About a month ago everyone was crowning the Eagles the champs of the NFC East.
Somehow, Philadelphia had survived a brutal schedule with the division lead in their grasp.
The Cowboys were facing three straight games against playoff teams. The Eagles had the Cardinals and two games against the Giants.
To quote the late Dennis Green: “They were who we thought they were!”
Fraudulent, to quote Cameron Magruder. And if you aren’t following this man on Twitter/X are you even a Cowboys fan?
His weekly NFC East meetings are a hoot. Last week’s was perfect.
I’ve all but shouted from the rooftops these last two seasons that the Eagles were paper tigers.
They got a beat up Giants team, then a 49ers team with a one-armed quarterback just to get to the Super Bowl. Where they fumbled away a Lombardi.
The epic collapse should put an end to any further talk about Philadelphia being an elite franchise.
Dallas Cowboys (12-5, NFC East Champions)
The Cowboys secured their 26th division championship with a solid 38-10 victory over the Commanders.
It’s the fourth title in Dak Prescott’s eight years as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. And it is the second time in the last three years they’ve bested the rest of the division.
It’s also the third -straight year they’ve posted a 12-5 regular season record. The Cowboys are 36-15 the last three years, also tops in the NFC East.
The Eagles are 34-17, both the Giants and Washington are 19-31-1 over the last three years.
The Cowboys’ title also extended the streak of no repeating champion in the division to 19 years. The Eagles won four straight from 2001-04.
Dallas hosts Green Bay on Sunday to open the playoffs.
The Packers hold a 21-17 all-time series lead. The teams are 4-4 in eight playoff meetings
Dallas has lost the last two playoff meetings against Green Bay, who won’t have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback this time.
And yes, Dez caught the ball!
Philadelphia Eagles (11-6, Wild Card, #5 seed)
I’m told it isn’t becoming to gloat over another’s misfortune.
Too bad. Because I’m gloating.
Even when the Cowboys were trailing Washington on Sunday, the Eagles were flat out quitting against the Giants.
A team that quits while they still have a shot at the division title and the No. 2 seed? That’s a team that has quit on the season.
Team turmoil will head south to face Tampa Bay on Monday night. The Bucs are a much better team than the Giants.
Would the Eagles’ front office can Nick Sirianni is they are a one and done in the playoffs? Man, we can only hope.
I’ve never had as much disdain for a head coach since Buddy Ryan – even before he prowled the sidelines in Philadelphia.
I’d tell you what I really think of him, but we do have kids that read these posts. Suffice to say I’ll be quite happy to see Baker Mayfield win a playoff game.
New York Giants (6-11, third place)
The Giants sent the Eagles off the field with a brutal spanking on Sunday.
For New York, they are already working on what changes to make after a disappointing season.
They were expected by many – yours truly included – to push the Cowboys and Eagles for the division title. It didn’t happen.
Wink Martindale resigned as the team’s defensive coordinator shortly after the season wrapped up.
Brian Daboll likely gets one more year to prove he can get the job done. And the Giants have to decide what to do with Saquon Barkley.
Do they franchise him again? Or does he get the Emmitt Smith treatment and gets shown the door?
Are they going to be in the market for a quarterback?
And what changes are coming on the defensive side of the ball with Martindale’s exit?
Big Blue has a lot of work to do this offseason.
Washington Commanders (4-13, fourth place)
There was nothing pretty about the Commanders’ season finale. There was nothing pretty about the entire season for that matter.
Washington ended the year with an eight-game losing streak.
The combined records of the four teams they beat – Arizona, Denver, Atlanta, and New England? A dismal 23-45.
The bigger highlight was that they almost beat the Eagles twice this year.
Ron Rivera’s tenure as head coach ended shortly after the Cowboys dispatched the Commanders on Sunday.
Washington needs a complete overhaul from the head coach on down. They’ll likely even change their name for the third time since 2019.
It couldn’t hurt.
Maybe a change would exorcise whatever demons have hung in the air over the franchise since they abandoned their Redskins moniker.
All-time NFC East Division Titles
(List based on division since the 1970 merger – from champsofchumpc.us)
- Dallas – 22
- Philadelphia – 12
- Washington – 10
- New York – 8
- St. Louis — 2 (never won the NFC East in Arizona)
Cowboys All-Time Record Vs. NFC East Teams
(Since 1960 – including playoff games)
- Washington 78-48-2
- New York 75-47-2
- Philadelphia 74-56-0