East vs East: NFC East Race to Go Down the Wire, Competition Tightens as Schedule Progress
The schedule makers of the NFL are expecting a tight NFC East race after they scheduled it accordingly. For the 2021 NFL season, the NFC East is up for grabs, and it is nothing unusual for sports fans. Since the '04 Philadelphia Eagles, the division has not had a repeat winner.
None of the storied franchises in the NFC managed to close the games with a winning record last season, which needs a team overhaul.
According to Yahoo Sports, NFL Director of Broadcasting Charlotte Carey shared in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" that the NFL loaded up the latter part of the season with NFC East vs. East games.
He also said that the league believes that the division will have a close race this season, and the remaining games will have a big impact on the playoff games.
Moreover, Carey noted that the majority of them would like to see division games at the end of the season. Carey added that the broadcasting team and most of them in the league want to see the NFC East teams battle it out at the end of the season as it will be really competitive. He further noted that they were excited to see how it shakes out this season.
In addition, Washington will be closing their season against NFC East teams for five straight games. The Philadelphia Eagles have four East teams at the end of their schedule.
The Dallas Cowboys will be playing NFC East opponents in four of their last five, while the New York Giants will play division opponents in three of their last four. It is all part of the big NFC East games that the league hopes.
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NFC East Favorites
Meanwhile, by default, the NFC East defending champion is the Washington Football Team after the squad finished 7-9. But despite the performance by Washington last season, the Dallas Cowboys are still the early favorites for almost the 20th consecutive year, and the Cowboy Nation hopes that the team can deliver this season, ESPN reported.
The Dallas Cowboys is looked up to win 10 games this season. That is twice as much as the next closest NFC East team, with the Giants being estimated to win only five games.
Furthermore, an insider for the Dallas Cowboys shared that Dak Prescott has fully recovered and is already set for work in the offseason. The insider added that the health of Dak would be an X-factor in their 2021 campaign.
Even Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy stated this week that Prescott would participate in most of the teamwork during their mandatory minicamp starting June 8. But before unleashing him in the field, the Cowboys training staff will be having a post-practice assessment to check if he ready for the 2021 NFL season and the NFC East race, CBS Sports reported.
Still, the NFC East remains an unpredictable division. It is because of the major offseason moves done not only by Washington but also by the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
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