Can the New York Giants execute the “worst to first” leap and come from nowhere to win the NFC East?
It’s… Unlikely. Not impossible, but very unlikely.
FanDuel gives the Giants have the second-worst odds to win their division of any team in the NFL. Their line of +2,000 only leads the Cleveland Browns (+3,500) for longest odds to win a division title.
The Washington Commanders almost accomplished the feat, leaping from a 4-13 record and 4th place in the division to 12-5 and second place. A shocking
turnaround is absolutely possible, but it would likely mean that not only are the Giants far better than many expect, but that the other three teams are worse than expected.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Giants have long odds to win the division. After all, they finished with a 3-14 record while their division is home to both teams to play in the NFC Championship game, as well as the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Of course, it’s certainly possible that the Giants are better than expected. They’re coming off of a dominant preseason performance that saw them score 100 points on offense (they scored 273 all last year), and were the eighth team to have a +60 point differential in the preseason since 2009.
We shouldn’t put too much weight on preseason results, but the process to get those results was encouraging. The Giants’ offense was much better than expected all the way down the depth chart, while the defense was about as disruptive as we were expecting — which is very.
But what about the rest of the division? Where do they stand after the preseason?
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are, unsurprisingly, the favorites to win the division. FanDuel has their money line at -135 to win the division, and they’ll be good barring some unforeseen circumstances.
The bigger question is whether they’ll suffer a Super Bowl hangover after losing multiple players from their defense, as well as offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Their preseason did show some slight depth concerns on the offensive side, leading to them trading for WR John Metchie III. The Eagles’ defense will likely still be excellent, but an NFL season is a game of attrition, and depth concerns can loom large in December.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders are, also unsurprisingly, the second-favorite to win the division at +230.
Their team will look a bit different as they moved on from RB Brian Robinson Jr., but also (finally) got a deal done with Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin after trading for Deebo Samuel earlier in the off-season.
Washington is coming off a poor end to their preseason, suffering a 30-3 drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens. Interestingly, head coach Dan Quinn elected to not play his starters for much of the preseason, with just a brief appearance during the second preseason game. The Jayden Daniels led offense sprinted down the field in four plays to score — though it should be noted that they were playing a very bad Bengals defense. There are concerns about Washington’s defense as well, as they were gashed by the Patriots, Bengals, and Ravens.
If preseason is any indication, the Commanders will need Jayden Daniels to keep his Superman cape handy.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys come in third and are +500 to win the division, per FanDuel.
Of course, that could change if Micah Parsons holds out for the season. The strained, and perhaps fractured, relationship between the Cowboys and one of the very best defenders in the NFL has hung over their preseason like a pall.
They did, however, get some good news in the form of CB Trevon Diggs and OL Tyler Guyton returning to practice with an eye on starting Week 1. Dallas also acquired WR George Pickens to pair with CeeDee Lamb in the hopes of matching the Eagle’s 1-2 punch of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. As we’ve come to expect from Dallas, their starters should be good, but depth may be an issue.
The bigger question will be how the team as a whole performs under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Taking a step back, it’s interesting that the NFC Beast could well be back, but we have real questions as to how each of the four teams will perform. They could all be good, yet none finish how we’re predicting now.
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