The NFC East had gone 21 years without a back-to-back champion until the Philadelphia Eagles broke that streak with consecutive titles in 2024 and '25.
It's not easy to stay on top of this division for long, and this upcoming season promises to be particularly competitive.
Out for Philadelphia are star receiver A.J. Brown (traded to the Patriots) and legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. In for the New York Giants is decorated head coach John Harbaugh, replacing Brian Daboll, who was fired in November.
The Dallas Cowboys have top-five offensive potential and the Washington Commanders are a season removed from reaching the NFC Championship Game.
They all have quarterbacks capable of big moments and great heights, which is enough to give each team a healthy degree of optimism entering training camp.
Eagles reporter Tim McManus, Cowboys reporter Todd Archer, Giants reporter Jordan Raanan and Commanders reporter John Keim set the stage for the 2026 season in the NFC East, where the Eagles are the odds-on favorites (+115) over the Cowboys (+235), Commanders (+460) and Giants (+600), according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants WR Malik Nabers, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, Eagles RB Saquon Barkley ESPN What do the offseason moves mean for your QB? Eagles
Jalen Hurts loses one of the top receivers in the game with Brown now in New England. Their time together had run its course, as Brown's frustrations seemed to seep into his play and impact the culture in 2025, but his production -- 5,034 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns over four seasons -- will be difficult to replace. First-round pick Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks, acquired from the Packers this offseason, are expected to jump right into the mix alongside Hurts' new primary option, DeVonta Smith. The shifting landscape goes beyond personnel: New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is implementing a different scheme featuring more motions and under-center looks. It's a lot of change, even for a QB who has had seven different playcallers over six-plus seasons as a pro. -- Tim McManus
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Cowboys
Dak Prescott knows he will have receiver George Pickens for at least one more season. Pickens said he would not go through a holdout or a hold-in when camp begins. He will play on the franchise tag. That is great news for Prescott, who might have the best receiver duo in the NFL with Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. What might help Prescott even more are the defensive changes the Cowboys have made with new coordinator Christian Parker, who spent the past two seasons as the Eagles' passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Any improvement over last season's defense, which allowed an NFL-high 511 points, will take some pressure off Prescott and the offense to put up 30-plus points a game. -- Todd Archer