NFC East: 2025 Divisional Preview
Can the Eagles repeat as division, or Super Bowl champions?
Dominance. Pure, unrestrained dominance. That was the last image we’ve seen from the now-defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Admit it, unless you live in Kansas City (or are a huge Taylor Swift fan, I guess?), you probably enjoyed watching the mighty Chiefs fall in the Super Bowl just a few months ago.
And what a fall it was.
Less of a fall, perhaps “power bomb” or “body slam” would be more appropriate to describe the beat-down that the Eagles laid on the Chiefs. But this wasn’t a fluke. The Eagles had been doing this for the majority of the 2024 NFL season, en route to first securing the NFC East division championship, then the ultimate prize of the Lombardi trophy.
But, with the exception of the recent Chiefs dynasty, it’s incredibly hard to replicate that same success the following season in today’s NFL.
For now, all Super Bowl talk is put on hold. Our purpose here today is to look purely at the division of the NFC East, and what we could expect in 2025.
Philadelphia Eagles
In 2024:
NFC East/Super Bowl Champions
14-3 record
8th in total offense
29th in passing offense
2nd in rushing offense
1st in total defense
1st in passing defense
10th in rushing defense
It’s only fitting to begin with the defending champions. 2024 marked the culmination of elite roster building accomplished by the Eagles’ front office over the past few seasons. Top to bottom, you’d be hard pressed to find any roster in the NFL that could compare to this one, capped off by one of the greatest free agent signings of the modern era with Saquon Barkley.
The Coaching Staff:
Nick Sirianni returns for his 5th season as head coach of the Eagles. Sirianni has a 48-20 regular season record at this point in his career, with 2 Super Bowl appearances, of course winning the most recent. Regardless of your opinions of the man, he’s proven to be one of the top head coaches in the NFL.
Former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore left Philadelphia during the offseason, accepting the head coaching position for the New Orleans Saints. Moore seemed to have a good rapport with key players Jalen Hurts and of course Saquon Barkley, and it remains to be seen how much his presence will be missed on the sidelines.
Kevin Patullo has been promoted to the OC position in the wake of Moore’s departure. Patullo joined the Eagles staff with Nick Sirianni in 2021, and has served as the passing game coordinator for the duration of tenure prior to this promotion.
Vic Fangio returns as defensive coordinator. His defense was dominant in 2024. Fangio also was the assistant coach of the year in 2018 as the DC for the Chicago Bears.
The Roster:
RT Lane Johnson, possibly the best offensive lineman in the NFL, is returning to the team, signing a new 1 year contract this offseason.
LB Zack Baun, after easily having his best season as a pro in 2024, re-signed with the Eagles on a 3 year, $51 million contract.
RB AJ Dillon also was added to the roster this offseason, providing depth behind start RB Saquon Barkley.
Backup QB Kenny Pickett was traded to the Cleveland Browns, leaving Tanner McKee and Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the depth behind starter Jalen Hurts.
Philadelphia also released CB Darius Slay, who then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The majority of the Super Bowl winning roster, at least at the top of the depth chart, stays in tact for the upcoming season. The depth behind Jalen Hurts at QB has to be a bit concerning, but most other positions are still very solid on this team.
Daris Slay leaving does hurt, but the Eagles were afforded with the opportunity to part with Slay due to the emergence of a promising duo of rookies at the CB position. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean both proved to be high-level players as rookies, and their arrow is still pointed upward.
One other interesting note, this one regarding Saquon Barkley: the NFL hasn’t had a RB repeat as rushing leader over the past 4 years, with only Derrick Henry doing so in 2019-2020. Whether it be injury, or just a slight drop off in production, history hasn’t been kind to defending rushing champions. And we all know how much Barkley’s performance meant to that 2024 Eagles team.
Also, do we dare mention the unspeakable “Madden curse?” Sure, laugh if you want. But history has been even more unforgiving to those cover stars. To be continued on that subject.
Dallas Cowboys
In 2024:
7-10 record
16th in total offense
11th in passing offense
27th in rushing offense
28th in total defense
17th in passing defense
29th in rushing defense
Let’s just be honest, the bulk of the conversation around the Cowboys’ lack of success in 2024 is due to QB Dak Prescott missing the final 9 games of the season with a hamstring injury, which surely ended all of Dallas’ hopes for the year.
But, perhaps important to remember, the Cowboys weren’t exactly very successful last year even before Dak’s injury. Through those 8 games that he started, the Cowboys were 3-5, and Prescott had his lowest QB passer rating of his career (86.0). In short, Dallas just wasn’t a very good team overall in 2024.
The Coaching Staff:
Former head coach Mike McCarthy’s contract expired following the 2024 season, and he was not given a new contract offer.
Enter new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer. He provides some continuity and familiarity with the team, having been with Dallas for the previous 3 seasons, and serving as the OC for 2023-2024.
The coaching changes continued at the offensive coordinator position, with Schottenheimer being promoted, this left the vacancy filled by new OC Klayton Adams. He previously held the position of offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals, and has been in the NFL since 2019.
Matt Eberflus was also brought in as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator. Eberflus of course served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears for the previous 3 years, and was fired midway through last season. He also has some familiarity with the team, however, as he was the linebackers coach for the Cowboys from 2011-2017.
The Roster:
Newly acquired WR George Pickens joins the team, following a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers in which Dallas gave up a 2026 3rd round pick.
Future Hall of Fame RG Zack Martin announced his retirement following the 2024 season. Having notched 9 all pro selections (7 first team, 2 second team) and 9 pro bowl selections, the void he leaves will be hard to fill.
In response to the loss of Martin, Dallas did draft the high-pedigree guard from Alabama, Tyler Booker.
RB Rico Dowdle left in free agency, signing with the Carolina Panthers. He was clearly coming off of his best season, rushing for 1,079 yards in 2024.
RB Javonte Williams was signed as a replacement in free agency after having spent his first 4 years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos. Williams hasn’t been extremely productive since his rookie season in 2021, however, when he rushed for 903 yards (4.4 average YPC).
To assist in the RB room, the Cowboys also drafted speedster Jaydon Blue (from Texas) in the 5th round of the 2025 draft. While probably initially profiling as a “change of pace” back to compliment Williams, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Blue eventually take over as the lead back in Dallas.
There’s also the situation looming of a new contract for All Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons, but the expectation is that will be taken care of prior to the season.
As with any team, there’s been additions and subtractions to this roster, perhaps most notably adding Pickens and losing Martin. After Dak Prescott’s struggles last year pre-injury, the hope is that the addition of George Pickens, paired with CeeDee Lamb, can take this passing offense to an elite level.
If that happens, Dallas could easily compete within this division, and possibly the NFC as a whole.
Washington Commanders
In 2024:
12-5 record
7th in total offense
17th in passing offense
3rd in rushing offense
13th in total defense
3rd in passing defense
30th in rushing defense
Can we please change the team name back to the Redskins already? Ok, I digress.
Washington was the surprise of the NFL last season. Jumping from a 4-13 record in 2023 to an NFC Championship game appearance in 2024, the Commanders proved that rebuilds don’t necessarily have to take very long in the NFL. The right head coach and QB combo can really speed up that process, as we’ve seen in Washington.
The Coaching Staff:
Dan Quinn returns for his 2nd season as head coach. He’s enjoyed success on other NFL teams in the past, and he was quick to make his pretense felt in Washington, changing the culture almost immediately.
Kliff Kingsbury returns as the offensive coordinator. Kingsbury is also entering his 2nd season with Washington, having been bought in with Quinn last offseason.
Joe Whitt Jr. is also returning as defensive coordinator, and also entering his 2nd season with Washington.
The Roster:
QB Jayden Daniels enters his sophomore season after one of the most remarkable rookie seasons in recent memory, cementing his status as a leader of this team.
WR Deebo Samuel was acquired via trade from the San Francisco 49ers.
WR Terry McLaurin is currently in a dispute over a new contract as of this writing. The expectation is that a new deal will get done, and it most definitely should, in order to keep Jayden Daniels’ top target around.
The conversation in Washington has to begin and end with QB Jayden Daniels. Hit rates on drafting a 1st round QB are scattered at best, but drafting Daniels was bullseye shot.
Throwing for 3,568 yards, 25 passing TDs to 9 INTs, and a passer rating of 100.1, Daniels proved he belongs. Not to mention guiding the team to a wildcard spot in the playoffs, capped off by Washington’s first NFC Championship game appearance since the 1991 season. Washington fans are excited, and for good reason.
New York Giants
In 2024:
3-14 record
30th in total offense
28th in passing offense
23rd in rushing offense
24th in total defense
8th in passing defense
27th in rushing defense
Simply put, the Giants stunk in 2024. There’s really not many other ways to phrase it. They couldn’t move the ball consistently on offense, and it mostly traces back to the QB position.
QB Daniel Jones was 2-8 as the starter through the first 10 games of the season, before being benched for Tommy DeVito, then eventually Drew Lock. Clearly, none of these players were the answer at the QB position, setting the stage for an overhaul in 2025.
The Coaching Staff:
Brian Daboll returns as head coach of the Giants for his 4th season (also was the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year).
Mike Kafka also returns as the offensive coordinator. Kafka has been with the Giants since 2022 as well, joining the staff the same year as Daboll.
Shane Bowen is returning for his 2nd season as defensive coordinator.
The Roster:
The QB room has been completely overhauled. Free agents Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston were signed, and then the Giants traded back into the latter portion of the 1st round of the NFL Draft to select QB Jaxson Dart. Wilson will likely start the season as QB1, but with Dart on the roster, a switch could eventually happen if the Giants underperform.
The Giants used their first pick in the 1st round of the 2025 draft to select DE Abdul Carter (from Penn State). Pairing him with Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns, the Giants should have an even stronger defensive line in 2025. Without a doubt, this is the strength of their roster.
A pretty strong WR room stays in tact, with Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Wan’Dale Robinson all returning.
On paper, the Giants don’t look like a very bad team. They’re not world-beaters, but they have a lot of promising talent. The QB position will easily be the tipping point, one way or another, as it relates to how well this team performs in 2025.
There is one other point that needs to be addressed in regards to the 2025 New York Giants, however, and that’s their daunting schedule. Based off of 2024 win percentages, the Giants have the hardest schedule in the NFL, with an average opponents wining % of .574. Not to mention they start off with an insanely tough 4 game stretch to begin the season, which might prove to dig the proverbial hole pretty deep early in the season.
Who wins the NFC East?
This would seemingly be one of the easiest divisions to forecast, right? A purely dominant reigning Super Bowl champion resides in this division, so they must be the pick to repeat as champions of the NFC East. Surely… right?
Not so fast. On paper, there is no real clear argument to be made against the Eagles. Their roster is still stacked. They still have All Pro players at a multitude of positions. They’re the easy pick.
But they’re not my pick.
Like I said, I can’t clearly point to any tangible data to support this pick. Call it a gut feeling if you will, but with history not being very kind to defending champions, combined with the fact that the NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion in 20 years, I simply can’t choose the Eagles.
For the 2025 season, my pick as NFC East champions are the Washington Commanders. Similar to my NFC North predictions, Washington seems to be on par with the Green Bay Packers, in that their trajectory is pointed up, while their main competition (Eagles) might be set for a slight drop off.
I still believe the Eagles are a great team, with a great coaching staff, that will probably still be a wild card team in the playoffs.
But for this season, the chips are pushed in for the Washington Commanders. (Can we really not change this name back yet?)