The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles will duke it out for divisional supremacy, and either could end up as winners of NFC East.
The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East last year with a 12-4 record, but I’m unsure if they’ll repeat this season.
I’m inclined to say they’ll take a step back, finish 10-6 and may not even make the playoffs, but I know they should’ve been playing against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship if not for a dodgy call.
It will either be the Cowboys or Eagles winning the division.
Tony Romo is an underrated man under centre, notching his fourth Pro Bowl nod and first All-Pro selection last season. The loss of DeMarco Murray to the Eagles was a huge hit to this franchise though, and not one they can recover from easily.
Yes, everybody had to play well to get to them to 12-4, but Murray was the workhorse, their offensive weapon, the one player they relied on for wins.
With Murray gone, the Cowboys offer little in the run game. Darren McFadden is not the answer (unless it’s 2008 and he’s coming out of Arkansas), and Joseph Randle still has to show more. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten will help, but there’s only so much three men can do.
The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the most improved teams in the division, if not the entire NFL. Sam Bradford isn’t a very good player, but he’s an upgrade over their other options if he can stay healthy. The signing of Murray replaces any hole that was left by LeSean McCoy’s departure, and with Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles as backup Philly will pound the ground.
Miles Austin, Jordan Matthews and explosive rookie Nelson Agholor will help in the receiving game. Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins, DeMeco Ryans and Connor Barwin will all contribute on defence. Chip Kelly needs to get his team beyond 10-6 to 11-5 or even 12-4 if he wants to make the playoffs.
The New York Giants – it pains me to write this as a Giants fan – will yet again have another losing season. Eli Manning is a great quarterback, but his best years are behind him. We have little to work with in the run game, and our best options are at receiver, with Odell Beckham Jr looking to light the league on fire once again. Add in Victor Cruz, and on paper, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win.
Of course, one of the reasons we do lose (apart from our stagnant offence) is our inability to perform on defence. I will note that it’s not entirely our fault – we seem to suffer never-ending injuries on that side of the ball, both all of last year and all of this pre-season. It’s a bit hard to win when at one point last season we had 20 players on injured reserve. Twenty. That was the highest amount in the league.
Nonetheless, when they’re not injured, we have some pretty good players. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Brandon Meriweather in the backfield, with Jon Beason and Jason Pierre-Paul (provided he passes his physical) along the defensive line looks pretty good on paper. Rookies Landon Collins and Owamagbe Odighizuwa should get a lot of reps too, and both can be great players.
Finally we come to the woeful Washington Redskins. They went 4-12 last season, and I can’t see their situation improving much in 2015. They made the right decision in benching Robert Griffin III, a decision that should’ve been made long ago. I don’t know what Dan Snyder sees in him that the rest of us are oblivious to, but he’s not an NFL calibre starting quarterback – that much is clear.
Alfred Morris is one of the best young running backs in the league, and with DeSean Jackson out wide, Kirk Cousins has plenty of options to help him if he starts to struggle. DeAngelo Hall, Dashon Goldson, Jason Hatcher and Ryan Kerrigan will all be key contributors on defence.
It’s between Dallas and Philadelphia, but DeMarco Murray switching teams may have sealed the division champion this season.
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