Across the league, there’s a perception that the NFC East will be a three-team race for the division crown. A division with its fair share of struggles over recent years doesn’t have a clear-cut favorite. On paper, there are four flawed teams in the most flawed division in the NFL. Betting on who will win the division in 2021 is a bit of a dice roll.
While the Dallas Cowboys bring the best offense, the Washington Football Team has the best defense, and the New York Giants, for some reason, have some believers, Bleacher Report’s Gridiron Crew isn’t quite sure who to deem the favorite in the NFC East.
As they attempted to pick division winners, each of their three experts picks a different team. Let’s take a look at who picked who.
Gary Davenport: Washington Football Team
Dallas is indisputably going to roll out the best offense in the division. But how well will Dan Quinn’s new-look defense be able to keep pace? Washington’s defense (in theory) is as good as any in the entire league, and Ryan Fitzpatrick gives the offense a mix of a veteran presence and a bigger arm. If Fitzpatrick can avoid costly turnovers, this team could be a legit threat in the NFC. – Davenport
The belief in career backup Ryan Fitzpatrick is interesting to me. Yes, the Washington Football Team boasts the best defense in the division and has various weapons on offense in Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson. However, banking on Fitzpatrick seems like a troublesome plan.
Brad Gagnon: New York Giants
The Dallas defense will be, horrible and the Washington Football Team will be sunk by poor quarterback play, while the table is set for New York’s Daniel Jones to break out. The Giants win a nail-biter with nine or 10 wins. – Gagnon
Sure, Kenny Golladay and Saquon Barkley help the Giants offensive attack, but let’s recall what Daniel Jones did in 2020. He wasn’t a player or two away from having a breakout season.
Of the 29 quarterbacks that dropped back to pass at least 348 times in 2020, Jones had the third-fewest touchdown passes with 11. Only Sam Darnold for the Jets and Cam Newton for the Patriots had fewer touchdown passes. Joe Burrow and Nick Mullens played four fewer games, and Gardner Minshew, who played five fewer games than Jones, had more touchdown passes than Jones on the season. Jones had the fourth-lowest passer rating according to Pro Football Focus among qualified quarterbacks.
Brent Sobleski: Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott’s return to the lineup alone makes the Cowboys better than any other NFC East squad. Dallas’ defense does need to be better, but the organization spent its first six draft picks on that side of the ball. Besides, the Cowboys offense is explosive enough to win the division by itself. – Sobleski
The Cowboys’ offense is expected to be one of the best in the NFL. The defense remains a question mark. However, if the defense can get into the top 20 as a unit, the Cowboys will win many games in 2021. If they can exceed expectations, they have a shot to go even deeper than simply an NFC East title.
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The NFC East was the only division in their preseason predictions that resulted in a three-way split. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs were the only two unanimously voted to be their respective division’s champions in 2021. Every other division winner caught at least two of the three votes.
As training camp gets ready to ramp up here in the next week, the Dallas Cowboys still have a lot to prove to themselves and the rest of the NFL. Answering the questions about their defense on the field will be paramount to the Cowboys’ success this season. Despite the Dallas Cowboys’ flaws on defense, though, they’re as talented of a group of offensive players as any team in the league could put on display. If the defense can become at least average, the Cowboys will win games and make a run for that elusive sixth Super Bowl win.
