The NFL has never seen a division quite like this year’s NFC East. It’s combination of woefulness and openness is completely unprecedented. After eleven weeks, all four teams are within half a game of each other, yet none have more than three wins. Since the NFL went to it’s current alignment in 2002, the 2010 Seattle Seahawks are the worst division winner, taking the NFC West at 7-9. With just six weeks remaining, the 2020 NFC East is on track to be won with a six-win record, or worse.
Latest Giants News
To get a sense of just how this all-time bad divison will shake out, let’s go through and predict the remaining schedules of the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Washington Football Team. By the end of the process, we’ll have a projected NFC East-winning record, and the team that will own it.
Week 12
Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys
This Thanksgiving-day clash will be hugely important in the divisonal race. If Washington wins, they’ll have swept the Cowboys for the season. That means, effectively, they’ll have a two-game lead on Dallas as they’ll be a game ahead with the tiebreaker. Those stakes make it almost a must-win for the Cowboys.
Prediction: Cowboys 24 – Washington 20
Dallas will be coming off their most impressive performance since Dak Prescott‘s injury. Quarterback Andy Dalton looked pretty good in his return against the Minnesota Vikings, as the Cowboys put up a solid 31 points. Dallas is still a more talented team than Washington, and they’ll show it on Thanksgiving.
New York Giants at Cincinnati Bengals
The Giants should be clear favorites in Cincinnati after the Bengals’ star rookie quarterback Joe Burrow‘s season-ending knee injury this week. New York could take sole possession of first place with a win, depending on the outcomes of the other NFC East games.
Prediction: Giants 28 – Bengals 17
The Bengals are about as easy a matchup as you can get now that Burrow is out. New York should take this one comfortably.
Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles
With Washington and Dallas playing each other on Thanksgiving, the Eagles are guaranteed to drop out of first place with a loss to Seattle on Monday Night Football.
Prediction: Seahawks 34 – Eagles 24
Philadelphia is simply outclassed against MVP-candidate Russell Wilson and Seattle.
Week 13
Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have looked a lot more beatable this season than they did last year. They’re still comfortably in the top third of the league, so this Thursday night game will be tough for Dallas.
Prediction: Ravens 26 – Cowboys 19
Dallas won’t be able to slow down the multifaceted rushing attack of Baltimore. The Ravens’ deep secondary is a bad matchup for the Cowboys’ talented receiving corp.
Washington Football Team at Pittsburgh Steelers
The undefeated Steelers at home are tough matchup for anyone, let alone a bad Washington team.
Prediction: Steelers 27 – Washington 16
This game is an easy call. Pittsburgh is just better than Washington in every aspect of the game.
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks
Playing in Seattle isn’t the daunting task it’s been in previous years thanks to limited attendance, but the Seahawks are a tough matchup anywhere.
Prediction: Seahawks 27 – Giants 24
The Giants will maintain their trend of playing close games against superior competition, but coming up just short in the end.
Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers
The Eagles continue their stretch of five straight games against teams with winning records.
Prediction: Packers 28 – Eagles 14
Having to play Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field in December is as close to a football nightmare as you can imagine. Philadelphia will extend their losing streak to four games.
Week 14
Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants
This matchup between 2019 first-round quarterbacks (Kyler Murray vs. Daniel Jones) will be enormous for Big Blue’s playoff chances.
Prediction: Cardinals 24 – Giants 23
Murray’s MVP pursuit may hit a small speed bump against this disciplined Giants defense. New York has trouble closing out games, though, so the Cardinals will steal away a win with a late score.
Dallas Cowboys at Cincinnati Bengals
Dalton facing off against his former team will be the storyline in this one, now that Burrow’s offensive rookie of the year campaign has been cut short.
Prediction: Cowboys 35 – Bengals 17
It’s hard to imagine Cincinnati winning another game now that their franchise quarterback is out for the season.
Washington Football Team at San Francisco 49ers
Injuries have made this a season from hell for the defending NFC champion 49ers, but they should have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back for this one in mid-December.
Prediction: 49ers 27 – Washington 20
San Francisco is still a very good team when Garoppolo is healthy. They’ll win this one with relative ease.
New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles
Drew Brees will still be out for this game, which means the multi-positional Taysom Hill will likely start for New Orleans at quarterback.
Prediction: Saints 26 – Eagles 16
The Eagles’ free fall continues. Brees’ absense will limit New Orleans’ offensive output, but the Saints’ excellent defense will be enough to take this game on their own.
Week 15
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team
The Seahawks play their third NFC East opponent in four weeks. A welcomed stetch at the end of their season as they make a run for top seed in the NFC.
Prediction: Seahawks 31 – Washington 21
Wilson and the Seattle offense will be too much for Washington to contend with. The lone first-round bye per conference this means there’s no way the Seahawks can afford to coast towards the end of the season.
Cleveland Browns at New York Giants
Odell Beckham Jr.‘s season-ending knee injury means this won’t be the highly anticipated first game against his former team. This matchup should still have plenty of playoff implications for both teams.
Prediction: Giants 20 – Browns 16
New York has the run defense to at least slow down the Browns’ vaunted double-barrelled rushing attack. Without Beckham Jr., Cleveland is lacking an explosive passing offense. The Giants should take a low-scoring affair at home.
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals
The last of Philadelphia’s grueling five games in a row against winning teams. Another game that will likely have big stakes for both teams.
Prediction: Cardinals 28 – Eagles 21
With the way the Eagles’ offense has looked lately, it’s hard to pick them against any team that has the scoring ability of Arizona.
San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
Yet another late-season game that could have playoff significance for both teams. The 49ers should still be in wild card contention at this point.
Prediction: 49ers 26 – Cowboys 24
Despite their injuries, San Francisco is too talented and too well-coached to fold on the season. This game has a strong chance to be a must-win for them to stay alive for the playoffs.
Week 16
New York Giants at Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ underwhelming year will mean they’ll be fighting for a playoff spot through the end of the season. Of course, the Giants will still be battling for the NFC East crown.
Prediction: Ravens 19 – Giants 17
Baltimore isn’t the big bully on the block they were last year, but they’re still a quality team with a solid defense. New York won’t back down, but the Ravens will be victorious at home.
Carolina Panthers at Washington Football Team
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater should be back from injury by the time this game comes around. The Panthers have been much more competitive than most predicted this season.
Prediction: Washington 17 – Panthers 16
Not much seperates these teams, so the edge goes to the one playing at home with playoff hopes still alive.
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
This could very well be an elimination game for one of these teams. A divisional matchup this late in the year is usually a two-game swing, as important tiebreakers will be on the line.
Prediction: Cowboys 27 – Eagles 20
Dallas hung with the Eagles on the road in Week 8, and that was with Ben DiNucci as their starting quarterback. Playing at home with Dalton under center should give them the advantage.
Week 17
Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles will be looking to avoid getting swept by Washington for the first time since 2016. Washington will be looking for an important divisional win and the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
Prediction: Eagles 23 – Washington 20
This game could go either way, but we’ll spare Philadelphia the indignity of losing their season finale at home to lowly Washington.
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
This is the game that will most probably decide the division. The winner will move ahead of the loser as long as heading in these teams are no more than a game apart.
Prediction: Giants 28 – Cowboys 26
New York nearly won at Dallas back in Week 5, and that was when the Cowboys were a much better and healthier version of themselves. The Giants should prevail at home in the early-January wintry weather.
NFC East Champion Prediction: New York Giants (6-10)
According to this forecast, Big Blue would wind up tied with Dallas atop the divison at 6-10, but would earn first place thanks to a superior divisional record. If these predictions hold true, the 2020 Giants would earn the distinction of being the playoff team with the lowest ever regular-season win total.
– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.
