🏈 The Cold Hard Truth About The NFC East

The NFC East is historically bad, yet one team is going to make the playoffs and receive home field advantage. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The NFC East is filled with teams that are floating between varying levels of disfunction and it has reached that rare distinction of being so bad that it has become rather interesting. ... we take a look at how the contagious energy of Dalvin Cook is fueling the Minnesota Vikings this season ... and we are treated to an incredible high school football highlight from a future Texas Longhorn. A lot of weird things have happened in 2020. Time sped up, slowed down, stood still and generally fried our concept of normal. For a while, paper towels and sanitized wipes were the most valuable/hoard-worthy/tradable thing in your neighborhood. One of the year’s most popular TV celebrities was a convicted felon with the rather marvelous name of Joe Exotic. In sports, well, we have the NFC East. It is a weird, awful division both in optics and in numerical fact. It is filled with teams that are floating between varying levels of disfunction and it has reached that rare distinction of being so bad that it has simultaneously become hugely interesting. [STORY IMAGE 1] It may be that no division in the National Football League has ever been so strange. Certainly, the way things are going, no division has ever been as inept. The Philadelphia Eagles (3-5-1), New York Giants (3-7), Washington Football Team (2-7) and the Dallas Cowboys (2-7), this season, are a sorry collection of outfits. They all share these things: a losing record, an ability to somehow make things worse past a point when that no longer seems possible, and an infinitely better chance of making the playoffs than any of them deserve. “Five wins might win this division,” Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe said on FS1’s Undisputed. “I don’t think (it is a joke) either. I am looking at everybody’s schedule. I just don’t see four (more) wins. I don’t see three wins when Philly still has Seattle and Green Bay and Cleveland and New Orleans and Arizona. I don’t see wins there.” Careful Shannon, you’re about to start disappearing down the rabbit hole. It’s an easy thing to do. There is something about statistical absurdity that is utterly irresistible for sports nuts. Just take a look at the NFC East standings and the upcoming schedules and see an hour disappear as you analyze the propensity for chaos. [STORY IMAGE 2] Perhaps the likeliest head-scratcher would be if the Eagles were to win only two more games and yet still clinch the division. That’s right, we’d see a 5-10-1 team making the postseason and getting a No. 4 seed, plus home field advantage thrown in for free. We’ve seen losing teams make the playoffs before. But not 6-10, and certainly not 5-10-1, and absolutely not 5-11, which is still feasible for the Giants, Washington and the Cowboys, if enough things line up. In Philly, the love affair with Carson Wentz has resoundingly run out of steam. In the nation’s capital, there is little optimism after the chance for a rare victory slipped away against the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys were a bad team before Dak Prescott’s terrible injury and a much worse one since. And so it is the Giants, yes, really, that feel the best about themselves just now, having won two straight and prompting the ludicrous, but totally correct headline on Bleacher Report: “New York Giants have a legitimate shot at NFC East title.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Now, it must be put into context that those two wins were against division rivals (Eagles and Washington) because there haven’t been many victories outside of the NFC East. Against opponents from outside the division, the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys and Washington Football Team are 2-18-1. “The overall standings, we’re not going to look at those, we’re not going to focus on those,” Giants head coach Joe Judge told reporters. “That’s not an emphasis in our organization. We’ve got to keep improving as a team to give ourselves a chance to be the best program we can be.” You might want to take a quick peek, Joe - because guess what? You’re right in the mix. Somehow. When it comes to comparing the four teams in the NFC East to others in the NFL, FiveThirtyEight.com ranks them 22nd, 28th, 29th and 30th in the entire league. The Eagles come in at No. 22 on that list, which seems overtly kind. [STORY IMAGE 4] A couple of shaky tough weeks was enough to send the Seattle Seahawks tumbling to third in the NFC West. The Cleveland Browns are 6-3 and three games behind the top spot in the AFC North. The Miami Dolphins have won five straight yet are still in a dogfight for a playoff spot, even with the field expanded this year. Those things sound about right. But such general logic doesn’t apply in the NFC East, where the Eagles could lose their next four and still find themselves divisional favorites. “We just finished Week 10 and they (the NFC East Division) have 10 wins,” Sharpe added. “That’s ridiculous. But somebody has to win it. Can we just take another team from another division that’s really competitive?” As he knows, we can’t. Someone is going to be first of the worst, and creep into the postseason on the back of ineptitude that is slightly less bad than the others. Until then, we will be wondering ... how bad can one of these teams get away with being? [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Mike Vaccaro, New York Post: “Here’s the crazy thing: Five wins might actually get this done. It’ll probably take six. God, it should take six. It’s all but impossible to believe that the weekly pillow fight that is the NFC East could accept a home playoff game with a team bearing a 5-10-1 record, or 6-10. But them’s the rules. That’s the law. The Giants and their division mates didn’t make those rules. They just get to benefit from them.” Mike Fisher, Sports Illustrated: “In today's NFL, there is an entire division of Mr. Irrelevants. They are collectively known as the NFC East ... One of these NFC East teams is going to be 'the best program it can be'' - and is going to be 'the best'' in the least - while still being lousy.” ESPN.com Staff: “Picking a winner in this division is tough. It's like going to the pumpkin patch and being forced to pick from the misshapen options still remaining on the day before Halloween. Even the winner won't be pretty.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - The Minnesota Vikings have morphed their offensive philosophy around Dalvin Cook and he has become the face of the franchise. [ESPN staff writer Courtney Cronin]( explains how the contagious energy of Cook is fueling the Vikings’ run. - Austin Johnson is not your typical caddie. But he’s the perfect partner for his brother, and he told Dustin all he needed to know to win the Masters. [Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg]( writes that Dustin Johnson won the Masters his way – with his brother at his side. - When looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ last two games, the biggest difference is balance. [Yahoo Sports Senior NFL writer Terez Paylor]( explains that if the Bucs are to reach the Super Bowl, Tom Brady can be the leader, just not the catalyst. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We love to feature high school football plays in this section of the newsletter, which is why when this highlight came across our timeline, it was a no-brainer. Check out this video, which shows Hallettsville (Texas) High School running back Jonathon Brooks break off an unbelievable 80-yard touchdown run. He breaks five tackles on his way into the end zone, but the best one came near the end of the play where he stiff arms a defender, and then proceeds to throw him to the ground, juke another defender, and run in for the score. Brooks is the No. 25-ranked running back in the 2021 class, per 247Sports.com and is committed to the Texas Longhorns. We can’t wait to watch you play in college, Jonathon! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) Randy Orton takes on Drew McIntyre in a rematch for the WWE Championship on Monday Night Raw. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears host Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. #AskGlazer (@NFLonFOX social media) Jay Glazer answers your questions and reacts to the best plays from Week 10. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears Dalvin Cook 60+ Rushing Yards, 30+ Receiving Yards and 2+ Rushing TDs: +550 Both the Vikings and Bears have been wildly inconsistent this season, which makes betting on the 3.5 point spread in this game quite challenging. With that said, the one thing that hasn’t been inconsistent in this contest is Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. In fact, Cook has been unstoppable as of late, averaging 182 yards per contest in his past five games. He’s also added 10 touchdowns in those five games. FOX Bet is offering +550 odds for Cook to total 60-plus rushing yards, 30-plus receiving yards and score two-or-more touchdowns against a Bears team that has struggled this season in stopping the run. This looks like a fun bet that could lead to a nice, little payday. 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