Entering the 2026 season, many thought the NFC East would be a dogfight. The Philadelphia Eagles have run the division the past few years, but started to unravel last season, leaving the door open for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders to get into the mix. While that has come to fruition, I don’t think it’s looked the way anybody thought it would through four weeks.

The Eagles seem to be entering rebuild mode, the Cowboys look exactly as they did last year, the Giants lost their star quarterback, and the Commanders are one of the most unpredictable teams in the league. It’s been a weird start to the season in the NFC East, to say the least, but it’s making it a wildly entertaining race for a guaranteed playoff spot.

Let’s dive into each NFC East team to see what has gone wrong through the first four weeks of the season, because they’ve all faced setbacks.

New York Giants (3-1)

NFC East Standings: 1

NFC East Odds: +380

Remaining Strength of Schedule: 19

Some people expected the Giants to be leading the division this year, but I don’t think anyone thought it would’ve happened the way it has. First, they pulled off the upset win over Dallas in the season opener, but in Week 2, after getting blown out by the Rams and losing Jaxson Dart for the year, it looked like their season was coming apart at the seams. Well, they’ve won two straight games (granted, those came against Tennessee and Arizona) and are currently leading the NFC East with a 3-1 (1-0 NFC East) record.

Ever since Dart went out, the Giants haven’t looked great offensively, but have still managed to win two games. Jameis Winston is completing just 55 percent of his throws and has three touchdowns to three interceptions, and in those two games, Cam Skattebo has failed to average over 3.2 rushing yards per carry. But despite all of that, they’re averaging 20.5 points per game. It hasn’t necessarily been pretty, but it’s working (for now).

The worst part about this situation for the Giants is Dart going down with an injury. With the Eagles collapsing by the minute and the Cowboys’ inability to pull out close games late, the Giants would probably be the favorites to win the division if Dart was still under center. Even without him, they still have a shot, especially because their schedule is easier than the rest of the division’s. They still have to play Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco, and Seattle, but outside of that, there isn’t a single team left on their schedule that is over .500.

Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)

NFC East Standings: 2

NFC East Odds: +165

Remaining Strength of Schedule: 13

The Eagles are literally falling apart in front of our very eyes. They got off to a 2-0 start with unconvincing wins over Washington and Tennessee, and have followed it up with a blowout loss to the Case Keenum-led Bears and a loss to the Rams after leading 20-10 in the fourth quarter. They’re still second in the division and are tied with the Cowboys as the favorite to win it, but things just keep getting worse and worse.

Let’s start with Saquon Barkley, who suffered a hamstring injury and is bound to miss at least a week or two, if not more. But to make matters worse, their future HOF right tackle Lane Johnson decided to retire out of nowhere, and not long after, they traded away their starting center Cam Jurgens (they actually got a pretty good haul back for him, receiving a 2028 second-rounder). Their offensive line was already falling apart, but now, they have no chance up front.

If you want to read between the lines a bit, the Eagles have now traded A.J. Brown and Cam Jurgens, and instead of receiving high 2027 picks, they’ve gotten a 2028 first and second in return. So what could be happening in 2028 to make them want to stockpile picks, you might ask? If the Eagles get rid of Jalen Hurts in 2027, they would owe $24 million in dead money, but if they wait until 2028, they will actually save $23 million against the cap. The Eagles are going into rebuild mode, but they’re hoping it won’t be for a long time.

The Eagles still have enough talent to go and win this division, but it feels like there’s some toxicity in the locker room, and it doesn’t matter how talented you are; if you’re not playing together as one, you’re not going to go very far in the NFL.

Dallas Cowboys (2-3)

NFC East Standings: 3

NFC East Odds: +165

Remaining Strength of Schedule: 7

Despite already having two more losses than the NFC East leader after an embarrassing TNF loss to Tampa Bay, the Cowboys are still tied with the Eagles as the favorites to win the NFC East. But that will change quickly if they can’t pull out close games.

In Week 1, Dallas fell behind early to New York, and because their defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed, they never had the chance to claw back into it, possessing the ball just two times in the second half (they scored touchdowns on both of those drives. They bounced back in Week 2 with a win over Washington after Jayden Daniels got hurt, but went to Rio and lost after a special teams blunder allowed the Ravens to start on the 35-yard line with seconds left, setting up a game-winning field goal attempt. They were able to pull out a close one over Houston in Week 4, but turned around and lost to an 0-4 Buccaneers team on TNF after their offense couldn’t get it done late to send the game into overtime.

Through five weeks, Dallas looks like the same team they were last year. Their offense has an incredibly high ceiling and can win them games, but their defense has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Even with the additions they made this offseason, their defense isn’t any better than it was last year. 2-3 is not the start to the season they envisioned, and yet, they’re still right in the mix.

Out of all the NFC East teams, I actually feel the best about Dallas. While Philly is falling apart at the seams, the Cowboys are actively making moves to improve their roster. Their offense is great, and this defense will get better as the season goes on. But this might be a division where nine wins gets you in the playoffs.

Washington Commanders (1-3)

NFC East Standings: 4

NFC East Odds: +700

Remaining Strength of Schedule: 6

The Washington Commanders are at the bottom of the barrel in the NFC East, but that’s largely due to a tough schedule and the fact that Jayden Daniels got hurt.

The Commanders have started the season with back-to-back road games against the Eagles and Cowboys, which they lost, and then hosted the Seahawks and Colts. They actually managed to upset Seattle with Marcus Mariota under center, and were holding their own against Indy before third-string QB Athan Kaliakmanis had to come in when Mariota got hurt. Things don’t lighten up, either. Their next six games include two matchups against the Giants, a trip to San Francisco, and three home games against the Eagles, Rams, and Bengals.

Luckily for Washington, Jayden Daniels is set to return to the field this week, so a win over the Giants is definitely on the board. But still, even with Daniels returning, I don’t know that their defense is good enough to win more than six or seven games this year. They probably have the worst chance of winning the division of all the NFC East teams.