The NFC East division was featured prominently during last year’s NFL playoffs, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders going head-to-head at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC Championship Game.
Many believe budding superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders are the biggest threats to Philly’s crown in 2025, but ESPN reporter Jordan Raanan — who covers the New York Giants for the Worldwide Leader — recently dropped a seriously bold take that’s sure to drum up some conversation.
No, Raanan isn’t predicting Jaxson Dart and the Giants to shock the NFL world this season. He does believe the league could be sleeping on the Dallas Cowboys, who have quietly added some pieces this offseason to improve their roster.
“Let's get a bit crazy here because that's the recent history of the NFC East,” Raanan wrote for ESPN. “No, not the Giants. That gap is massive.
“But since everyone is down on the Cowboys this season, it only makes sense they surprise and win the division. There is still some high-end talent on that roster and Dallas was good for at least 12 wins each of the previous three years that Prescott played double-digit games. So this is largely contingent on him being healthy. But to count the Cowboys out with Prescott potentially having the best weapons of his career seems silly. They will surprise.”
Like any good sports better, Raanan is putting his money behind one of the NFL’s wildest trends. No NFC East team has won consecutive division championships since the 2004 Eagles, who made it four straight on their way to reaching Super Bowl XXXIX. Over the past two-plus decades, the Eagles and Cowboys have each won the division seven times, while Washington and the Giants have won it three times each; no team in the last 21 years has won it in back-to-back years, however.
Philly is the obvious favorite to buck that trend this year, but they’ll have their work cut out for them. Their veteran turnover on defense has been an underrated storyline this offseason — starters Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Darius Slay Jr. are all gone, and Nakobe Dean will likely start the season on the PUP list. The Eagles also drew a ridiculous schedule from the NFL that includes no back-to-back home games and a slew of non-Sunday games.
Those factors should open the door for teams like the Commanders and Cowboys to close the gap, but fans should bet on Washington or Dallas unseating the defending Super Bowl champions at their own risk.
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