NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The NFC East has gone from one of the laughingstocks in the NFL to arguably the toughest. Last season, the East went a combined 43-23-2 while sending 3 teams to the playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles repped the division in the Super Bowl while the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys both made it to the second round. Although the Washington Commanders fell short, they still finished the season with a non-losing record.
Heading into the 2023-24 season, all teams are expected to pick up where they left off. There have been a few changes in personnel in the division but each team has still managed to keep its core talent. No matter who they play, there is nothing like a divisional game to get the juices and trash talk flowing. Which team will open the season as the favorite to win the NFC East this season?
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders will enter training camp will no resolution at the QB positions. Even with offensive genius Eric Bieniemy running the show, does he have enough mojo to turn their QB room into something special? During the NFL Draft, they had a chance to snag a signal caller but went another way. During the offseason, they had their shots as well and looked the other way. It appears to be the Sam Howell show early on.
In a division where QB play is key, the Commanders are left playing catch-up while watching from the comforts of their homes. The RB position is a bit better with Brian Robinson Jr and Antonio Gibson who combined for 1343 yards but only 5 Rushing TDs combined last season. The WR room is led by Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson, but once again, can they rely on their QBs to get them the ball when needed?
On the defensive side of the ball, the Commanders are hopping for another big year from their front 7, most notably, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, and Chase Young. Last season, the Commanders finished the year ranked 4th in Passing Yards Allowed and 11th in Rushing Yards Allowed. The NFC East is tough, and even at an 8-8-1 season, the Commanders are not that far off. Just so happens, great the other 3 teams in this division are better than them.
New York Giants
What will happen with Saquan Barkley? Will Barkley play with the Franchise Tag or will he and the Giants work out a new deal? The Giants were the surprise team here after finishing with a 10-7-1 record and being the 3rd team from the East to make the playoffs. While the pressure was on Daniel Jones to perform, he more than did his part which he was rewarded with a heft contract this offseason.
If Barkey has his head on straight, the Giants may be better than they were a season before. What they will need is for their receives to step it up a notch. Let be Dauris Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, and Parris Campbell. Jones will need to be accurate if they have a shot to make it back to the playoffs this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants ranked 15th in Passing Yards and 27th in Rushing Yards per game. Not too many offseason moves to help in that department and with uncertainty surrounding their best offensive player, the Giants cannot afford any setbacks in a Division as tough as theirs.
Dallas Cowboys
This was the Cowboys Divison to lose last season and that’s exactly what they did. Armed with possibly the best roster in the NFC East, the Cowboys finished 2nd after a great start to the season. With Dak Prescott leading the way despite missing 5 games, the Cowboys managed to hold on with a backup QB and their impressive ground game. But this offseason brought changes, some for the best and some not.
Longtime RB Ezekiel Elliott was let go paving the way for a younger Tony Pollard. The Dallas receives are stacked and should rank quite high in terms of production with CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and now Brandin Cooks. Prescott has plenty of weapons at his disposal for the 2023-24 season.
Who Will Win The NFC East
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys will be hard to beat. Equipped with one of the best pass rushers in Micah Parsons, the Cowboys racked up an impressive 54 sacks last season. Even with a great pass rush, Jerry Jones understands that it takes a team. So, he went and snagged Stephon Gilmore this offseason to pair with Trevon Diggs. If the Cowboys can stay healthy, the NFC East could be theirs for the taking this season.
Philadelphia Eagles
The reigning NFC East champs will not resemble the same team that went 14-3 last season. With key losses on both sides of the ball, the Eagles will need old and new players to step up and fight off the other 3 teams in the division. Jalen Hurts solidified himself as a franchise QB and with AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert still as his weapons, there is no reason to believe that his production will slip any.
Howie Roseman did a good job during the Draft where he snagged players who fit the scheme of the Eagles but are they ready for the spotlight that comes with playing for a Super Bowl contender? The ground game has a few new faces after the departure of leading rusher Miles Sanders. Their performance will also determine if the Eagles will repeat as division champs.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles will look totally different. Even with the return of Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, the defense received a facelift through draft picks and free agency. Can they duplicate the success they had last season where they led the NFL in sacks? Defense wins championships and if they can come close to what they did during their Super Bowl run, they will repeat as East champs.
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