Projecting the NFC East in 2018 (isportsweb)
>> Predicting each NFC East team’s record for the 2018 season
Andrew Thomison
isportsweb.com
7/20/18
isportsweb.com
The NFC East has been one of the more dominant divisions in all of football throughout the last several seasons. No matter where you turn, there are stars everywhere. From players such as Ezekiel Elliott, Carson Wentz, Josh Norman, and Odell Beckham Jr, the NFC East is loaded all around as each individual team has their own star or stars on both sides of the ball. This division could easily become the best in the entire league this season, and with that being said, let’s take a look at my NFC East predictions for the 2018 season.
Philadelphia Eagles – 12-4 : The Eagles soar into 2018 having won their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Carson Wentz is returning from an ACL tear, which means Philly’s dominance isn’t going anywhere. This team as a whole didn’t change very much from their dominant 2017 season, but they did add veteran pass-rusher in Michael Bennett, and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata which makes their defensive front even more dominant.
Even if Carson Wentz isn’t ready to go by week 1, the organization clearly has a proven backup in Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. The offensive line receiving corps, running game, and secondary is still one of the league’s best. Not to mention Doug Pederson is one of the best young minds in all of football. Bottom line, this Eagles team is loaded and I can easily see them winning 12 games in 2018.
Dallas Cowboys – 10-6 : I really like what this Cowboys team has to offer in terms of personnel on both sides of the ball. They have an above-average quarterback with an elite offensive line that includes some of the best players in all of football, that Ezekiel Elliott kid is pretty good, too. That’s not all, let us not forget about the dynamic and explosive pass-rushing skills that Dallas possess either with the likes of Demarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Taco Charlton, and an array of others as well.
After a disappointing 2017 season, I see no reason why Dallas can’t have a major bounce-back season. If the secondary can create similar success to last season when they ranked 8th in total yards allowed per game with 318.1, and 11th in passing yards allowed per game with 214.1, then I see no reason why this team cannot easily win 10 games in 2018.
New York Giants – 9-7: Similar to that of Dallas, New York too has some tremendous offensive and defensive talent. Odell Beckham is one of the most dominant receivers in all of football, rookie Saquon Barkley and second-year tight end Evan Engram both bring an explosiveness to this offense, and although the offensive line still has it’s troubles, both Nate Solder and Will Hernandez should help keep Eli Manning upright and open holes for Barkley in the running game.
Don’t even get me started on this defense, which has Pro-Bowlers in all areas, starting with safety Landon Collins who is a ball-hawk. Damon (Snacks) Harrison is one of the leagues best defensive tackles. Not to mention, the Giants also added Alec Ogletree, a great acquisition considering one of New York’s biggest weaknesses of last season was at middle linebacker. Manning’s numbers improve as the Giants win 9 games in 2018.
Washington Redskins – 7-9 : This Washington team is a unique bunch. They traded for former Kansas City Chief quarterback Alex Smith, who went from “captain check-down” to “captain air it out” when he threw for over 4,000 yards in 2017. While some may believe Smith is an upgrade over Kirk Cousins, I’ll need to see similar consistency to his previous season before I call it an “upgrade.” The offensive line is above-average, they adding rookie running back Derrius Guice from LSU which should help out their running game tremendously.
The defensive front is becoming top-notch with players such as Johnathan Allen and rookie Daron Payne both of whom are Alabama studs who know how to stop the run and get after the quarterback. Let’s not forget about Josh Norman, who is an All-Pro corner. Even with all these acquisitions, I just can’t see Washington competing with the other three NFC East teams in 2018.
Count on the Eagles continuing their dominance in 2018 by winning at least 12 games. The Cowboys are looking for a bounce-back season in 2018 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have just that by winning at least 10 games this coming season. New York still has some work to do on their offensive line, but with the acquisitions they have made, I can easily see them winning 9 games in 2018. Washington has some nice pieces defensively, I’m just not too sure if Alex Smith can create a similar season to the one he had in 2017, we’ll see. Either way, I don’t see Washington winning more than 7 games, especially not with the three other dominant teams in that division. <<
# # #
- Eric L - |
