The Eagles just weren’t good enough.
Sure, they were good enough to beat the injury-wrecked Washington squad and the suddenly-hot Giants. Alas, they weren’t good enough this season to beat Dallas AND the refs combined, and as a result, the division will almost certainly have a new leader for the fourteenth consecutive year.
Just a friendly reminder: the last time Dallas won the NFC East, the Eagles won the Super Bowl the very next season. These are facts.
Here’s what’s happened, and what’s happening, in the NFC East:
New York Giants (5-8)
ICYMI: This was the vision every ill-informed Jersey resident had in August; a high-powered offense beating teams into submission. Tragically, despite a 40-16 victory over their rivals (leading 40-0 in the third quarter), the Giants were officially eliminated from NFC East contention when the Iggles fell in overtime.
Spin: Four wins in their last five games would be noteworthy if they hadn’t gone 1-7 to start the year. It’s like if Blackberry came out with a touchscreen in 2018, or trying to schedule a meeting through John Kelly; too-little, too-late is putting it mildly.
NFL
How bad is this organization? They’re even bad at TANKING. They’re making that Hinkie-lifestyle look tricky. With five victories on the year, the Giants aren’t even in contention for the top pick. They’re the NFL’s Washington Wizards.
Also, winning so easily without Odell Beckham Jr. will almost certainly empower AM-radio callers blabbering about the Ewing Theory.
What’s Next: A few more useless victories to damage their draft capital.
Washington (6-7)
ICYMI: As if having Mark Sanchez as your starting QB wasn’t mortifying enough, the Washington Football Team got humiliated at home by an over-the-hill quarterback missing one of the top offensive weapons in the game.
Spin: This season ended the second The Sanchize stepped on the field. That doesn’t make Sundays result any less shameful. Getting dismantled at home to a basement-dwelling division rival is an embarrassment of the highest level for a franchise that could teach a Masters course on embarrassing itself. Even if Jay Gruden runs the table the rest of the way, it’s impossible to imagine the 5th-year head coach with one playoff appearance and zero victories keeping his job.
What’s Next: The Josh Johnson Era.
Dallas Cowboys (8-5)
ICYMI: Powered by referee-incompetence and 45 minutes of general-malaise from the Iggles offense, Dallas won in overtime to (essentially) clinch the NFC East despite three awful turnovers from Dak Prescott, whose play is about as inspiring as a baked potato.
Spin: Anyone who owns a Dallas Starter jacket will tell you this season was proof of Jason Garrett’s brilliance, Jerry Jones incomparable leadership, and the reality that Ezekiel Elliots suspension was the only thing stopping them a year ago.
That seems a stretch.
Despite the Birds replacement-level secondary, a short-week/long-week advantage, and the fact that the Iggles QB is still LESS THAN A YEAR REMOVED FROM ACL SURGERY, the Cowboys needed overtime to knock-out their division rivals. Their vaunted O-line has crumbled, the mediocre quarterback did just enough to lock himself in long-term, and the organization is still run by a GM-for-life with two playoff victories the last twenty years. Good luck with that.
They did, however, win the Amari Cooper / Golden Tate trades. There’s little argument made against that.
What’s Next: A first-round knockout at the hands of Seattle, then four More Years of Dak and Garrett.
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