6:45 AM ET
NFL Nation reporters
The NFC East is the champion part successful football. Take each the clip you request to digest that sentence.
It has been thin times for the storied part of late, having produced conscionable 1 squad with a double-digit triumph file -- the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys successful 2021 -- implicit the past 3 seasons. Yikes.
But this play is different. The Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) person already cleared that hurdle and ain the champion grounds successful football. The Cowboys (8-3) aren't acold behind, portion the New York Giants (7-4) and Washington Commanders (7-5) are enjoying astonishing success.
All 4 teams would suffice for the postseason based connected the current standings. That has ne'er happened successful immoderate division, dating backmost to the NFL-AFL merger successful 1970, according to ESPN Stats & Information. And nary part successful past has produced a play successful which each squad finished with a winning record, which happens to beryllium the existent concern successful the NFC East.
Since the docket is backloaded with part games, this promises to beryllium a memorable adjacent to the season. ESPN NFL Nation reporters Tim McManus, Todd Archer, Jordan Raanan and John Keim instrumentality a look astatine the strengths and weaknesses of each squad and tackle the cardinal questions they'll look arsenic they deed the location stretch.
Philadelphia Eagles
Why the Eagles tin beryllium the apical effect successful the NFC
The Eagles person the champion grounds successful shot astatine 10-1. They ain a one-game pb positive the head-to-head tiebreaker implicit the next-closest NFC opponent, the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings. And their closing docket is the 3rd easiest successful the NFL, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is simply a bona fide MVP campaigner moving down a ascendant violative front. He leads a versatile discourtesy that tin set to immoderate benignant of combat and is backed by a defence that is tops successful the league successful takeaways (23). They're arsenic well-positioned and well-equipped arsenic immoderate squad successful the league to unafraid home-field advantage.
Why the Eagles are vulnerable
Their tally defence has been shaky astatine times, peculiarly since rookie antiaircraft tackle Jordan Davis went down with a precocious ankle sprain successful Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the 4 games since, they've allowed 525 rushing yards (131.5 per game), which ranks 23rd implicit that span. The Eagles' peculiar teams unit, meanwhile, is 23rd successful ratio per ESPN's metrics, lasting successful stark opposition to their violative (second) and antiaircraft (second) ranks. There has been astatine slightest 1 peculiar teams miscue successful astir each crippled they've played. It feels similar conscionable a substance of clip earlier it bites them.
The Eagles person sustained a batch of injuries recently. Who tin we expect backmost for the playoffs?
Davis is eligible to instrumentality from injured reserve this week against the Tennessee Titans. Tight extremity Dallas Goedert (shoulder) is expected to instrumentality astatine immoderate constituent during the regular season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That's a large one: He was playing similar a top-three choky extremity earlier injuring a enarthrosis successful their Week 10 nonaccomplishment to the Commanders. Hurts' rushing attempts (33 successful the past 2 weeks) person jumped up successful Goedert's absence, arsenic the discourtesy adapts to beingness without him. Goedert is eligible to travel disconnected IR aft Week 14.
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson sustained a lacerated kidney, according to a source, connected Sunday nighttime against the Packers. There is nary timetable yet for his return. The nonaccomplishment of Gardner-Johnson, the league person successful interceptions (6), would beryllium important for this defence if it's for an extended time. Fortunately, slot country Avonte Maddox (hamstring) is eligible to travel disconnected IR adjacent week. -- Tim McManus
Dallas Cowboys
Why the Cowboys tin beryllium the apical effect successful the NFC
They volition request immoderate assistance from the Eagles and Vikings, who beryllium atop the NFC standings, but the Cowboys request to proceed the way they're on. The offense, contempt punishment issues, is playing its champion shot of the season, and the defence has been ascendant for a bully information of the season. With their carnal style, the Cowboys could beryllium a pugnacious retired successful the playoffs adjacent if they aren't the apical seed.
Why the Cowboys are vulnerable
Is it excessively casual to accidental injuries? No? OK, injuries -- particularly different 1 to backmost Dak Prescott, who missed 5 games earlier this play with a thumb injury. But penalties and tally defence are the 2 worries. They can't expect to triumph successful the playoffs erstwhile they perpetrate 13 penalties similar they did successful their 28-20 triumph implicit the Giants connected Thanksgiving. They can't expect to triumph erstwhile they let 200-plus rushing yards either, similar the did precocious versus the Packers and Bears. They person been amended versus the tally the past 2 games, but the Eagles, Vikings and San Francisco 49ers would supply challenges.
Is this squad built to scope the NFC Championship Game for the archetypal clip since their past Super Bowl win, pursuing the 1995 season?
Yes, but truthful were the 2007 Cowboys that had homefield vantage successful the NFC, the 2014 Cowboys that mislaid connected a arguable overturn of a Dez Bryant drawback and the 2016 Cowboys that had homefield vantage successful the playoffs.
The 2022 Cowboys person shown a resoluteness that started with past season's playoff nonaccomplishment to San Francisco. They won without Prescott this season, going 4-1 with backup Cooper Rush arsenic the starter. They won with cardinal starters missing aggregate games. They person a defence that tin springiness immoderate discourtesy trouble, led by Micah Parsons. They person a manager successful Mike McCarthy who has had playoff success.
The borderline for error, however, is thin. They request to beryllium astatine their champion to bushed the champion successful the NFC. They are not arsenic talented arsenic the Cowboys of the 1990s -- fewer teams person been that talented -- but the absorption isn't arsenic bully arsenic the absorption was past either. The Cowboys bash not person to fearfulness immoderate opponent, but nary hostile volition fearfulness them, either. -- Todd Archer
New York Giants
Why the Giants tin marque the playoffs
Let's commencement with the information that they are presently the sixth effect successful the NFC, up of Washington (7-5) and the Seattle Seahawks (6-5). So they person a caput start. It's besides wholly imaginable the Giants get arsenic galore arsenic six starters backmost from wounded for this week's crippled against the Commanders. Regardless, reinforcements are connected the mode to supplement a flawed roster.
Why the Giants are vulnerable
They person mislaid 3 of 4 and the defence has shown cracks against amended competition. That's particularly notable down the stretch, erstwhile 5 of the Giants' six games are against teams presently with winning records. They person 2 games against Washington, 2 against the Eagles and 1 against Minnesota. It's not going to beryllium easy.
Can the Giants trust connected moving backmost Saquon Barkley to transportation them down the stretch?
Barkley has been handling a dense workload this season. He has played 82.1% of the team's violative snaps (no different moving backmost is adjacent adjacent to 80%) and the numbers amusement he's slowing down. Barkley's rushing yards implicit anticipation per transportation was astatine +1.7 implicit the archetypal 7 weeks, per NFL Next Gen Stats. It's been astatine -0.7 implicit the past 4 games. Surely immoderate of Barkley's struggles person to bash with the changeless shuffling successful caller weeks connected the violative line.
Coach Brian Daboll insists Barkley hasn't slowed down and it's a squad occupation not a Saquon problem. "No, Saquon's retired determination moving hard, trying to bash everything helium tin do," Daboll said. "We've got to bash a amended occupation collectively."
The Giants were without three-fifths of their starters connected the enactment for the Thanksgiving Day nonaccomplishment to the Cowboys. All 3 (right tackle Evan Neal, halfway Jon Feliciano and near defender Ben Bredeson) could beryllium backmost this week versus the Commanders. That should assistance Barkley and the Giants moving forward. -- Jordan Raanan
Washington Commanders
Why the Commanders tin marque the playoffs
Because of their tally crippled and defense. In the past 7 weeks, the defence ranks 3rd successful points and yards allowed, and the squad ranks archetypal successful turnover margin. Their antiaircraft enactment has been terrific, particularly tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, and the secondary is overmuch improved. Their tally game, too, is simply a immense reason, arsenic rookie Brian Robinson Jr. continues to improve. In this 6-1 stretch, Washington's tally crippled ranks 2nd successful unreserved attempts and 4th successful yards. The Commanders person recovered their identity.
Why the Commanders are vulnerable
While Taylor Heinicke has been a terrific story, it has to beryllium backmost play. He's made immoderate large plays and timely throws, but helium besides flirts with information each crippled and astatine immoderate constituent it could outgo them, considering they're ever successful adjacent games. But it's not conscionable him; Carson Wentz was inconsistent -- playing successful a caller offense, without the payment of a beardown tally crippled -- earlier breaking his close ringing finger. One of those 2 volition person to supply much consistency successful the walk game.
What would antiaircraft extremity Chase Young's instrumentality mean for Washington's playoff hopes and a tally successful the postseason?
First, let's absorption connected the information that the enactment has played good without the No. 2 wide prime from the 2020 draft, who is recovering from a torn close ACL sustained Nov. 14, 2021. Allen and Payne are the champion interior duo successful the NFL; they some person 6.5 sacks and person combined for 27 tackles for a loss. Meanwhile, extremity Montez Sweat has 7 sacks, including 4 successful the past 3 games. He's playing well. But they've besides shown terrific depth, some astatine extremity and inside. And, for the astir part, they've played good arsenic a radical -- thing they did not bash past season.
So they tin marque the postseason adjacent if Young doesn't return. But erstwhile helium does, Young tin adhd much sizzle successful pass-rush situations. He's much unsafe than his replacement James Smith-Williams, much of a run-stopper. So teams volition person to relationship for him adjacent if helium plays lone 12-15 snaps a crippled for the clip being.
Of course, we don't cognize however effectual he'll be, but his beingness volition adhd vigor to the defense. That matters. And it simply gives them much extent and the quality to support players fresher. And his athleticism volition assistance erstwhile facing mobile quarterbacks specified arsenic New York's Daniel Jones and Cleveland's Deshaun Watson among others down the stretch. But fixed however overmuch clip Young has missed, the last 5 weeks could permission him successful a amended spot to marque large plays successful the postseason. That could beryllium wherever helium makes his biggest impact. -- John Keim
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