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It somehow feels fitting that in the worst division in football, and in this most unusual of years for us all, that it will take until 2021 before we have a winner in the NFC East.
With just one week left on the schedule, there are still three teams with a chance to win the ignominious crown of the worst team to make the NFL postseason - the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Football Team, and New York Giants.
Cowboys Path
Dallas had been dead and buried with such slim hopes of winning the division that it was a mere afterthought in previous playoff scenarios. Not anymore. Their chances now sit at a full 27%, according to the New York Times.
Andy Dalton and Michael Gallup dominated the Eagles on Sunday, winning 37-17 and keeping hope alive for the Cowboys' 20th NFC East title. They have now won three straight games, improving their record to 6-9, and they have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.
It starts with their own game on Sunday against the Giants. Dallas must win that game on the road, and the NFL odds predict they will, giving New York three points on the spread. Then the Cowboys will play scoreboard watcher, hoping that Washington loses to the Eagles on Sunday night. Washington is a slight favorite in that game.
If those two things happen, the Dallas Cowboys are the NFC East champions.
Washington's Path
For Washington, the road to the postseason is even easier. Easier for Week 17 but far from easy for a team that has now played four different quarterbacks.
Washington played itself into this position with a four-game winning streak between Week 11 and 14, but it has since dropped two straight games after having to go back to Dwayne Haskins at quarterback. Haskins was 1-5 as the starter and is now unemployed. On Monday morning, they cut their former starter and last year’s 15th-overall draft pick.
Kyle Allen was 1-3 before he got hurt, while Alex Smith, who is 4-1, is battling a calf injury. Now enter Taylor Heinicke, who was out of football all last season.
Washington plays at Philadelphia, where it has opened as a slight favorite sportsbook. Head coach Ron Rivera has a tough decision to make. If Smith remains out, is Heinicke really the guy?
Whoever is under center, Washington simply has to beat the Eagles, and the division title is theirs.
Giants Path
The Giants trail both Washington and Dallas by a game in the standings and have just a 5-10 record. But if they can beat the Cowboys and the Eagles can beat Washington, that will set up a three-way tie for first place at 6-9. The odds currently give them a 24% shot at the division.
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head among the three teams, and with a loss to New York, the Cowboys would be 1-3 against the other two. Washington had a 2-2 record against the other two. But a Giants win makes them 3-1 because of their season sweep over Washington.
So in a three-way tie, the Giants go from being 5-10 and holding the seventh pick in the 2021 draft to NFC East division champions. Not a bad turnaround for a team that began the season with five straight losses and was 1-7 at the halfway point.
