Could the 2020 NFC East Be the Worst Division of All-Time?

Could the 2020 NFC East be the worst division of all-time? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Through six weeks of the NFL season, the NFC East will either have five or six wins, depending on how the Dallas Cowboys fare on Monday night. The next lowest following Sunday is the AFC East with nine. Dallas will also have a chance to still lead the division at 2-4 should it fall to the Cardinals.

To put it simply, the NFC East is really, really bad. But, does it have the potential to be historically bad?

In order to do so, the four teams would need to put out a performance worse than the 2008 NFC West, which is currently the worst combined divisional record of all-time in the modern era. Here's how that division shook out:

  1. Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
  2. San Francisco 49ers (7-9)
  3. Seattle Seahawks (4-12)
  4. St. Louis Rams (2-14)

In order to avoid taking the crown, the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys and Washington would need to win 23 games. That is 18 or 17 more wins after Week 6. Based on what the group has demonstrated early on, is that possible? NBC Sports Washington's Pete Hailey summed it up pretty nicely on Washington Football Talk: The Rundown.

"No," Hailey said.

The rest of the Washington Football Talk crew, JP Finlay and Mitch Tischler agree with that in-depth statement. When looking around the division, Finlay has a hard time handing out many wins to any team in the division. Even just getting to 20 total wins seems challenging.

“I think all four of these teams could go 5-11 and I think that’s being really gracious," Finlay said.

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Hailey's newly-adjusted season predictions of seven (Cowboys), six (Eagles), four and four (Giants and Washington) wins for the teams tell the same story. His preseason prediction that Washington would go 8-8 does not. 

While the teams will continue to play one another forcing someone to get a win, those games alone won't be enough to stay away from all-time disappointment. Even the NFC West had a division winner at 9-7, something that doesn't seem like a lock in the NFC East.

So, while each week makes it more obvious that the division is very bad, it turns out that there is a strong chance it could be historically bad. According to the Washington Football Talk group, the odds point to that becoming the reality.

“I’ll take the under on 22," Finlay said. 

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