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NFC East closes out a disappointing 2025 season

Originally posted on Inside The Star
By Richard Paolinelli | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 9:50 AM ET

Aside from the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC East had a dismal 2025 season. If not for the NFC South, the division would be the worst in the NFL.

For one year, it was the NFC Least once more.

Before we recap the four teams, let’s look at the predicted finishes from back before the season kicked off.

NFC East Predicted Finishes

12-5 Washington Commanders
11-6 Philadelphia Eagles
6-11 Dallas Cowboys
5-12 New York Giants

Actual NFC East Finish

11-6 Philadelphia Eagles
7-9-1 Dallas Cowboys
5-12 Washington Commanders
4-13 New York Giants

Overall, I ended up pretty close. I had the Giants dead last, and they were only one win below my pick.

I had Dallas finishing below .500 again, and they only bettered my prediction by 1.5 games.

The Eagles were exactly who I thought they were: An 11-6 football team.

They’ll go into the playoffs as the #3 seed and host the San Francisco 49ers this weekend in the Wildcard round.

As for the Commanders, I don’t think anyone saw that 5-12 train wreck coming.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ season never seemed to get off of the launch pad. It took the team 13 weeks to finally get over.500 for the first time.

The three-game win streak, capped by a Thanksgiving Day win over Kansas City, put Dallas at 6-5-1 and gave the franchise hope for the playoffs.

The three-game losing streak that followed ended the playoff hopes.

Sunday’s loss to the Giants sealed the Cowboys’ fate of suffering a second-straight losing year. Dallas now begins work on improving their results in 2026.

The offense and the special teams units are solid.

The Cowboys will try to lock up running back Javonte Williams and receiver George Pickens before free agency.

Dallas’ offensive line still needs a little shoring up, mostly at tackle. But the defensive unit is in dire need of a full overhaul.

From the coaches to every player at every defensive position, changes need to be made.

New York Giants

Record-wise, the Giants took, dare we say, a Giant step backwards.

However, the team suffered key injuries that made them seem less than what they actually are.

The best news for the Giants is that they fired their head coach several weeks ago. They could stay with interim head coach Mike Kafka.

Or, they could go shopping for a new head coach.

They might want to consider sending General Manager Joe Schoen packing too.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles managed to defend their NFC East title, the first time that has happened in the division in the last two decades.

Now, they will attempt to navigate the playoffs and defend their NFL championship. That may prove to be too hard of a task for this team.

Eight of Philadelphia’s victories easily could have, and in most cases should have, been losses.

Jalen Hurts is due for a bad game and odds are he’ll have it this weekend.

Sooner or later, luck runs out on everyone. In the NFL, that usually happens in the playoffs.

The 49ers could be just the team to put us out of our misery of having to watch the Eagles play in January.

Washington Commanders

The fall of the Commanders in 2025 might be the biggest shock of the NFL season.

Washington was sitting at 3-2. Their two losses had been close ones to two good teams – Green Bay and Atlanta.

Then the wheels came off. The Commanders’ season imploded as they lost eight consecutive games.

Losing Jayden Daniels to injury didn’t help. But, like the Cowboys, Washington’s defense was abysmal and the main reason why the Commanders’ season was derailed.

Look for Dan Quinn to be back for his third season.

The same probably won’t be said of many of the players on the defensive side of the ball in Washington.

This article first appeared on Inside The Star and was syndicated with permission.

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