the league in Micah Parsons. Parsons is a player that teams have to respect and scheme around if they want to have success in their plans. Behind him is the fearsome cornerback duo of Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland. While these two are not the top corners in the league, their ball-hawking tendencies have the potential to cause some serious problems for other teams, and if a ball is thrown where they can take it back for six, you can be sure it will happen.

Offensively, the Cowboys no longer have RB Tony Pollard, but they did get RB Ezekiel Elliot back in the offseason. While Zeke is not the player he once was, having a big, tumbling running back can open up a lot in an offense. As for the superstars, Ceedee Lamb has turned into one of the top five wide receivers in the league. The connection of Dak to Ceedee has produced 29 touchdowns and over 4,00 yards as a duo. Even if it may only end up being for one more year, that connection can be lethal as the end of the season rolls around.

For the Cowboys, the areas they will have to hope do not get exposed is their tight end position on offense and the linebacker position on the defensive side of the ball.

1. Philadelphia Eagles | 2023 record: 11-6 | 2024 prediction: 12-5

Photo Courtesy: Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports

The 2023-24 season for the Philadelphia Eagles has to be one of the most bizarre in recent memory. After starting 10-1 and being in sole possession of the #1 seed in the NFC, looking to make a repeat appearance in the Super Bowl, the Eagles crash-landed the rest of the season, losing five out of their last six games, including inexcusable losses to the Kyler Murray-less Arizona Cardinals, the Drew Lock led Seattle Seahawks and the division rival Giants led by Tyrod Taylor. All of this culminated into a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wildcard round.

The losses continued in the offseason as legends of the team Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce both retired. Cornerstones of their respective linemen groups, the impact of these losses cannot be understated.

But after seeing the heartbreaking end to the season as well as the poor send-off for some of the legends of the team, general manager Howie Roseman did what Howie Roseman does: he made moves. One of these major pickups was the addition of Saquon Barkley. Going from D’Andre Swift to Saquon Barkley will be massive for an Eagles offense who loves to run the ball and will give even more power running capabilities behind Jalen Hurts. On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles signed Bryce Huff, a former standout defensive linemen for the New York Jets. In addition, the team brought back defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson after a one-year stint with the Detroit Lions.

In the draft, Roseman continued his masterclass of talent acquisitions by drafting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in rounds one and two respectively. For a defense that had a major issue at cornerback last year, the team now boasts top young talent to work alongside veterans Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox.

For the Eagles, the biggest question mark right off the bat is figuring out how the team will move on with the retirements of Kelce and Cox. Additionally, it is worth asking if the linebackers will develop in the way the Eagles hope.

All that said, with top end talent at the quarterback, wide receiver, and offensive line positions, the Eagles are poised for another year of high-flying offense. If the defense is able to develop under Vic Fangio, the Eagles could be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

The NFC East is one of the craziest division in football, where anything wild and wacky that could happen, usually does. Maybe the Cowboys end up repeating and maybe one of the Commanders/Giants develops into a sneaky team that plays well enough in the division to take home the crown. Either way, what is for certain is that the NFC East will be must-see TV this season.

Bentley Holley
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