The NFC East: The NFC East was full of surprises as it not only spawned our super bowl champion, but it also had two teams in the NFC conference championship game. Similar to the NFC North, the East had a team, like the Vikings, that was projected to take last place in the Commanders, to instead blow away expectations, while the Cowboys, like the Bears, were the team that completely disappointed. There are reasons for everything, and this is going to be a fun division to break down. From a scheduling perspective, this division has it pretty rough for 2025. The East has to play the best division in football in the NFC North, as well as the up and coming AFC West. One could argue that the AFC west is now the best division at least in the AFC. Either way, there is going to be some stiff competition with the top three teams. Can the Cowboys bounce back? Was Washington for real? Are the Eagles gonna have that super bowl hangover? Let’s see how this all shapes up.
Best Bet: Giants under 5.5 wins -130 – 1 star
Divisional Odds: Eagles -135, Commanders +205, Cowboys +600, Giants +2500
1. Philadelphia Eagles –
Vegas win total: 11.5
2024 Wins: 14
Pythagorean Wins: 12.6
Schedule: Hard – At large vs LA Rams, @ Tampa Bay, @ Buffalo
Schedule Last Year: Medium Easy
Key losses: OC Kellen Moore, DT Milton Williams, DE Josh Sweat, CB Darius Slay, S CJ Gardner-Johnson, G Mekhi Becton, CB Isaiah Rogers, ILB Oren Burks, RB Kenneth Gainwell, DE Brandon Graham, CB James Bradberry
Key additions: OT Kenyon Green, Edge Azeez Ojulari, OLB Josh Uche, CB Adoree Jackson, T Kendall Lamm, RB AJ Dillon
Key Draft Picks: LB Jihaad Campbell, S Andrew Mukuba, DL Ty Robinson
Summary: Last season I felt that the Eagles were falling apart when we saw all of the fighting on the sidelines. Well I was certainly wrong about that. Just like the tush-push for 2025, this team prevailed, got hot in the playoffs, and earned Super Bowl rings against a broken down Chiefs team. One thing that the Eagles haven’t been low on is talent. They seem to draft quite well over the past three to four years, and I love their first three picks from the 2025 draft. The big question now, is can they repeat this performance for the 2025 season? The birds have a new OC in Kevin Patullo. He has been with the team since 2021. I have to assume that he learned from two of the good ones over the past three years in Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore. Hopefully, Kevin forgets about the Brian Johnson era. The Eagles for 2025 will go through the same pains as most super bowl teams as they have to shed guys who have built themselves value in the market place while trying to recoup in free agency and the draft. This usually makes a team quite top-heavy as they can’t risk a tough year of injuries. There will not be as much depth in the defensive line. They also took a big hit in the secondary. If all and all goes well, the Eagles will once again win the division, and compete for the 2026 super bowl in Santa Clara California. I have to expect a solid season, but maybe not quite as good as last year.
My Number: 10.55
Action – Lean Under
Philadelphia Power rating: 6.25
2. Washington Commanders –
Vegas Win total: 9.5 juiced to the over -125
2024 Wins: 12
Pythagorean Wins: 10.79
Schedule: Medium – At large games @ Atlanta, vs Seattle, vs Miami (neutral in Madrid Spain)
Schedule Last Year: Easy
Key losses: DT Jonathan Allen, WR Dyami Brown, S Jeremy Chinn, DE Dante Fowler Jr, T Cornelius Lucas, CB Benjamin St-Juste
Key additions: T Laremy Tunsil, DT Javon Kinlaw, S Will Harris, WR Deebo Samuel, CB Jonathan Jones, K Matt Gay, OLB Jake Martin, T Laremy Tunsil
Key draft picks: T Josh Conerly, CB Tre Amos, WR Jalin Lane
Summary: Please do not look at my projections for the Commanders from last year as it was embarrassingly wrong. This team not only may have had the best draft from 2024, the coaching staff worked much better together than I anticipated. In saying that, this team was quite lucky in many cases last year. The Hail Mary certainly didn’t hurt against a poorly coached Chicago Bears team, having a 78.95% 4th down conversion rate was absolutely against the norm based on twenty three attempts, and the officials not calling the clear roughing the passer in the divisional playoff game against Lions quarterback Jared Goff, which turned into a pick six, certainly made this team look much better than I feel that they actually were. I hate to say it Washington Fans, but I think that the luck is going to run out this year. This team had one of the easiest schedule’s from 2024. Per Warren Sharp, these are the quarterbacks that the Commies fast since week 12. Backup QB Cooper Rush, Will Levis, <bye week>, backups Jake Haener & Spencer Rattler, backup Kenny Pickett, rookie Michael Penix Jr., and backup Trey Lance. That stretch was very fortunate. I think that Washington’s offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury’s tricks are only good for a while before teams start to catch up. I do not love the signing of Deebo Samuel who has been a head case in San Francisco, and is now entering his twilight years. Maybe he gets some gadget type plays, but teams will be ready. I also feel like the Commanders lost more than they have gained on the offensive line and the secondary. The Jury is still out on the draft, but I do expect the offensive line to take a step up. The schedule shows medium for this team this year. There is good and bad in that. The good is that they convert an away game to a neutral game in playing the Miami Dolphins in Madrid Spain. The bad part is that the Commanders have the 3rd worst net-rest advantage at -13 days. The Commies get two teams off of the bye, and their longest weekly rest will be 4 days. I feel pretty generous when I come up with 9.55 wins for this team. I really want to find a 10 to go under their season win total. I also feel there is a chance they could miss the playoffs. I am gonna wait on this one.
My number: 9.55
Power Rating: 2.5
Action – None
3. Dallas Cowboys –
Vegas win total: 7.5 juiced to the over -160
2024 Wins: 7
Pythagorean Wins: 5.52
Schedule: Medium Hard – at large @ NY Jets, @Carolina, vs Arizona
Schedule Last Year: Medium
Key losses: Coach Mike McCarthey, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, CB Jourdan Louis, WR Brandin Cooks, DE Chauncey Golston, T Chuma Edoga, QB Cooper Rush, ILB Eric Kendricks, DT Linvale Joseph
Key additions: Coach Brian Shottenheimer, DE Solomon Thomas, DE Dante Fowler Jr., G Robert Jones, RB Javonte Williams, DE Payton Turner, LB Jack Sanborn
Key Draft Picks: G Tyler Booker, Edge Donavan Ezeiruaku, CB Shavon Revel, RB Jaydon Blue
Summary: Your thoughts on Dak Prescott is really all that you have to say about how you rate this team. The Cowboys had some rough injury luck, but in saying that, this team was not exactly ripping it up when Dak was healthy. Dem boys lost three games in a row before the big injury. Prescott did play about seven total games last season with a losing record. The Cowboys have a lot to fix on that offensive line. They couldn’t block anybody in the run game as well as in the pass. Drafting Tyler Booker was a good start, but I do not think that they did enough in free agency to address their Center and Right Tackle. Losing Demarcus Lawrence could hurt this defense some, but they do get Travon Diggs and Micah Parsons back healthy for this year. The George Pickens trade is certainly a gamble based on his attitude. Will he be ok playing second fiddle to CeeDee Lamb? I also think drafting guys like a smaller edge in Ezeiruaku and an injured cornerback from a smaller school in Shavon Revel are certainly gambles. Dem boy’s draft will either be very good or very bad. Nothing in the middle. The coaching hire was certainly a head scratcher for me as I do not think that promoting an offensive coordinator from a losing team is a good move. I suppose that Jerry Jones just wants to maintain almost total control. The thing that bugs me some is that Dallas had a season win total last year of 10.5. The team really didn’t get any worse from offseason to offseason. Was this number that far off to adjust it all the way down to 7.5? Had Dak played the whole season, would this team have been playoff contenders? I think not. For this season, I feel that the whole outlook for this Texas team has a ton of variance to it. The Cowboys have my least confident pre-season handicap, so I will have to be close to the middle. Let’s see what happens the first few games.
My Number: 7.76
Action: No lean
Dallas Power Rating: -1
4. New York Giants –
Vegas Win total: is 5.5 juiced to the under -130
2024 Wins: 3
Pythagorean Wins: 4.54
Schedule: Hard: At large games vs @ New Orleans, vs San Francisco, @ New England
Schedule Last Year: Easy
Key losses: Edge Azeez Ojulari, QB Drew Lock, S Jason Pinnock, CB Adoree Jackson
Key additions: QB Russell Wilson, CB Paulson Adebo, S Jevon Holland, DE Chauncey Golston, T James Hudson, DT Roy Robertson-Harris, QB Jameis Winston
Key Draft Picks: Edge Abdul Carter, QB Jaxson Dart, DL Darius Alexander, RB Cam Skattebo
Summary: Well, the Giants just had to win that game against the Colts to remove them from 1st pick contention. I mean, maybe it didn’t matter too much if they weren’t caring about getting an early quarterback, but I will at least say that Russell Wilson can do enough to make them slightly better than last season. The G0men go and pack Jaxson Dart by trading back into the first. I think that Dart was over-drafted in my opinion, yet may turn out sometime later in this season or in his career. He will get some meaningful reps later this season because I do not think this team will be in contention facing the hardest schedule in all of football. The only good news is that this team doesn’t get anyone off of a bye week, but they are only +4 days in net-rest advantage. I honestly do not know what the organization really thinks of Brian Daboll, but if they win 6+ games, his job may be safe. I do think that the Giants did nail this past draft, and had a very busy offseason brining in a bunch of free agents. Maybe not the biggest stars, but guys that will be better than what this team had last year. The Giants should have a great defensive line, but now continue to have a rough linebacker and secondary. Their easiest games on that brutal schedule is at the Saints and at the Bears. Getting the 49ers and Green Bay at home could end up losses. The Giants have such bad luck when it comes to scheduling. This is clearly the worst draw in the NFL. I only see four to maybe five wins for an improved team this year. I have the Giants at 4.27 wins. I have to take the under.
My Number: 4.27
Action – Under 5.5 wins -130 – 1 star
NY Giants Power Rating: -7
*Blue color means hasn’t signed with a team
