As the 2024 season prepared to get underway, most pundits had the Philadelphia Eagles winning the NFC East.
Including one or two charged with covering the Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles were missing their starting quarterback. They would be forced to bring in their third-string quarterback for an injured Kenny Pickett before the game was over.
And in the end, the Eagles still managed to clinch the NFC East title with a complete beatdown over the Cowboys.
For Dallas, it means they’ll need to beat the Washington Commanders to match the predicted 8-9 finish.
The Cowboys were also playing their second-string quarterback. They didn’t appear to be able to rise to the occasion like the Eagles did.
About the only fight Dallas displayed was during an actual fight on a special teams play late in the game.
As for Washington, the Commanders looked shaky in the first half before rallying back for a late lead against Atlanta on Sunday night.
They promptly let the Falcons tie the game before winning it in overtime. The victory sent both Washington and the Rams to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Giants managed to screw up tanking for the number one pick in April. Unless, of course, they didn’t like what they saw in the Alamo Bowl either.
In that case, they might be happy to let one or two other teams take the wrong players next spring.
Here’s how the NFC East shook out in the next to last week of the season:
Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
There was very little to find from Sunday’s performance aside from Rico Dowdle managing to run for over 100 yards.
That pushed Dowdle over the 1,000-yard mark at 1,007 yards on 213 carries. The Cowboys found their running back of the future, right?
Wrong.
Dowdle is an unrestricted free agent once this season ends.
Even if the Cowboys slapped a franchise tag on him, that’s probably more money than they have to spend. He’s definitely not coming back for the same $1.25 million he was paid this year.
If only Dallas hadn’t spent $89 million in 2025, $67 million in 2026, and $61 million in 2027 on Dak Prescott.
Oh, and the Cowboys’ schedule in 2025? It may end up being tougher than this year’s was.
Next game: hosting Washington, Sunday, Noon.
New York Giants (3-13)
The Giants were tanking right along toward the number one pick in the 2025 Draft.
But these are the New York Football Giants. They even screw up screwing up.
New York knocked off the Colts, 45-33, and knocked the Colts out of playoff contention on Sunday.
While the Cowboys were more interested in actually fighting the Eagles, allowing Philadelphia to wrap up the division title, the Giants actually showed up to play spoiler.
The win may have knocked the Giants out of that top pick in April.
They are now tied with New England, Cleveland, and Tennessee at 3-13 for the worst record in the NFL.
We’ll find out on Sunday which of the four wins the Loser Bowl.
Next game: at Philadelphia, Sunday, Noon.
Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
Philadelphia was without its starting quarterback. Not that you could tell by Sunday’s walloping of the Cowboys.
The reason why they can roll right along is they have a running back that can lean on.
Saquon Barkley cracked the 2,000-yard mark for the season.
He’s now 101 yards shy of setting the new single-season mark in the NFL. It’s a record that Eric Dickerson has held since 1984.
The Eagles can’t secure the top seed, that will go to either the Minnesota Vikings or the Detroit Lions.
You can probably expect Jalen Hurts to stay benched to avoid aggravating his concussion issue.
And expect the Eagles to pound the Giants with Barkley until he breaks Dickerson’s record.
Next game: hosting the New York Giants, Sunday, Noon.
Washington Commanders (11-5)
Just call them the Cardiac Commanders.
Washington, for what seems like the 100th time this year, rallied for a overtime win over the Falcons on Sunday night.
They did it on the arm and legs of its rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels. Daniels ran Washington to the two, then hit Zach Ertz in the endzone for a 30-24 win.
The Commanders could move up to the sixth seed with a win, but need the Bears to upset Green Bay on Sunday.
That’s not a likely scenario. So it remains to be seen if Daniels will see Dallas.
Given how the respective seasons played out, maybe the Cowboys let the wrong coach leave town again back in January.
Next game: at Dallas, Sunday, Noon.