NFC East Playoff Picture Developing

Keith Allison via Flickr

NFL

Halfway Through The Season, The Playoff Picture In The NFC East Is Becoming Clearer

After seven weeks of regular season football and a few early division matchups, the NFC East remains a wild west. However, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape. Washington currently leads the division with a 4-2 record and 1-0 division record.

The Giants are currently last in the division for the second year in a row with a 1-6 record and 2-0 division record.

By The Numbers

Offensive Rankings

Overall: Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Dallas

Yards Per Game: Philadelphia (362.9), New York (360.4), Washington (337.5), Dallas (320)

Points Per Game: Philadelphia (22), Washington (21), Dallas (20), New York (19.6)

Defensive Rankings

Overall: Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, New York

Yards Allowed Per Game: Dallas (313.7), Washington (325.7), Philadelphia (355.4), New York (367.3)

Points Allowed Per Game: Dallas (17.6), Washington (20.2), Philadelphia (19.7), New York (26.4)

Quarterback Duel

Rating: Wentz (108.1) Smith (91.9), Manning (94.1), Prescott (87.4),

Yards Per Game: Wentz (300.4), Manning (294.4), Smith (230.5), Prescott (202.4)

Completion Percentage: Wentz (70.8), Manning (69), Smith (63.3), Prescott (62.1)

Touchdown/Interception: Wentz (10/1), Smith (7/2), Prescott (8/4), Manning (7/4)

Current State Of The Teams

Washington

Currently, Washington is leading the division with a 4-2 record and has been impressive thus far in the season in light of preseason expectations. While the offense has lacked in production this season (24th in the league, third in the division), new quarterback Alex Smith has had a strong start to the year. A lack of offensive weapons also hurts Washington’s ability to put points on the board.

Tight end Jordan Reed has become Smith’s most effective target with 268 yards off 22 receptions one of which resulted in a touchdown. Running back Adrian Peterson has 438 yards on the year of 101 carries with three touchdowns. Overall, Washington’s offense is unimpressive. However, they don’t turn over the ball and can typically control time-of-possession.

Their defense, on the other hand, has held their own much more. While Washington allows a large number of yards, they have only allowed 121 points this season. That statistic does not bear in mind that they have already had their bye week.

With an early lead in the division along with Philadelphia and Dallas being inconsistent, Washington might find themselves remaining in the number one spot. Washington is a safe team to pick as the NFC East favorites however they will likely not outplay Dallas or Philadelphia for the top spot.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles narrowly beat out Dallas for the second spot in the NFC East. The Eagles are 3-4 with a 1-0 division record after beating the New York Giants in Week 6. Philadelphia was the early favorite to repeat as division champions but after a slew of injuries and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball, the Eagles’ season is up in the air.

Philadelphia has the 12th ranked offense in the league after five weeks with QB Carson Wentz back under center. The offense is currently missing two wide receivers and two running backs due to injury. A drastic decline in the offensive line’s performance has proved problematic as the Eagles have allowed 54 QB hits already this season.

The Eagles are averaging 22 points a game, just one point greater than Washington. If Wentz can stay healthy and upright though he will be a problem the other teams might not have an answer to.

The Eagles’ 18th ranked defense has both won and lost them games this season. While they were able to hold the Atlanta Falcons from a game-winning touchdown, they failed to stop the Titans four times on third down in overtime. Just last week they let the Carolina Panthers come back from a 17 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game after shutting them out in the first three quarters.

At this point, the Eagles stand just as much of a shot losing to Dallas and Washington as they do winning. It will be on Philadelphia’s terms whether they take a win or not.

Dallas Cowboys

Another rocky season has begun in Dallas. The Cowboys are currently 3-4 this season and are 1-1 in the division with a win against the Giants and a loss against Washington. Ezekiel Elliott has continued to bear most of the load on offense.

With few receivers to target, Dak Prescott has struggled this year to move the chains with his arm. Dallas’ 26th ranked offense is only averaging 183 passing yards a game. While Elliott is a formidable opponent for just about any defense, the lack of aerial success makes it harder for him to do his job.

Dallas’ defense is the best in the division. Ranked ninth overall the third least amount of yards per game. With the rest of the division struggling offensively, Dallas’ defensive dominance could steal them the title. The struggle will be the defense being able to maintain its’ composure if their offense keeps them on the field. Nevertheless, this defense is a force to be reckoned with.

Overall Dallas is the dark horse in the NFC East. The Cowboys will likely split wins with Washington and will need to avoid a sweep by Philadelphia with their second matchup being in Dallas. The recent addition of Amari Cooper should make the Eagles’ secondary nervous.

New York Giants

For the second year in a row, the Giants are at the bottom of the NFC East rankings. The Giants sole win came in Week 3 against the Houston Texans. While the Giants have the 14th ranked overall offense in the league and two of the most talents offensive players in the division, they have not been able to finish games. RB Saquon Barkley has had an impressive start to the season averaging 4.9 yards a carry and already tallying five touchdowns. Barkley has also shown himself to be a reliable receiver.

The crux of New York’s offensive problem has been and will be Eli Manning as long as he is the quarterback. Manning has thrown for the sixth most yards this season and completed 69% of his passes. 23 of those passes went for 20 or more yards.

However, the 34-year-old QB has thrown seven touchdowns and four interceptions this season. He has also been sacked 24 times in part due to his lack of field awareness.

New York’s defense has not been much of a help to the struggling offense. They’re currently allowing over 367 yards and 26.4 points a game. They’ve also had a hard time putting pressure on the pocket and getting to quarterbacks.

Unless the Giants win out in the division, they will not be taking the title into a playoff run. Additionally, it would be hard to imagine New York ending the season with a worse record than the aforementioned teams.

Final Predictions

With a little over half of the season left, it’s still too early to rule any team out of the playoff running. However, the New York Giants will be the first booted from the conversation. By the end of the regular season, it is predicted that they will remain fourth in the division at 4-12 and 0-6.

The Dallas Cowboys will likely come in third at 7-9 and 3-3 if swept by the Eagles and beating Washington in their second matchup. Two key non-division games that could change Dallas’ trajectory will be Tampa Bay and Indianapolis. If Dallas splits with Philadelphia, they will end at 8-8 and 4-3.

Washington will most likely finish second in the division with an 8-8 and 4-2 record. They are favored to beat Tampa Bay, but if they can defeat Jacksonville and Tennessee as well, they could finish at 10-6. Washington will likely split with Philadelphia. Philadelphia as of now should come out as division champions for the second year in a row.

The Eagles will sweep the Giants and are heavily favored to sweep the Cowboys. With the only remaining losses going to the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams and one to Washington, the Eagles would finish at 9-7 and 5-1.

The division will come down to Philadelphia and Washington’s ability to sweep or split with Dallas and then how they fare against each other. Assuming they both split with Dallas, if one of these two teams can sweep the other, the division will be theirs.

Photo Credit

Featured Image courtesy of Keith Allison

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