It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia... Or Is It? (2026 NFC East Preview)

And now, on to the National Football Conference. My conference. Also my dad's conference. This division, the NFC East, is my dad's division; he's a Cowboys fan. When I was a kid, my dad told me about how strong the NFC East was at that time, and back then, it was these same four teams and the Phoenix Cardinals (I was three when the Cards moved from St. Louis to Phoenix, so while I did learn about their years in Chicago and St. Louis, I only knew them as the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals). Nowadays, my dad's one of the many Cowboys fans venting about Jerry Jones.

The NFC East lacks that oomph it had back in the 90s, but it's still quite delicious in its own way. So let's take a deep dive:

New York Giants (4-13)

It still amazes me. This team was in the playoffs just four years ago! Yet they went from being in the Divisional Playoff that year to, well, this. 9.5 wins in 2022. 13 wins total in the last three seasons after that. The Giants weren't messing around. They hired John Harbaugh as their head coach. John Harbaugh; he of his long tenure as head coach of the Ravens, which included winning Super Bowl XLVII. That's a big get. Many say that the coaching hire, alone, will turn things around for the Giants.

Hold on there.

This team is still not going anywhere. The only thing that's changed is the coach. This is still the same go-nowhere team we've seen since 2023. And let's talk about Harbaugh. "He won a Super Bowl," they keep saying. Funny how Tomlin (who also won a Super Bowl) never gets that same respect. I wonder if it's because Tomlin looks like me. But yeah, Harbaugh's SB was 13 years ago. All he's done lately is prove that the Ravens should have fired him in 2021. Giants fans, do not expect playoffs this year. Expect maybe three more wins than last year, but that's it.

Washington Commanders (5-12)

Last year saw the Commanders come of their insane run to the NFC Championship, which raised a lot of expectations. Sadly, what we saw was the Commanders having to play a lot of their 2025 campaign without Jayden Daniels. Their young star QB was out for a lot of last season, and that killed any hopes they had of getting back to the playoffs and competing with the Eagles for that division.

But it's a new season coming up. Jayden Daniels is back in full, and the first test will come on September 13 when they go to Philly. That game, and Daniels' health, will pretty much determine if the Commanders still have that same strength they had in 2024. Honestly, I can see this team nabbing one of the NFC's three Wild Card spots this season, especially if Daniels stays healthy.

Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1)

Granted, the record is a little bit better than may expected after the team gave away Micah Parsons for some magic beans, but the fact of the matter is, they blew it. Another lost season for the Cowboys. A three-year playoff drought, which isn't much, but still. Also, it's the 31st season to pass without so much as a Conference Championship appearance, let alone a Super Bowl appearance and victory. Now, is it fair that Dallas' Super Bowl drought gets all of the scrutiny despite the fact that other teams have longer droughts? No. However, none of the other teams got the "America's Team" tag.

I've heard talk about hope for the Cowboys. They do have a top 5 QB in Dak Prescott, and they have a hell of receiver duo in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. CeeDee is every fantasy owner's dream, and Pickens is making Yinzers extra salty with his amazing play and his good behavior. So that's a good group, plus they have the best kicker in the league in Brandon Aubrey. But there isn't much else. Their defense is suspect, and they still don't have a real head coach. Yet something tells me that Dallas might improve this year.

Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)

The Eagles had nowhere else to go but down after dismantling the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Boy, did they go down. In spite of themselves, they started 4-0 and went on to win the division at 11-6, but those six losses were bad ones. Back-to-back losses after that 4-0 start, with the second loss being against the lowly Giants. Blowing a 21-0 lead against Dallas, losing badly to the Bears on Black Friday, you name it. Even some of their wins were bad; the worst one being a Monday night win against the Packers where both teams played so poorly. So a season like that pretty much deserved the playoff ending that came with it.

AJ Brown bobbled and dropped his way out of Philly. He spent a good bit of the season venting about not getting the ball, and when he was getting the targets in that Wild Card Playoff, he was dropping so many of them. So he's gone. Unfortunately for Philly, Nick Sirianni is still the head coach, but that may not be for long. A lot of people aren't very confident when it comes to the Eagles this year. They won the division by default last year. This year? Some expect a decline, not a vast one, but still. If they don't win the division and they don't go far this year, one has to believe Sirianni's gone.

The NFC East will be absolutely insane this year! Pretty much every divisional battle will be must-see, especially Eagles/Commanders and Eagles/Cowboys. I foresee a lot of delicious moments and wild results in the NFC East!