Dallas Cowboys

Who's going to win the wild, wacky NFC East?

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:58 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles sprinted out of the gate in 2016. Then the Giants were slowed by three weeks of poor play and the Eagles by the NFL's scheduling. Meanwhile, Dallas is on a four-game win streak while Washington is on a three-game kick of its own. The ups, downs and oddly timed bye weeks all lead up to the following question: What's going to happen in the NFC East?

1st: Dallas Cowboys (4-1 overall, 1-1 in NFC East)

Lost: New York Giants (-1); Won: Washington (+4), Chicago (+14), San Francisco (+7), Cincinnati (+14)

Upcoming schedule: @GB, BYE, PHI, @CLE, @PIT, BAL, WAS

Projected record entering December: 7-4

Division odds: +140

Pros: Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott get all the love and much of it's deserved, but Pac-Man Jones made the type of salient, rational point for which he is known after the 'Boys rolled over the Bengals. Said Mr. Jones: "I tip my hats off to that. Now I see why [Jerry Jones] has got $100 million to his line. Those guys block their asses off and like I said last week, some of the holes my daughter could have ran through today." Then he added, "I want to be Bob Dylan." No disrespect to Prescott and Elliott but they are throwing and running behind the best offensive line in football and, barring serious injury, that's a constant in a season full of variables. The reason Dallas has the best chance to win the division isn't because Prescott hasn't thrown a pick or Elliott is rumbling through NFL defenses like he's playing Rutgers or because they still have Dez Bryant to take out of mothballs. It's because they have the best offensive line in football.

Cons: Tony Romo's return is going to be the topic that launched a thousand hot takes even though this is a simple decision and has never been presented as anything but. Tony Romo is going to be the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys when he returns. When have you known Jerry Jones to go back on his word? If Dak Prescott - who is the Cowboys quarterback of the future - was doing things all on his own, like improvising for big gains, faking out defenses at the line and creating scoring opportunities then maybe there'd be a decision. What Prescott has been - and, again, no disrespect at all because plenty of NFL quarterbacks can't swing this - is efficient. He has a lot of time to throw, he does it well and his jersey is clean at the end of games. Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks doing the exact same thing. If you think Prescott is a better quarterback than Tony Romo right now then so be it. You're wrong, but so be it. Romo will return and will have a mid-length leash because the thinking here is simple: If Prescott can do this, just imagine what a good quarterback who's been in this system for a half-decade can do with it?

2nd: Philadelphia (3-1 overall, 0-0 in NFC East)

Won: Cleveland (+19), Chicago (+15), Pittsburgh (+31), Lost: Detroit (-1)

Upcoming schedule: @WAS, MIN, @DAL, @NYG, ATL, @SEA, GB

Projected record entering December: 5-7

NFC East title odds: +220

Cons: After feasting on the easy part of its schedule, mixed with that bizarre Pittsburgh game that was a lot like the Bills' 16-0 win over the Patriots in that they caught a team one week from becoming whole again (after Le'Veon Bell's suspension was lifted for Week 4), Philadelphia's next seven games are brutal. Three are division games. The other four games are against teams with a combined 15-3 record. In short, the Eagles are about to become Wile E. Coyote and reality is the Acme safe being dropped from the top of a building. A best-case scenario is Philly going 4-3, but a more realistic best-case is 3-4, to put them at a respectable 6-5 going into the final month of the season. But we're calling 2-5, which is still more than good enough to compete in the sprint to the finish in the NFC East. Of course, at that time, Philly's ridiculous Week 4 bye is going to look like an awfully long time ago.

Pros: Hey, 3-1 is 3-1 although, as the Rams showed on Sunday, it doesn't mean much once you get a hungry team on the other side of the field.

3rd: Washington (3-2 record, 1-1 in NFC East)

Lost: Pittsburgh (-22), Dallas (-4); Won: Cleveland (+2), New York Giants (+11), Baltimore (+6)

Upcoming schedule: PHI @DET, @CIN, BYE, MIN, GB, @DAL

Projected record entering December: 6-5

NFC East title odds: +375

Pros: The defense didn't play like it was allergic to tackling on Sunday, Josh Norman is (as Scott Allen put it) the "anti-Haynesworth," Kirk Cousins has a new motto, albeit one that's a little bit nuanced and a lot more boring ("finding a way"), and the wide receiving corps is far deeper than anyone thought it would be with DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jamison Crowder and Jordan Reed. (First-round draft pick Josh Doctson has been MIA, which is especially galling when you look at how much help Washington's defensive line has needed this year.) I say you give the 'Skins a split of the division games and a 2-2 record against Detroit, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Green Bay, namely because Minnesota has about as much chance of going undefeated as Tiger Woods does of winning the Masters while Detroit and Cincinnati are two teams that can be evaluated solely by the shrug emoji.

Cons: The team has had trouble tackling, Sunday notwithstanding. They're a few plays from being 1-4 though if you want to play the hypothetical game, they're also a play away from being 4-1. That's the way the NFL works. The playoffs don't identify the best 12 teams, they identify the four or five best and then the handful of teams that were lucky enough to sneak in behind them. No NFC East team is going to be in the first category this year. All might be among the teams trying to be in the latter.

4th: New York Giants (2-3 record, 1-1 in NFC East)

Won: Dallas (+1), New Orleans (+3); Lost: Washington (-2), Minnesota (-14), Green Bay (-7)

Upcoming schedule: BAL, @LA, BYE, PHI, CIN, CHI, @CLE

Projected record entering December: 6-5

NFC East title odds: +500

Pros: First, it's pretty amazing how every team in the NFC East has been on a winning streak or losing streak the whole season. The Giants started with two wins then had three losses, the Redskins went two losses and three wins, the Cowboys had one loss and four wins and the Eagles did three wins and a loss. Cosmic, I tell ya. Anyway, the Giants are fine. No, their wins are hardly cause for inspiration. But that Redskins came was a classic NFC East toss-up and then the NFC North powers came up predictably. All you want is to beat the Bears and Lions and go 2-2 against the division so, uh, I guess the Giants are halfway there. All that silly talk about Odell Beckham last week will be quieted down - thank goodness - and the Giants, who went from 2-0 to 2-3 with the quickness, will level out and be in this race in December, just like every other team.

Cons: The running game is expected to make a return, which should help balance out the offense and get the ball into the hands of Manning's receivers. On the other hand, what if it doesn't?

FINAL PREDICTIONS

1. Dallas Cowboys (10-6)

2. Washington Redskins (9-7)*

3. New York Giants (9-7)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (7-9)