NFC East Betting Favorites, Possible Upsets and Surprises

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There has not been a repeat division champion in the NFC East since 2004. This is the longest active streak in the NFL. Will it continue this year? Maybe. The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites to repeat but both the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are good enough to dethrone them if they get the right breaks.

With that, let’s take a look at the NFC East betting favorites, possible upsets, and surprises through out the NFL regular season:

NFC East Betting Favorites, Possible Upsets, and Surprises | MyBookie Conference Betting Preview

NFC East | National Football Conference – Eastern Division
Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Commanders

Last year, the division went down to the final Sunday and Philadelphia beat the Giants 22-16 to finish 14-3 and clinch the East and the top seed in the conference. Had the Eagles lost that game, Dallas had a shot to win the East with a win over Washington but the Cowboys lost that game regardless.

Philly and Dallas clearly stand apart because they have the two best QBs in the division. The Eagles’ Jalen Hurts was the MVP runner-up last year and got a huge new contract this offseason worth $255 million. Hurts was brilliant in the 2022 regular season, tossing 22 touchdowns with only six interceptions, averaging 8.1 yards per passing attempt, dissecting defenses from the pocket. When he had chances to run, Hurts was dynamic with 760 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

In the last-minute Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, Hurts accumulated 374 total offensive yards in the game, completing 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown and adding 70 yards and three touchdowns (a Super Bowl record for a quarterback) on 15 carries. He would have won game MVP honors if the Eagles had been able to win the game.

Dallas of course has Dak Prescott, entering his eighth NFL season. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and has thrown more touchdown passes over his career (166) than any other Dallas quarterback save Tony Romo (248). The Cowboys were 12-5 last season and finished second in the NFC East. Prescott had 2,860 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes in 12 games. The Cowboys defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs but fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional with Prescott struggling.

Prescott’s 50 career games with a 100-plus quarterback rating after his first seven seasons trail only Russell Wilson (56) for most in NFL history. But Prescott is just 2-4 in his postseason career and the combined record of opponents the Cowboys have beaten in his two playoff victories is 18-15. Per NFL Media, that is the lowest opponent win percentage (.545) in playoff wins among the 109 quarterbacks to win multiple postseason games in their career.

The Giants will run it back essentially from last season’s surprising wild card team as the club re-signed QB Daniel Jones to a big extension. To help make sure their Jones investment looks sound, New York franchised tagged star running back Saquon Barkley and traded a third-round pick for Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. Big Blue also added speedster receivers in Parris Campbell (in free agency from the Colts) and Jalin Hyatt (in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft).

Defensively, no team in the NFL last year played more Cover 0 or Cover 1 (man coverage) than the Giants. Their coverage and pass-rush units were in sync, yielding 136 pressures and 24 sacks while in man coverage. The defense should improve in 2023 after signing linebacker Bobby Okereke and selecting cornerback Deonte Banks in Round 1 of the draft.

Then there is Washington, which should bring up the rear and will officially be sold by the time the season starts. That the NFL got rid of owner Dan Snyder is a huge win for the league itself but the Commanders aren’t going to be very good until they find a quarterback. They are hoping that second-year Sam Howell is the guy but that remains to be seen considering the former UNC star started just once last year as a rookie.

Howell could benefit from the arrival of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and a talented receiving corps of Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel. If Howell isn’t the answer at quarterback in 2023, Washington can also lean on the experienced Jacoby Brissett, who did a serviceable job filling in for Deshaun Watson last season in Cleveland. Most likely, the Commanders pick a QB very high in the 2024 draft.

The last repeat winner in the NFC East was Philadelphia in 2004. This writer believes the Eagles will repeat this year as well as long as Hurts stays healthy.

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