5 Burning Questions Facing The NFC East
5 Burning Questions Facing The NFC East
Can Dak Prescott save his Dallas Cowboys future, will the Philadelphia Eagles return to Super Bowl contention, is a surprise contender lurking?
The NFC East houses two teams that believe they have the pieces in place to make a run at the Super Bowl and two that are in various stages of rebuilding.
In Philadelphia and Dallas, the heat is on to at least make the NFC Championship Game, perhaps to the point of it being necessary for both head coaches to save their jobs, while the New York Giants face a season that could potentially be identity-affirming and in Washington a potential sleeping giant lies in wake.
Here’s a look at five burning questions facing one of the most compelling divisions in the NFL.
Do the Dallas Cowboys have enough offensive weapons around Dak Prescott?
If this is what it looks like to be "all-in," I’d hate to see what it looks like when Jerry Jones gets complacent.
Look, Dak Prescott is going to become one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, whether in Dallas or elsewhere, sometime between now and the first moments of free agency next March.
However, Jones and the Cowboys have done Prescott a disservice with the offense Dallas is going to field this season.
The talent exodus from the Cowboys’ offense has been mind-boggling to watch unfold. All-Pro offensive tackle Tyron Smith is now a New York Jet, stalwart center Tyler Biadasz is a Washington Commander, and Tony Pollard bolted for the Tennessee Titans.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is expected to headline a backfield by committee at age 29, after logging 652 carries over the past three seasons. Running backs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn are largely unproven, and Dallas is asking a lot of Brandin Cooks, who hasn’t surpassed 1,000 receiving yards since 2021.
On top of everything else, CeeDee Lamb is holding out while seeking a new contract, and the Cowboys seem prepared to let Prescott play out the final year of his deal.
This is an offense that finished fifth in total offense in 2023, averaging 371.6 yards per game, led the league in scoring with 29.9 points per game, and led the charge to a 12-win season and NFC East championship.
For as much as the Cowboys have lost this offseason, it seems the task of making a return trip to the postseason and winning at least one playoff game—which seems to be McCarthy and Prescott’s mandate—may have gotten significantly more daunting.
But if Prescott leads the Cowboys on a lengthy postseason run, his next contract is going to be even more lucrative.
Will Nick Sirianni be able to weather another storm should the Eagles struggle at some point in 2024?
The heat is on Nick Sirianni.
It’s easy to rally the troops, fire up your players, and craft a winning culture when your team is, well, winning, not to mention making a run to the Super Bowl.
However, many executives in buildings across the league told me throughout Philadelphia’s woeful 1-6 backslide to close out the 2023 season that their belief was Sirianni lost the locker room and the trust of his players when the embattled head coach swapped defensive coordinator Sean Desai for Matt Patricia ahead of a Week 15 Monday Night Football loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
It isn’t easy to reset the culture or regain the trust of veteran players, which could be compounded by the fact that locker room pillars and All-Pro players Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired this offseason.
Winning cures all ills, and that is especially true in the week-to-week world of the NFL. But, the fact that owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman brought Sirianni back but insisted on new coordinators — Vic Fangio on defense and Kellen Moore calling the offense — suggests that it may take a lengthy playoff run at minimum for Sirianni to keep his job beyond this season.
Three of the Eagles’ first five games this season are against teams that made the playoffs last season, including a season-opener in Brazil against the insurgent Green Bay Packers.
Sirianni may need a fast start, and wins over playoff-caliber competition sure work wonders to boost confidence. However, if the Eagles start teetering early on, in the pressure cooker of a market that is Philadelphia, it may take more than custom t-shirts for Sirianni to maintain the faith and belief of his players.
Does Daniel Jones Have Another Gear?
The 2024 season may be now or never for Daniel Jones.
As this summer’s Offseason Hard Knocks series illustrated and owner John Mara’s recent comments reiterated, the New York Giants are all-in on moving forward with Daniel Jones after signing him to a four-year deal worth $160 million ahead of the 2023 campaign. The question now becomes, for how long?
The Giants bolstered the offensive line in front of Jones by signing veteran tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and guard Jon Runyan Jr. Even though Saquon Barkley is now a Philadelphia Eagle, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers seems to be authoring a new highlight mixtape every single day under the oppressive summer sun in the swamps of Jersey during his rookie training camp.
Jones believes he is one of the premier quarterbacks in the league.
“I’ve done it,” Jones recently told Tyler Dunne of Go Long. “And I’ve played at a really high level and I understand I need to play consistently at that level, but I think we got the guys and we’ve got the makeup of the team for us all to play at a really high level, including me. I know I can.”
Now, the stage is set for Jones to prove it.
Especially after the Giants spent an offseason adding some weapons around Jones, thanks to a young receiving corps headlined by Nabers and young wideouts Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Otherwise, Mara, general manager Joe Schoen, and the Giants aren’t likely to give the same second thought to choosing his replacement high in next year’s NFL Draft as they did earlier this spring.
Can Jayden Daniels Be this year’s C.J. Stroud?
The Houston Texans kicked the door in and arrived ahead of schedule, not just to the NFL Playoffs, but to the AFC Divisional Round last season, and now into the Super Bowl conversation this season, thanks in large part to C.J. Stroud’s immediate emergence as a franchise quarterback.
With Jayden Daniels in Washington, the stage could be set for history to repeat itself.
Suddenly, thanks to an organizational hierarchy led by general manager Adam Peters, assistant general manager Lance Newmark, and head coach Dan Quinn, competency is reigning supreme in the nation’s capital. The Commanders have quickly surrounded the reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with loads of talent.
Daniels can make every throw on the route tree and arrives in Washington after completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 6,725 yards with 57 touchdowns to just seven interceptions across his two seasons at LSU. The No. 2 overall pick also has plenty of escapability in the pocket, as illustrated by his 2,000 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns over his final two collegiate seasons.
As the Commanders’ preseason opener looms, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Daniels is penciled in as the starting quarterback.
What may be shocking to those not paying attention is just how similar Daniels’ weapons are to what the Texans surrounded Stroud with in 2023.
Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson combined for 1,520 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2023 despite wildly inconsistent quarterback play. Meanwhile, Austin Ekeler arrives at running back having reached the end zone 23 times over the past two seasons.
The weapons are there, Daniels’ upside is immense, and if the rookie signal caller makes an immediate impact, the Commanders can make a playoff push.
What do the futures hold in Philadelphia and Dallas?
Bill Belichick is going to be hovering over this division all season long like an incoming thunderstorm approaching the coastline.
Shortly after parting ways with the New England Patriots, it was reported that the Eagles had varying degrees of interest in hiring him this past winter. The New York Giants make a lot of sense for a lot of obvious reasons, and there must be an allure for Belichick in coaching the Dallas Cowboys, given that franchise’s profile.
There is a very tangible scenario where the Eagles and Cowboys underperform, leaving both organizations looking for new head coaches ahead of the 2025 season.
In Philadelphia, the Eagles have the offensive weapons in place to be one of the most prolific units in the sport but are placing a ton of pressure on a young defense that was a catalyst for last season’s backslide. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have set the stage for a 2024 campaign with the potential to be a lame-duck season for both head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott.
Obviously, if either the Eagles or Cowboys are representing the NFC in New Orleans next February, Sirianni or McCarthy will have bought themselves several more seasons of goodwill and, more importantly, job security.
However, if either or both teams stumble, the race could be on for Belichick. At a minimum, both will likely be looking at new head coaches in 2025.