If you've gotten the chance to watch the NFC East play football this year, then you've probably noticed that things have been a total disaster for that division. Heading into Week 12, the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles and Washington all have exactly three wins and somehow, the team that's currently in first place (the Eagles) has looked like the worst team in the division over the past two weeks.
If you're wondering just how bad the NFC East has been, the four teams are a combined 4-19-1 in non-divisional games, which includes going 1-8-1 against the AFC North and 1-8 against the AFC West. The four teams are a combined 12-27-1 on the season and they are going to have to go at least 10-14 over the final six weeks of the year if they want to avoid breaking the NFL record for lowest combined winning percentage by a division.
The NFC East is so bad this year that it could actually end up sending a FOUR-WIN team to the playoffs and the crazy thing is that this scenario isn't even that far-fetched. Here's what has to happen down the stretch in the NFC East for a four-win team to reach the playoffs.
Week 12
Cowboys beat Washington
Seahawks beat Eagles
Bengals beat Giants
Week 13
Ravens beat Cowboys
Steelers beat Washington
Packers beat Eagles
Seahawks beat Giants
Week 14
Bengals beat Cowboys
49ers beat Washington
Saints beat Eagles
Cardinals beat Giants
Week 15
Browns beat Giants
Seahawks beat Washington
Cardinals beat Eagles
49ers beat Cowboys
Week 16
Eagles beat Cowboys
Panthers beat Washington
Ravens beat Giants
Week 17
Giants beat Cowboys
Washington beats Eagles
There are 16 non-divisional games listed above and the unbelievable thing is that there's a good chance the NFC East team that needs to lose in each game is going to be an underdog in 13 or 14 of those games. The biggest wild-card right now is probably the Cincinnati Bengals, who are somehow going to have beat both Giants and Cowboys without Joe Burrow. if Cincinnati somehow pulls off those two upsets, then there's a very real chance the NFL could be staring at it's first-ever four-win playoff team.
One other note here is that if Washington beats the Cowboys on Thursday, the four-win scenario is still in play. The only thing that would change is that Dallas would have to beat Philly in Week 16 and Philly would have to beat Washington in Week 17.
The NFL has never even seen a five or six-win playoff team and now, the league is staring down the barrel of a four-win team in the postseason. The fewest wins a team has ever had in the postseason is seven and that's actually happened multiple times with the most recent occurrence taking place in 2014 with the 7-8-1 Panthers.
If the games play out as listed above, here's what the the final NFC East standings will look like:
1. Eagles (4-11-1)
2. Giants (4-12)
3. Washington (4-12)
4. Cowboys (4-12)
The embarrassing part for the NFL is that if the Eagles win the division with a record of 4-11-1, they're going to get to HOST a playoff game, which means there's a very real chance a team that finished six or seven wins ahead of the Eagles will have to travel to Philadelphia for the wild-card round. Even if the four-win scenario doesn't happen, there's a very good chance the NFC East is going to end up making history and that's going to happen if the division winner finishes with five or even six wins.
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November 25, 2020 at 02:30AM
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2020 NFL playoff picture: Here's how a four-win NFC East team could make history by getting in the postseason - CBS Sports
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