The Fate of the NFC East Lies with the Browns
By Adam Neiberg
The NFC East is unarguably the worst division in all of football, and possibly one of the worst divisions in the history of the modern NFL since the merger. The Giants pulled off a stunning upset against a horrible Eagles team in Week 10 which propelled them into a surprising battle for the division. Although the division race became much more complicated with two teams now competing for first place, in a way things also became more clear. We no longer know who will win this division, but we do know that six wins are now the number needed to clinch. Both the Giants and the Eagles have a very similar schedule to finish out the year, including four games that should be undoubtedly losses, two games that should be victories, and one game that is a complete toss-up. The funny thing about it is that the potential toss-up game is against the same team for the Giants and Eagles; the Cleveland Browns. If things play out as they should, whoever can defeat the Browns will ultimately win the division.
The Giants are currently 3-7 on the year. (Getty Images)
Now let’s break this down, the Giants are 3-7 following their victory against the Eagles who now stand at 3-5-1. The Giants enter their bye week off of a strong stretch of performances, going 3-2 in their last 5 games, with the two losses being close ones to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Eagles in their first matchup. After their bye, the G-men play the Bengals, Seahawks, Cardinals, Browns, Ravens and Cowboys. Of those games, three of them are nearly definitive losses to the Ravens, Seahawks, and Browns, while on the other hand, the Giants should beat the Bengals, and Cowboys. If things do play out this way, the Giants would finish with a 5-10 record. If the Giants can find a way to beat the Browns, they will finish the year with a 6-10 record, which will give them a legitimate shot at taking the NFC East title. Yet if they were to lose to the Browns, it is nearly impossible for the Giants to take the NFC East, barring a complete and utter catastrophic meltdown from the Eagles, which honestly, is not entirely out of the question.
The Eagles are currently 3-5-1 on the season. (Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer)
On the other side of things, despite the loss to the Giants, the Eagles find themselves in a slightly more favorable position, even with a very similar schedule. The Eagles currently stand at 3-5-1, carrying a fractional lead in the division over the Giants. Despite that, the pressure is currently on the Eagles to finish strong, not the Giants. For the remainder of the season, the Eagles start off with the Browns this Sunday, but let’s circle back around to that at the end. In Week 12 the Eagles will play the Seahawks, then the Packers, Saints, Cardinals, and finish the season with the Cowboys and a home game against the Washington Football Team. Out of those games, the Eagles should expect losses to the Seahawks, Packers, Saints, and Cardinals while they should be able to take care of the Washington Football Team, and the horrendous Dallas Cowboys. If the schedule plays out this way without any major upsets the Eagles should finish 5-9-1, excluding the Cleveland Browns game.
Ultimately, If the Giants beat the Cleveland Browns and move to 6-10 while the Eagles lose to the Browns, the Giants should be holding the NFC East title at the end of the year for the first time since 2011. On the contrary, If the Eagles win against the Browns this Sunday and win the games they are supposed to for the remainder of the season, they should be able to hold on to the NFC East title because of their tie to the Bengals in Week 2 of this season. That would give the Eagles the tiebreaker over the Giants in the race for 6 wins. Unless there are some major upsets between the Eagles and Giants this season, the Cleveland Browns may very well decide the fate of the NFC East.
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