Is 2020 NFC East worst division in NFL history?
Mike Florio and Peter King discuss the mind-bogglingly awful state of the NFC East and who might be able to string some wins together to claim the division.
Video Transcript
MIKE FLORIO: Time now for "PFT on Yahoo Sports." Peter King and Mike Florio are here with you, big stories in the NFL. And one of the things that will continue to get more and more attention, Peter. The NFC East is really, really bad. 2-4 Cowboys, 1-4-1 Eagles, 1-5 Giants, 1-5 Washington. Is this one of the worst divisions you've ever seen?
PETER KING: It might be the worst division I've ever seen, Mike. Because think about the first place team in this division-- the Dallas Cowboys. Their offensive line has been absolutely, unequivocally decimated. That was the best part of this team. The quarterback is gone, they have no defensive playmakers in the back end of their defense. And this is the leading team in the division.
And they've won two games-- both of them on walk-off field goals in which the defense allowed 34 and 39 points. I don't see how Dallas rebounds to win this. I think Philadelphia would say, well, you know, the Eagles won. I mean, did Carson Wentz complete anything but hail Marys the other day? I mean, I don't like much of what the Eagles are.
And now, with Miles Sanders, I think they've gotta go to Jalen Hurts somehow, Mike to try to give them some look on offense that would surprise a little bit-- maybe defensive coordinators with their massive injuries. The Giants-- come on. Their offensive line is awful. There's hope for their defense, though. And then Washington-- I have no idea what they're doing at quarterback, and their offense is absolutely feeble.
Mike, look, I've covered the NFL for 37 seasons. And I tried to think of it this morning and I just do not remember a division, top-to-bottom, that is this bad.
MIKE FLORIO: Now, I think that Washington, if they would make the commitment to Alex Smith, would maybe have a chance to pull themselves back into it if he can play like he did, or close to like he did, a couple of years ago, before that disastrous injury. The Eagles are accustomed to closing late.
And I like the idea of getting Jalen Hurts on the field-- not necessarily to replace Carson Wentz. But you just put your 11 best guys out there. And with that many guys injured, Hurts is clearly one of the 11 best at this point. You find a role for him-- we saw some of that on Sunday. And so I think it's going to be the Eagles or it's going to be Washington.
But I agree with you. The Cowboys just feel like they're in a complete nosedive at this point. It's not going to get any better. I think Mike Nolan is going to get fired at some point. This team really has to do some soul-searching. And even then, I don't know that it's physically capable of making a difference. The defense is historically bad. The offense, without Dak Prescott, is not going to be nearly as good. The offensive line, we took for granted-- it's gone now for the most part. This team is just falling apart.
And I think the door is open for Philly and Washington, if they get to Alex Smith. Do you think they'll get to Alex Smith at some point? Not just as an injury replacement, but as the week-in and week-out guy.
PETER KING: I think you've got one or two more bad weeks of Kyle Allen, and then you go to Alex Smith. I'd like to see Smith get a legitimate chance-- I agree with you, Mike. But here's what we're going to see. On wildcard weekend, we are going to see yet another illustration of why the NFL seeding system in the playoffs is stupid-- absolutely, unequivocally stupid.
Because the lowest seed of the division winners always gets a home game. It should not be automatic. Should there be any reward this year any reward, other than peals of laughter for whatever team that survives the NFC East, that team should be on the road and should lose 38-3 on January 9th in the first playoff game, taking Houston mercifully out of the hole for that first playoff game should lose 38-3 and then go quietly into the sunset.
MIKE FLORIO: Yeah. And Peter, this is a discussion for a different day. I don't like the current structure of the NFL divisions. Four teams aren't enough to guard against this kind of a problem because it seems like, every year, there's a quartet of teams that stink. And one of those teams isn't just guaranteed a playoff spot, they're guaranteed a home game. They need to find a way to change that. But they seem to be OK with it so I don't anticipate it changing anytime soon.
He's Peter King, I'm Mike Florio. We'll see you next time for more "PFT on Yahoo."
[MUSIC PLAYING]