PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Can you remember a time when the NFC East was this bad? Merrill Reese can’t.
“It’s hard to think of one that has been weaker ever, really,” said the voice of the Eagles when asked how this year’s division ranks with the worst of all time.
Six games into the 2020 season, the division has a combined record of 5-18-1, which is a winning percentage of .229.
If you simply go by winning percentage, every first- and second-place team in the other seven divisions would be in the lead of the NFC East, or where the 1-4-1 Eagles sit in second place. In fact, the only third-place team from those divisions that has a worse winning percentage than Philadelphia is the 1-5 Houston Texans.
In most other seasons, a team with one win out of six games would not be in the conversation for a playoff spot. But that’s the 2020 NFC East — or “NFC Least,” as some call it.
Aside from the strike-shortened 1982 campaign, no NFC East winner has ever finished with less than nine wins. It’s hard to imagine the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Washington Football Team getting either seven or eight more wins in the next 10 games — considering each squad is well into the negative in point differential.
Notably, Washington captured the 1982 NFC East with an 8-1 record and ended up winning the Super Bowl.
After getting smoked 38-10 Monday night to the Arizona Cardinals, the first-place Cowboys are 2-4, only a half-game ahead of the Eagles. If Doug Pederson’s heavily injured squad beats the 1-5 Giants Thursday night at the Linc, they will jump back into first place of this dreadful division — at least briefly, because Dallas plays Washington on Sunday.
“Everything is still kind of up for grabs and we’re just trying to figure out how to win a game and how to get guys healthy to play,” said Pederson.
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Zeroing in on the Eagles, they are to blame for their record. They had no business coughing up a big lead to Washington in the opener, and they were unable to find a way to defeat a very beatable 1-4-1 Bengals team at home.
Reese, however, is encouraged by the effort they showed in almost upsetting the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens and 5-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t see that same resiliency from the Cowboys against Arizona.
“Watching Dallas (Monday) night brought one thing to my mind: the way the Eagles fought back,” said Reese. “The Cowboys got behind Arizona (Monday) night and they folded.”
This was the first game Dallas played without quarterback Dak Prescott, who suffered a gruesome compound ankle fracture and dislocation the week before. Backup Andy Dalton threw two interceptions, and running back Ezekiel Elliott fumbled twice.
“I wanna say I’m sorry and this one’s on me, and I need to be better for this team,” Elliott said.
The Cardinals responded to those four giveaways with 24 points.
“It’s the self-inflicted wounds that continue to plague us,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said.
Pederson also referred to the Eagles’ loss to Baltimore as “self-inflicted.” The level of effort between these two struggling NFC East teams may differ, but the mistakes coincide.
In addition to turnovers committed by their offense, the Cowboys defense allowed 261 total rushing yards on 35 carries, as well as long touchdowns of 80 and 69 yards.
On Nov. 1, the entire nation will have the opportunity to watch the Eagles and Cowboys put their disappointing records up against one another. But before that, the Eagles will have to focus their attention on the Giants.
Who exactly the Eagles will put on the field on Thursday remains unknown. The only original offensive starters to finish this past Sunday’s game was quarterback Carson Wentz and center Jason Kelce.
Running back Miles Sanders left Sunday with a knee injury, and tight end Zach Ertz left with a hurt ankle. ESPN reported Monday that the Eagles expect Sanders and Ertz not to play Thursday night. Sanders is dealing with a one- to two-week injury, while Ertz is out for three to four.
There’s also backup right tackle Jack Driscoll, defensive tackle Malik Jackson, and safety K’Von Wallace, who were each injured after Sunday’s loss.
“These are all football injuries,” Pederson said. “These aren’t practice injuries or weight room injuries or anything of that (nature). These are in-game ankles and a knee or a shoulder.”
Driscoll was filling in for Lane Johnson, who’s been dealing with a nagging ankle problem for some time.
The list goes on and on, including wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery, who have been out for considerable time this season. Jackson is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Jeffery is working his way back from foot surgery.
One thing possibly working in the Eagles’ favor is Pederson’s success on Thursday night games as Philadelphia’s head coach — undefeated since taking over in 2016.
“I make light of it, but my wife tells me all the time, ‘You can put a game plan together in a day and go win a game on Thursday night. Why can't you do that for a Sunday game?’ So she kind of kids me a little bit that way,” Pederson said.
It sounds like Jeannie Pederson may think as other Eagles fans do. But in all seriousness, “there’s some validity, so to speak, to keeping it simple,” Pederson added.
Regardless, the Eagles are going to need that Thursday night magic to continue, especially if they want to stay in contention of the extremely unimpressive NFC East.