NFC East: The Quest for Perfection, Week Four Preview

For those of you who missed it, I wrote my first article in this series last week. 

Last Sunday, the NFC East kept their hopes alive for a combined undefeated record against non-divisional opponents.  Their mark stands currently at 8-0, which means they are one-fifth of the way to an unprecedented 40-0.

The average margin of victory for the NFC East teams over opponents outside the NFC East still stands at an impressive 14.5 points for game.  This is down seven points from last week, mostly because none of the NFC East teams played against the Rams.

Chances are still slim at best that the NFC can run the table, but it is beginning to become something to think about. 

For the rest of the season, it looks like the toughest match-ups for the NFC East will be the Cowboys, Giants, and Redskins playing the Steelers, and also the Giants playing the Vikings.  All of these games are towards the latter half of the season, so don’t be surprised if this undefeated streak continues on for a while. 

Of course, there is always the strong possibility that one of these teams could lose to a weaker team.  The Giants squeaked by with a win against the hapless Bengals last weekend.

The outlook for the upcoming week looks promising for the NFC East teams.  The Giants have their bye week and the Cowboys and Redskins play each other.  The only game that will count for their quest towards perfection is the Eagles playing the Bears.  While the Bears are no slouch, the Eagles will be unquestionably favored to win this one.

The NFC East has also already separated itself from other conference in non-divisional match-ups, as every other conference has at least two losses.

Here are the updating conference standings heading into week four (rank, conference, record, average margin of victory):

1. NFC East:  8-0, 14.5 ppg
2. AFC East:  4-2, -0.67 ppg
3. NFC South:  5-3, 3.5 ppg
4. AFC North:  2-3, 1.6 ppg
5. AFC South:  2-3, -1.2 ppg
6. AFC West:  2-4, -2.17 ppg
7. NFC West:  2-4, -9.17 ppg
   
8. NFC North:  2-6, -4.38 ppg