It’s been a long time since the NFC East was considered one of the NFL’s power divisions, and analysts don’t seem to see that change anytime soon.
CBS Sports ranked all eight divisions and placed NFC East in last place. Any division that produces two teams with the top four teams will have a hard time getting praise. The now AFC East, without Tom Brady, narrowly outnumbered its NFC counterpart for the number 7 spot.
Of course, the New York Giants’ 4-12 record last year did not help the division’s case gain a higher ranking.
NFC East’s ranking as the worst division in the NFL is a far cry from the early mid-2000s, when the division often produced multiple teams in one season with double-digit wins.
Here’s what John Breech of CBS Sports wrote about NFC East:
If you need a quick look at how bad the division was last year, just consider this: Each team had a non-divisional losing record, no team achieved double-digit wins, and three of the division’s four coaches were fired. In addition, Washington, a team that went 3-13, somehow tied for the second best record in non-divisional games, going 3-7 (The Cowboys were also 3-7 while the Eagles led the division. with a record of 4-6)
As the article points out, the four teams in the NFC East combined for an out-of-division record of 12-28. For the sake of comparison, the AFC West No. 1 teams compiled a record of 26-13-1 out of division.
Breech also notes that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic particularly impact teams in the NFC East, considering that three of the four teams have new coaches and systems that need to be implemented.
Based on last year’s performance, the ranking has merit and is not too surprising. The late-season drama between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys was less a sprint for a division title and more a quick walk. No team in the division outside of Philadelphia won four games in a row.
The development and gameplay of Daniel Jones of New York and Dwayne Haskins of Washington will likely go a long way toward moving the NFC East higher in next year’s rankings.
