This NFL Analyst Likes Giants or Washington for NFC East Title

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky believes that the time has come to start talking about the New York Giants and Washington Football Team as the two most likely clubs to challenge for the NFC East title this coming season.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
May 31, 2021 10:00 AM EDT

Is the bloom finally off the rose for the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles as far as winning the NFC East goes?

It's still early to say for sure, but for now, one very prominent national analyst believes that the NFC East title could come down to either the Giants or Washington Football Team.

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, on a recent appearance on ESPN's weekday morning program Get Up, thinks the tide has turned in the NFC East to where we could potentially be talking about two new contenders for the division title.

“The Cowboys are the third-best team in this division,” Orlovsky said. “The Washington Football Team and the Giants are both better.”

Orlovsky offers two reasons for what is sure to be an unpopular opinion with many people. He believes that Washington and the Giants, as led by Ron Rivera and Joe Judge respectively, are better-coached teams.

Rivera led the Football Team to a 7-9 record that, while not overly impressive (none of the NFC East teams posted impressive records), was still good enough to win the division despite the franchise having major issues at quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Giants, who finished with a 6-10 record and in second place in the division, remained right in the thick of the division title race down to Week 17.

Sure, they had some question marks at quarterback, though many of those questions had more to do with the supporting cast around Daniel Jones than Jones himself.

But not even the staunchest Cowboys supporter can deny that Judge had the Giants ready to play every week, even after losing star running back Saquon Barkley in Week 2.

The optimistic Cowboys fan will point out that Dallas finished with the same 6-10 record as the Giants despite losing starting quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 5 to a season-ending ankle injury.

But not even the biggest Cowboys supporter wearing the rosiest colored glasses can argue that last year's Cowboys defense was so historically bad that it warranted a re-start with a new defensive coordinator (Dan Quinn for the fired Mike Nolan).

Orlovsky also pointed out that even with the return of Prescott to the lineup, the Cowboys defense is still a significant question mark, despite all the resources the club put into the unit in the off-season.

And on the topic of quarterbacks, Orlovsky notes that if the Giants and Washington get strong play from that position, that's going to strengthen each team's case for the NFC East title over the Cowboys because "if Dak Prescott plays good football, that's still not a playoff team.''

The Giants have significantly upgraded their talent on offense, adding receivers Kenny Golladay, John Ross, and Kadarius Toney, tight end Kyle Rudolph. New York is also getting back Saquon Barkley and hopes to get a better season out of Evan Engram, who fought through a case of the yips last year.

While there remain questions about the Giants offensive line, both Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman have expressed optimism that the unit will be much improved after going through their first year together last season and in a new offensive system.

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