The NFC East has been an unmitigated disaster this year, which isn’t news to anyone following the NFL. It’s impossible for any of the teams to finish the season with a winning record. Washington and Dallas can both finish the season with a 7-9 record at best. The Eagles and Giants both already have 10 losses on the year.
Despite all four of these teams putting together subpar performances all year, only the Eagles and their 4-10-1 record have been eliminated from playoff contention. That’s right, the Giants can still win the division in an extremely feasible scenario, giving this dreadful year the NFC East champion it deserves: a 10-loss New York Giants team.
Only two things need to happen for this to become a reality. First, the Giants need to beat the Cowboys at home to close their regular season. That won’t be an easy task for the Giants, mainly because nothing has been easy for this Giants squad.
The Giants have had one of the worst offenses in the league this entire season, ranking 30th in expected points added per play (-0.058) according to Ben Baldwin of The Athletic. They might be able to take advantage of the Cowboys defense, but Dallas has gotten its act together on that side of the ball recently. Over the past three games, all wins for the Cowboys, their defense ranks eighth in EPA per play (-0.062). In that same three-week timespan, the Giants’ offense is 30th in EPA per play (-0.152).
Making matters a bit more difficult for the Giants is the surprising recent performance of Andy Dalton. Dalton is averaging 8.97 yards per attempt over the Cowboys’ last three games and is ranked 10th in EPA per play (0.285) among all quarterback.
The recent performances of Dalton and the Cowboys defense will make winning difficult for the Giants, but winning is still an attainable outcome for the Giants.
The other thing that needs to happen is the Eagles beating the Washington Football Team. If the Eagles were still starting Carson Wentz, they wouldn’t have a great shot at beating Washington, but Jalen Hurts gives them a chance to end the season with a win. Hurts still isn’t a polished passer yet, but he has shown the ability to create big plays through the air and on the ground.
That’s the type of variance that can knock the Washington Football Team from the ranks of the division winners. Washington’s recent quarterback struggles may make that bit of an easier task. Alex Smith is dealing with a calf injury, Dwayne Haskins appears to be on his way out the door, and Taylor Heinecke didn’t join the team until December 8. As good as Washington’s defensive line is, the quarterback situation is bad enough to cough up the division lead.
That’s the formula for the football-viewing world to get a storybook ending to the horrible 2020 NFC East. This particular divisional race wouldn’t feel complete without crowning a 10-loss champion and Week 17 is at least making that a possibility.