2024 NFC East race: Reasons why both the Cowboys and Eagles can win division
CBSN
Dallas aims to snap the NFC East's everlasting streak of parity, hold off retooled Eagles
Another year, another offseason in which this statistic about the NFC East's parity rings true: the NFC East division has had 19 consecutive seasons without a repeat champion. Andy Reid's and Donovan McNabb's 2001-04 Philadelphia Eagles remain the last squad to win this division in successive years. Completion Pct 69.5% 2nd Pass Yards/Att 7.7 6th Pass TD 36 1st TD-INT 36-9 2nd Passer Rating 105.9 2nd Receptions 135* 1st Receiving yards 1,749* 2nd Receiving TD 12 3rd
It will be an uphill battle for the Dallas Cowboys, the 2023 NFC East champion, to end this streak following an offseason that was rebranded from "all in" to get it done with less" after the team saw eight players, including five starters, depart in free agency, tied for the third-most Dallas has lost in a single offseason in franchise history. Those departures were directly connected to owner and general manager Jerry Jones being unable to re-sign 2023 NFL MVP runner-up quarterback Dak Prescott and 2023 receptions leader wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to long-term extensions ahead of free agency in March. That would have spread out their cap hits, providing more room to make moves this offseason. However, they still have many pieces in place from their Cowboys squads that have won 12 games in each of the last three seasons.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who stumbled to an 11-6 finish to the regular season after a 10-1 start, aggressively revamped all aspects of their operation for 2024. They have two new coordinators (offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio), and they were aggressive in free agency, signing Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley (three years, $37.75 million) and the second-highest quarterback pressure generator in the NFL last season (21.3%) in edge rusher Bryce Huff (three years, $51.1 million) -- after trading Pro Bowler Haason Reddick to the New York Jets.
