2025 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC East

With the New York Giants firmly in a rebuild, and Dallas and Washington facing major roster questions, can Philadelphia take advantage and earn yet another division title? Or will the NFC East once again belong to a different team?

Of the eight divisions in the NFL, the NFC East is arguably the one that is most likely to avoid a change in winner. 

Philadelphia will enter this season as the defending NFC East and Super Bowl champions; outside of changes in the offensive coordinator and the relevant staffing, as well as some losses in free agency, much of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl winning roster remains intact. 

The rest of the division can’t really share in the optimism. 

In order of finish, I will be breaking down the situations each team faces heading into 2025 and what their season will end up looking like. 

Philadelphia Eagles:

2024 finish: 14-3, 1st in NFC East, won Super Bowl

For three years, I’ve heard way too much about how Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is a bad coach and hates the fans, how Jalen Hurts isn’t going to win a Super Bowl in his career, or even how Hurts isn’t a top-tier quarterback like Joe Burrow or Josh Allen. 

Safe to say, Sirianni and Hurts both proved the haters wrong. A dominant 40-22 victory in Super Bowl 59 over the seemingly-three peat-bound Kansas City Chiefs all but threw any argument about their legitimacy out the window faster than the time it took Cooper DeJean to end Kansas City’s threepeat bid.

While offensive coordinator Kellen Moore left to join the Saints, the majority of the Super Bowl-winning roster and coaching staff is back on board. And with the Commanders being the only team in the division to truly upgrade their roster, Philadelphia could be set to become the first team to win the NFC East in consecutive seasons since they did it four times in a row from 2001 to 2004. 

While the Eagles have the luxury of opening the season against Dallas, each of their next two games are playoff rematches. The first is a trip to Arrowhead to take on Kansas City, while the second sees the Eagles hosting the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional round rematch. 

It doesn’t get easier from there. The Eagles follow the Rams game by travelling to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers (the Eagles are just 1-4 against Tampa Bay since Sirianni was named head coach), before playing a Denver team that could dethrone Kansas City in the AFC West. 

From there, the Eagles play the Giants twice and the Vikings over their next three games before taking on three NFC North opponents over the following four games. 

As for the last three games of the season? Game-changing. Not only does Philadelphia play Washington twice in the last three games, but those games take place around a trip to play Buffalo in what could be a potential Super Bowl preview. 

In terms of how they will do this season, I expect around the same from last season. While there will be some adjustment in the offensive scheming, I still think that we will see the same level of output from the likes of Saquon Barkley regardless of who’s in charge. 

While there are stretches of the schedule that could impact the Eagles’ seeding, particularly the opening five and closing three, I believe that the Eagles will still earn the NFC East title and be in competition with teams like Green Bay for the top seed in the conference. 

Projected finish: 13-4, 1st in NFC East

Washington Commanders:

2024 finish: 12-5, 2nd in NFC East, 6 seed in NFC Playoffs, lost to Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game.

While Washington had been on the playoff bubble in 2021 and 2022, a 4-13 record would be their 2023 result, marking a significant downturn from the two years prior. 

However, that year would be followed up by a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Thus far, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had led Washington to its best season in a long time and then some. While they would fall short of a Super Bowl berth, 2024 proved that the Commanders could be in the playoff conversation for a long time to come. 

But the outcome of their 2025 season could still prove or disprove any claims to the playoffs. 

However, Washington is well prepared to prove their worthiness of being labelled as contenders. 

While the Terry McLaurin situation could end up playing a major role in the outcome of the Commanders’ 2025 season, the team did a good job in reinforcing the team’s defensive and offensive line depth throughout the offseason. Their improvements should be enough to keep Washington in the role of a playoff contender and I believe that the Commanders will also play a role in the outcome of the division. 

While it will come down to a Week 18 showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles, I believe the Commanders will fall short of the NFC East title, however a return to the playoffs will be on the cards.

Projected finish: 11-6, 2nd in NFC East

Dallas Cowboys:

2024 finish: 7-10, 3rd in NFC East

There’s good news and bad news for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025.

The good news? Dak Prescott is going to be back after having his 2024 season cut short due to injury. Same with CeeDee Lamb. 

And not only will Dak Prescott have CeeDee Lamb to throw to, but he will also have wide receiver George Pickens, acquired via a trade with Pittsburgh, to help him reinvigorate Dallas’ offence. 

The bad news? Not a lot of business was done elsewhere, especially with regards to the defence. 

And Micah Parsons did just leave Dallas.

But even if Dak Prescott and Co are 100% recovered and are slightly better than they were last season, this Cowboys team will be in playoff contention for at least a good portion of the season. 

That said, kicking off the season against Philadelphia is not the way to start a potential bounce back season. 

The schedule does lighten up for Dallas after that point, with games against the Giants and Bears to follow the opener. Playing the Jets and Panthers after a Week 4 encounter with Green Bay could also help Dallas to get wins under their belt in the early goings. 

But it’s the second half of their slate that is concerning. 

While they kick off November against Arizona, which is followed by their bye and a trip to Sin City, Philadelphia, Kansas City (on Thanksgiving), and Detroit await following that stretch.

The Kansas City game also comes on a four-game turnaround after playing the Eagles. 

While a game against Minnesota should help to regain lost ground, that is followed by meetings with the Chargers and Commanders, before they close out the regular season on the road against the Giants. 

After the disappointment that was 2024, even when considering the final half of Dallas’ schedule, it is basically an expectation that Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach of the Cowboys ends with a playoff berth. 

Even then, the Cowboys have pinholed themselves before the first kickoff. Micah Parsons is gone, and there’s not much reason to believe the defence can be any better than it was last season. 

If one couldn’t think it could get worse in Jerry’s World, trust me, it is going to get worse in Jerry’s World. 

Projected finish: 5-12, 3rd in NFC East

New York Giants:

2024 finish: 3-14, 4th in NFC East

So many quarterbacks. So many quarterbacks.

While the New York Giants did settle much of the speculation around the starting quarterback question by naming Russell Wilson the Week 1 starter right out of the gate in training camp, he is expected to have a very short leash. With games against Washington, Dallas, and Kansas City on the schedule in the first two weeks alone, New York might very well be 0-3 after that stretch; failure to win at least two of the first eight games could see Wilson lose his starting role to someone like Jameis Winston.

Regardless of how the Giants end up faring in 2025, it will be a slow start to the season. Playing teams like the Saints and the Bears towards the middle of the season should allow for the team to gain some confidence and push for a strong finish to the regular season. I can see the Giants slightly improving on their win total, but it won’t be enough to move up in the divisional standings. 

Projected finish: 4-13, 4th in NFC East

Projected NFC East standings:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)

2. Washington Commanders (11-6)

3. Dallas Cowboys (5-12)

4. New York Giants (4-13)

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Article written by Noah Guttman