Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders

NFC East 2022 Preview Are The Eagles Set To Soar?

NFC East 2022 Preview Are The Eagles Set To Soar?

The NFC East improved massively on their 2020 performance with the Cowboys and Eagles both making the postseason. Even the then-named Washington Football Team maintained their seven wins. Only The Giants managed to regress as what seems like a perpetual rebuild continues.

Dallas cantered away with the NFC East last year going 6-0 in divisional play and actually snagged the number three seed! They are most people’s favourites to win it again in 2022, perhaps largely to the fact that they have arguably the best QB.

Speaking of the QB position this is most definitely the last chance saloon for Giants QB Daniel Jones. Big Blue has declined his 5th-year option and nothing short of a quantum leap in performance will see him under centre in 2023.

Jalen Hurts showed a bit of improvement in 2021 and has the chance to secure his future in Philly with a decent season. Gardner Minshewis ready to step in if he goes down and we hope we see the Jock Strap King get some snaps at some stage.

The division has the overall easiest strength of schedule in 2022 but that doesn’t always pan out into playoff places. Still, it will offer some hope to all of them.

Last season’s finishing positions are below and keep reading to see our final table predictions.

NFC East 2021 Finishing Order

Dallas Cowboys          12-5 
Philadelphia Eagles  9-8 
Washington FT           7-10
New York Giants       4-13 

This gave Dallas the No 3 seed while the Eagles sneaked into the 7th wild card slot. Neither of them made it past the first round with Dallas putting in the best performance losing 23-17 to San Francisco.

2022 Thoughts

The NFC East looks like being a two-team race this year and there is a good chance that two teams will make the playoffs again. The teams had a load of draft capital this year and generally used it well. Top to bottom they all look better but it’s hard to see either Washington or The Giants pushing for the playoffs this year mainly due to the question marks at QB. Anyway here is our predicted finishing order.

1st Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles recovered from a bit of a rocky start to end up in the postseason, thanks to a 6-2 finish. Jalen Hurts was steady at QB and Minshew got them a vital win when called on. This looks like their only weakness as they have added some nice pieces on both sides of the ball and have even managed to bank a few extra draft picks for 2023 just in case neither make the leap.

Trading a first-round pick for  A.J. Brown looks like good business (even with the salary cap hit) and with Devonta Smith they have as good a wideout pairing as any in the division.  The defensive side was good last year and it is bolstered by the additions of Haason Reddick & James Bradberry. Plus they got great value in the draft with Jordan Davis at 13. He will greatly improve their already formidable run defense.

If they can split with Dallas this year they should edge the title.

2nd Dallas Cowboys

Having Dak Prescott fit made a huge difference to the Cowboy’s offense last season. He had one of his best performances to date with well over 4000 yards passing and 37 TDs as Dallas put the nightmare of 2020 firmly behind them.

The issue we have is the free agency/trade losses which saw several high-profile names go to potential Super Bowl teams. The offensive will be without La’el Collins and Connor Williams on the line which is a blow. Also, reliable pass catchers Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson have gone which doesn’t leave a lot of depth. Ceedee Lamb and Michael Gallop will be Dak’s main targets and there are high hopes for rookie Jalen Tolbert. But there is not a whole lot of experience left.

The defense similarly has a big hole to fill at edge as Randy Gregory has signed with the Denver Broncos and Safety Keanu Neal is now a Bucc. This won’t stop them from challenging for the playoffs but might be enough to allow Philly to close the gap.

3rd Washington Commanders

Washington has a shiny new name and the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL in 2022. However, it’s still the same team that Ron Rivera has failed to get more than seven wins from in his two seasons in charge. The team regressed massively last year with the much-vaunted defense failing to click. They have been busy in free agency but outside of Wentz nothing stands out. The Commanders gave up a couple of 3rd round picks to acquire ex-Eagle QB Carson Wentz who will be playing on his third team in as many years. This doesn’t look like much of an upgrade over Taylor Heineke.

Carson Wentz

Wentz’s Career has gone into reverse since winning a ring in 2018
Image: Nick Tropiano/Shutterstock.com

Even their 1st round draft move doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. They could have moved up and got Drake London, but instead moved down and ended up picking Jahan Dotson. This would be a solid pick if you didn’t already have three six-footish fast WRs on the roster in Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown!

The rest of the East has gotten better while the Commanders look to have stood still at best. They meaty even end up bottom, if the Giants get a few breaks.

4th New York Giants

The giants had a pretty good draft haul this year and they are certainly moving in the right direction. They have added new coaching staff but none of their free agency moves has set out hearts fluttering with excitement. If 1st round picks Evan Neal & Kayvon Thibodeaux live up to expectations then they could possibly unseat Washington for third, however, we think the coaching staff will need this season to get things right.

We expect several of their class of 2022 rookies to see the field this year and they should get a few wins as the season wears on.  Watch out for them next season – probably with a new QB under centre.

NFC East Predicted Wins Total

Philadelphia Eagles 11-6

Dallas Cowboys 10-7

Washington Football Team  7-10

New York Giants 6-11

So there you have it our predictions for what could be a division to watch in 2022 in the NFL. Who knows they might even get a team past the wild card round this time. While you are here why not check out our other NFC East Posts or have a go at some of our NFL Quizzes. Go on everyone loves a Quiz, don’t they?

 

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