Cowboys fall further behind Eagles in NFC East race

At the beginning of the month I wrote a pre-draft/free agency prediction post regarding the NFC East.

For those of you not wanting to jump over and review it the gist of it was that the Eagles were predicted to win the division in 2024.

The Cowboys were in second, just barely above .500. The Giants and Commanders brought up the rear in the post.

Here’s how the division stacked up in that post:

• Philadelphia — 11-6
• Dallas – 9-8
• New York – 6-11
• Washington – 5-12

The order in this post really hasn’t changed now that the bulk of free agency and the draft have passed. Just the final predicted records.

In short, the Eagles are still going to win the division this year and likely with two more wins.

Dallas’ 9-8 record put them on the bubble in my previous post. That bubble has burst in the four weeks since I wrote that prediction.

The Cowboys not only miss the playoffs in 2024. Barring a massive trade, they finish under .500 for the season.

Here’s the updated prediction taking into account free agency and draft moves. Again, it isn’t a final prediction.

That one comes in early September.

But I’m not holding out much hope it will change that much.

Philadelphia Eagles

• Predicted finish: 1^st (unchanged)
• Predicted record: 13-4 (+2)

The Eagles swung eight trades in the NFL Draft this year. They let some players go, traded others away, and then shored up their team with nine solid draft picks.

In short, Philadelphia has the best general manager in the league – maybe even in professional sports – right now.

The only thing holding the team back from lifting a Lombardi Trophy is its head coach.

If Nick Sirianni ever grows up – or gets fired – the Eagles are going to be unstoppable.

And if they decide to play a quarterback at quarterback, instead of a running back, they could be unbeatable.

At least there is some good news. With the retirement of Travis Kelce’s older brother-in-law the “Tush Push” might go away.

Dallas Cowboys

• Predicted finish: 2^nd (unchanged)
• Predicted record: 8-9 (-1)

The only thing Dallas successfully addressed in free agency — and the draft — is its offensive line.

They still have a weak running back corps. That weakness will not go away just because Ezekiel Elliott has returned either.

They have no solid WR2 in place.

So either Brandin Cooks fills the role – and he’s a better WR3 – or its Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, or rookie Ryan Flournoy.

I’m not feeling so good about the offense right now.

And the defense still needs to show it can stop the run. If they can’t, 8-9 might be overly optimistic here.

The Cowboys will not have an easy schedule this year, adding to their woes.

They also have a head coach, defensive coordinator, and a starting quarterback playing on the last year of their respective contracts.

Frankly, from what we’ve seen of this team in the last four years, how confident are you that they won’t crack under the pressure?

Suddenly, 8-9 seems to be less likely by the minute.

New York Giants

• Predicted finish: 3^rd (unchanged)
• Predicted record: 6-11 (unchanged)

The Giants only had six picks and they lost their long-time starting running back in free agency.

They did address some areas of need in the draft. But not by enough to really move the needle on their final record and finish in the division.

New York is probably going to need to change its starting quarterback and head coach after this season before they’ll be contenders again.

Washington Commanders

• Predicted finish: 4^th (unchanged)
• Predicted record: 5-12 (unchanged)

The Commanders are in full rebuild mode. They picked up some extra draft picks and made them count.

Getting a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback was a good move.

But Jayden Daniels will need time to grow – as will many of his teammates – before the Commanders will be in contention for a divisional title again.