It’s a new year, but the NFC East’s Jeopardy-like statistic remains alive and well: the NFC East division has gone 20 consecutive seasons without a repeat champion — the longest streak in NFL history. Andy Reid’s and Donovan McNabb’s 2001-04 Philadelphia Eagles remain the last squad to win this division in successive years.
The Eagles (14-3 in 2024), who were both the 2024 NFC East and Super LIX champions, face arguably one of the tougher roads of all time to repeat as a division champion in 2025. They will be the first team in NFL history to face 10 playoff teams from the previous season, and seven of those games will be away from Lincoln Financial Field — another NFL first. Four of those teams will be their four playoff opponents from the 2024 season, making them only the second team in league history, along with the 1993 Buffalo Bills, to face all four of their postseason opponents in the following season.
Eagles 2025 opponents who made the playoffs last season
Home: Commanders, Broncos, Lions, Rams
Road: Commanders, Packers, Chiefs, Chargers, Vikings, Bills, Buccaneers
The Washington Commanders (12-5 in 2024) shocked the football world last season, going from selecting 2023 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels out of LSU second overall to Daniels helping lead them to the NFC Championship game and winning 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Daniels’ accelerated development led to the Commanders taking a couple big swings to bolster his supporting cast by trading for five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Houston Texans and 2021 first team All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers.
The Dallas Cowboys (7-10 in 2024), the 2021 and 2023 NFC East champs, saw their 2024 season sunk by injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott, edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, right guard Zack Martin, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, cornerback DaRon Bland and cornerback Trevon Diggs to name just a few. Dallas jumpstarted their offense this offseason by acquiring explosive wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade. Now, they have given Prescott one of the best wide receiver duos in the entire league between Pickens and All-Pro CeeDee Lamb. However, like the Eagles, they have a historically tough element to their 2025 schedule. The 2025 Cowboys will be the first team in NFL history to have four consecutive games against teams with 14 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-15) and the first in NFL history with six consecutive games against teams with 11 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-17), per CBS Sports Research.
Unlike the other three teams in the division, the New York Giants are still in the middle of their rebuilding process. They brought in 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson on a one-year deal at the age of 36 after he faded down the stretch for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Wilson lost his final five starts of the year, including the playoffs and averaged under 200 passing yards per game (193.6) in that span. Jameis Winston was also brought in on a two-year deal, and he led the league with 14 turnovers across his seven starts from Weeks 8-15. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was also acquired with the team’s second first-round pick, 25th overall. He did lead college football in yards per pass attempt (10.8) while also leading the SEC in passing yards (4,279), but general manager Joe Schoen did say Wilson will still be the starter to begin the year. The Giants have one of the most talented defensive lines in football with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns, former top-five pick edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and 2025 third overall pick edge rusher Abdul Carter. However, the offense may need another year to rise to Pro Bowl wide receiver Malik Nabers‘ level.
Let’s take a zoomed in view at the three realistic contenders for the 2025 NFC East crown, the Eagles Commanders and Cowboys, and why each could emerge victorious at the finish line of the regular season.
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Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are going to need even more out of 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Saquon Barkley and Super Bowl LIX MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2025. That’s because their defense became young overnight this offseason.
Edge rusher Josh Sweat (signed with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency), edge rusher Brandon Graham (retired), defensive tackle Milton Williams (signed with the New England Patriots in free agency), cornerback Darius Slay (signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency), cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (signed with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency), cornerback Avonte Maddox (signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency) and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (traded to the Houston Texans) are all on new teams.
Philadelphia’s projected starters in the secondary, outside of Reed Blankenship, all have under three years of NFL experience: cornerback Cooper DeJean (2024 second-round pick), cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (2024 first-round pick), cornerback Kelee Ringo (2023 fourth-round pick) and safety Andre Mukuba (2025 second-round pick). Hurts and Barkley combined for the most rushing yards by a teammate duo (3,328), including the postseason, in NFL history in the 2024 season. Those two producing a similar output while continuing to mix in deep shots to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will allow for the Eagles’ youthful secondary to play with the lead, which allows for a young defense to defend opposing offenses in much more predictable situations. That’s a strong formula to repeat as the NFC East champion in 2025.
Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels was able to power the Commanders to a deep postseason run despite average pass protection (Washington allowed a quarterback pressure rate of 34.4%, 16th in the NFL) and an average scoring defense (23.0 points per game allowed, 18th in the NFL). The Commanders took major steps to improve the offense this offseason to prevent Daniels from suffering a sophomore slump similar to that of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Trading for Tunsil, a five-time Pro Bowler, and drafting Oregon first-team All-Big Ten offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. 29th overall should help clean up Daniels’ pocket. Trading for Samuel should provide a nice safety value underneath for Daniels while McLaurin goes to work downfield. Year 2 under head coach Dan Quinn could lead to better play defensively simply because of familiarity with his playbook. That was the case with his Dallas Cowboys tenure from 2021 to 2023.
Dallas Cowboys
Speaking of the Cowboys, the cavalry returning from injuries should turn their fortunes around. Quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring tear), wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (AC joint injury in shoulder), tight end Jake Ferguson (knee injury), edge rusher Micah Parsons (ankle sprain) and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot stress fracture) are among the key contributors injured last season who are poised to be ready to roll in Week 1. Getting the starting quarterback, who was the 2023 NFL MVP runner up after leading the league with 36 passing touchdowns the last time he had a fully healthy season, back in the lineup will certainly provide a boost.
Trading for Pittsburgh Steelers field-stretching wide receiver George Pickens should clear out the middle of the field where All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb loves to operate. Pickens averaged an NFL-best 16.7 yards per reception over the last two seasons, a figure that leads the entire NFL among 61 players with at least 110 catches since 2023. However, Dallas has been moving Pickens all around the formation in the offseason program, indicating new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer will ask the 24-year-old to run more than just vertical routes.
Defensively, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (knee), cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee), rookie third-round pick cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. (knee) will likely make their 2025 season debuts later in the year. If Prescott, Lamb and Pickens can get Dallas’ offense looking like its 2023 iteration when they led the NFL in scoring offense (29.9 points per game, the Cowboys could compensate for a banged up defense and make a run at the NFC East crown in 2025.
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Author: Garrett Podell
June 23, 2025 | 10:35 am
