- Even The Odds
- Posts
- The NFC East is always unpredictable...who wins this year?
The NFC East is always unpredictable...who wins this year?
The NFC East was the weakest division in the 2020 season, but it also provided some much-needed excitement 🤯👇 (5 minute read). Written by Jeanie Verderese
2020 Recap
Up until the final two weeks of last season, all four NFC East teams were in contention, and NONE of them reached eight wins
Final 2020 Standings:
Washington Football Team: 7-9
New York Giants: 6-10
Dallas Cowboys: 6-10
Philadelphia Eagles: 4-11-1
The NFC East has not had a repeat winner since the Eagles won four straight Division titles from 2001-04. Actually, three different teams have won the division in the last three years. Heading into the 2021 season, Vegas believes the door is wide open for all four teams
NFC East Odds:
Dallas Cowboys: +165 (bet $100, win $165)
Washington Football Team: +180
New York Giants: +325
Philadelphia Eagles: +625
Let’s take a quick look at each team 👇
Dallas Cowboys (+165)
The Cowboys are the favorites in the NFC East, but there are still some unanswered questions surrounding this team
Dak Prescott’s Health: Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury that ended his 2020 season. He’s been making strides to be ready for Week 1’s matchup vs the Bucs on September 9th. However, he had another setback in training camp, as he suffered a shoulder strain in July. With Ben DiNucci, Garrett Gilbert and Cooper Rush as the backup QBs on the roster, Prescott’s health is extremely vital moving forward
Weak Defense: Last season, the Cowboys allowed the most points (473) and second-most rushing yards (2,541) in franchise history. Big offseason changes were made, starting with the hiring of former Falcons HC Dan Quinn as their new defensive coordinator. The Cowboys also added five free agents and six draft picks on defense, including their 2021 first-round pick LB Micah Parsons. The Cowboys’ defense may not have trouble in their division, but it could keep them out of Super Bowl contention
Washington Football Team (+180)
Coming off a Division title in Ron Rivera’s first season as Washington's head coach, they've upgraded on both sides of the ball. Don’t sleep on this team…
Addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick, who signed a one-year contract worth $10M, will be tasked with improving Washington’s passing game. He definitely has some weapons, including third-year wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Washington also added more speed at receiver with former Panther Curtis Samuel and 2021 third-round draft pick Dyami Brown
Solid Defense: Once again, the strength of this Washington team will be their defense. They are led by last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, Chase Young, and added LB Jamin Davis and CB William Jackson to solidify the group playing behind one of the strongest defensive lines in the NFL
New York Giants (+325)
The Giants’ 2021-22 season looks promising, as long as they can stay healthy and get production out of their new offseason additions
Health Status: Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in Week 2 last season, which was a crushing blow to the Giants’ offense. Their starting QB, Daniel Jones, also watched from the sidelines on multiple occasions, as he dealt with an ankle and hamstring injury. The Giants definitely over-performed last season, finishing 4-3 in their last seven games, but they won’t be able to contend for a Division title without staying healthy
New Offensive Personnel: NY almost won the NFC East last season with the league’s 31st-ranked scoring offense. This offseason, they signed WR Kenny Golladay to a four-year, $72M deal. In addition, they added free-agent TE Kyle Rudolph and drafted WR Kadarius Toney with their 2021 first-round pick. Daniel Jones will be surrounded by playmakers and is bound to make the Giants better
Philedelphia Eagles (+625)
The Eagles were a train wreck in 2020. However, they’ve been the best bet for many years, winning the division title nine times since 2000. Now that they’ve ironed out their personnel, they have a chance to upset this unpredictable NFC East
Quarterback Situation: Carson Wentz was one of the worst QBs statistically last season. He threw 15 interceptions (T-most in the NFL) and had a 57.4 CMP% (34th out of 35 QBs). Now that the Eagles have parted ways with Wentz, it’s time for the Jalen Hurts show to begin. Last season, we saw glimpses of what he can do as a dual-threat QB, and now he’ll do it as a full-time starter
Changes at Head Coach: Doug Pederson was fired in January, ending an alliance that brought the city of Philadelphia their first and only Super Bowl title. With the Pederson-era behind them, they decided to start fresh with former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. He’ll be able to bring new ideas using unique offensive pieces, including first-round draft pick DeVonta Smith
The Parlay
If you bet $100 on the NFC East to finish in this order, you’d be looking at +22,700 odds (bet $100, win $22,700):
First place: Cowboys
Second place: Washington
Third place: Giants
Fourth place: Eagles
That’s not a bad payout, but can you really trust the NFC East with your money?
Who do you think is going to win the NFC East this season? Let us know in the comments 👇