NFC Playoff Picture: NFC East Winner Still Title Contender Despite Ugly Record

The NFC East has been one of the best divisions in football for a number of years.

This season they could potentially be sending an 8-8 team into the postseason.

That is quite a drop off from a division that has sent as many three teams to the postseason multiple times in recent years.

The division crown will once again come down to the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

The last time the other team in the East, the Washington Redskins, won the division was in 1999. Since that time the Eagles have won six division crowns, the Giants three and the Cowboys two.

Up until last season the division had sent at least one wild-card representative into the postseason every year since 2005. And the division has sent both wild-card representatives twice (2006 and 2007), one of which was the Giants' Super Bowl run.

Needless to say, the NFC East has been a big factor in the NFC playoff picture for a number of years.

Heck, the Eagles went to four straight NFC Championship Games from 2001 to 2004.

This year is by far the division's worst in some time. The Cowboys could potentially be 10-6 if they win out, but if they lose just one game in the next two (they play the Eagles and the Giants) then the best the NFC East can do is a 9-7 team with the potential for an 8-8 team.

The least amount of wins an NFC East winner has ever had is 10 (not including Washington's 8-1 record in the strike-shortened 1982 season).

But through all this there is no denying that whoever wins the NFC East will still be a major threat in the playoffs.

Despite the potentially ugly record, the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles are three of the most dangerous teams in the league.

They can explode at any time. They can play from behind. And they feature the one thing that wreaks absolute havoc in the postseason: pass rushing.

In fact, all four NFC East teams are in the top 10 in sacks, and individually the division has three of the top four sack artists (Jason Babin, Eagles, 18; DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys, 16; Jason Pierre-Paul, Giants, 13.5) in the league as well.

Anything can happen when the postseason rolls around.

When it comes to the NFC East, they can never be taken lightly. Even in a down year.