NFC East A Cut Above the Rest

Three weeks of football are in the books, and while it’s very hard to get a pulse of the early NFL landscape, one thing is for sure: the NFC East is far and away the best division in football. Not even a quarter of the season has been played, but the NFC East has proven itself to be the cream of the crop already. A strong start has put it in position to put the maximum of three teams in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The AFC South was always in the argument, but the early struggles of the Colts and Jaguars have tipped the balance toward the division that owns the league’s most talented team as well as the defending champions.

The Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Redskins are a combined 10-2 so far with both losses coming in divisional games. Dallas isn’t a surprise, their 3-0 start is a relief if anything, especially considering the hard times that the other Super Bowl favorites are experiencing. This group became the first set of Cowboys to win in Lambeau, and did so by double digits. They were the best team in the NFC from September to December last season, but slumped at the worst time and blew their home-field advantage. This team already knows it can put up gaudy numbers in the regular season, but needs to succeed in the postseason. The Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game in over a decade, but despite this egregious flaw in the resume they will continue to steal the spotlight. They are loaded with superstars that will crave all the attention they can find from the media. With 13 Pro Bowlers, including Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and Adam Jones, it’s easy to get star struck with this group.

That’s just fine with the Giants, who have taken the low-key route to enter their bye week in a first place tie with Dallas. The defense remains as ferocious as ever even without Michael Strahan and Osi Umeniyora. New York’s 13 sacks is tied for the best in the NFL, a true indication as to how deep this pass rush really is. Justin Tuck has been overshadowed by Strahan and Umeniyora, but he’s been just as effective without them. Now that he’s a Super Bowl winning quarterback, Eli Manning can finally take a step back and relax. This has allowed him to play the best stretch of football in his career. Despite all this, the Giants will continue to fly under the radar because of that big star from America’s Team that resides in Irving. Ignore the Giants at your own peril.

The Philadelphia Eagles went 8-8 a season ago, and were quickly sliding out of their championship window. Thanks to a finally healthy Donovan McNabb, they are working themselves back into a contender. Jim Johnson and the defense made a spirited recovery from the Monday night meltdown against the Cowboys eight days ago by physically dominating the Steelers offense in a statement game. Johnson didn’t stand pat and let a capable offense pick him apart again. He threw multiple blitz schemes at a shaky Steelers offensive line, and hit pay dirt multiple times. Eight sacks, including a clinching safety in the fourth quarter was a great way for Philadelphia to silence the pessimists that questioned whether this defense was destined to be a liability. Instead, the unit could the catalyst towards a long and successful season.

Under new coach Jim Zorn and yet another new offensive scheme, the Washington Redskins were supposed to be the punching bag in the division. They were the Cinderella playoff team from 2007, but were clearly a step behind their rivals with Jason Campbell returning as the team’s quarterback. This was a three-team race, and the Redskins were in catch up mode to teams expecting big things right away. Those concerns were confirmed in a rough Opening Night loss to the Giants, but Washington has responded nicely. Campbell has thrown game-winning touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks and suddenly the Redskins are on the right side of .500 at 2-1.

There have been no shortages of shock storylines around the league over the past three weeks, but the strength of the NFC East is nothing too surprising. The unexpected part is the difference in strength between teams in this division and the others. Divisional games have been played at another level, and it has carried over in games outside the NFC East. After getting their defenses exposed against each other, Dallas and Philadelphia put on defensive clinics in solid wins against quality competition. The Redskins put on a dismal offensive showing against the rough New York defense, but have relied on that unit to score 53 points in the last two games, arguably the two best of Campbell’s career. Collectively, the strength of these four teams made this division a must-watch as the season unfolds.