The NFC East is home to four of the NFL’s most iconic and successful franchises.

The division’s four highly recognisable teams; the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles have combined for a record 13 Super Bowl titles from 21 ‘big dance’ appearances, all the while maintaining spectacular television audience numbers and gate attendance figures.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the division’s most recently minted Lombardi Trophy winner, taking home the prize at the end of the 2017 season after an extraordinary victory over the New England Patriots.

And while this famous sporting division has seen some - namely Washington and the Giants - have significant downturns in recent years, the likes of Dallas, and particularly Philadelphia, will enter season 2019 as strong chances to contest another Super Bowl.

UPDATED: Every Division Preview (as they are published)

- Inside the NFC SOUTH: Saints, Falcons, Panthers, Buccaneers
- Inside the NFC NORTH: Bears, Vikings, Packers, Lions
- Inside the NFC WEST: Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals
- Inside the AFC SOUTH: Colts, Texans, Titans, Jaguars

With just over a month until the start of the NFL season, Stats Insider is previewing each of the NFL’s eight divisions and asking one pertinent question for each team. 

Here is the NFC East.

Are the Dallas Cowboys on the cusp of possessing the league’s most devastating defence?

Dallas enter NFL 2019 as reigning division champions as well as winners of three of the past five NFC East crowns.

They also enter the season with some massive clouds hanging over them, with running back Ezekiel Elliot in Mexico, holding out for a massive new contract, while 'Them Boys' also appear to be reluctant to present incumbent quarterback, Dak Prescott, with a new deal. This, despite the third-year signal-caller boasting a career 96.1 QB rating, while sporting a relatively minuscule 1.7% career interception rate.

So why is there so much posturing from the Cowboys regarding two undeniably excellent players, in two vital offensive positions?

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Primarily, it is because the Cowboys justifiably feel that its most potent threat actually lies in its young, talented, potentially otherworldly defense, which, like Elliot and Prescott, also needs to get paid.

About the only thing missing from Dallas’ defence last year was takeaways, with the Cowboys ranked #6 best in the league for points conceded, and #7 for yards surrendered. Yet, their 20 total takeaways (#16 in the league) simply wasn’t reward for effort, while the theme continued in the playoffs, with the Cowboys defence failing to produce a single turnover in either of their two post-season games.

Despite the improving Dallas defence not baring its teeth in the playoffs, the Cowboys did reward Defensive End, and two-time Pro Bowler, DeMarcus Lawrence, with a five-year, $105 million contract extension, while still paying Tyrone Crawford, and one-year rental Robert Quinn $10 million and $8 million respectively.

In addition, the Cowboys are fully cognisant of the fact that their biggest investments lie further down the road with dual linebacker prodigies Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch also due for big deals over the coming years - to say nothing of their best receiver Amari Cooper whose also set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2019/20 NFL season.

In a perfect world, Dallas will be able to come to terms with all their young talent and it will simply be a matter of ‘happily ever after’. Yet it’s all, of course, not so simple, and if the Cowboys are to break their 25-year Super Bowl drought, solving their salary cap riddle might be the hardest challenge.

With that said, there are worse things in professional sport than having a glut of brilliant players.

Will Philly's IQ lead them to another Super Bowl? 

For football data and analytics devotees, studying the moves, machinations, draft strategy and roster construction of the Philadelphia Eagles - and particularly GM Howie Roseman - is as close as it gets to nirvana.

The Eagles are a team who understand the contemporary NFL marketplace as well as any, with their collective expertise having a profound effect on the team winning its first-ever Super Bowl trophy in 2018.

Like the New England Patriots, the Eagles are a team who continually refuse to overpay talent, comfortable to let players go if they feel their output isn’t commensurate with their desired paycheque.

It’s meant the Roseman administration has churned through much of the Eagles roster since he seized operational control back from Chip Kelly in 2016, with the likes of LeSean McCoy, Sam Bradford, Jeremy Maclin and LaGarret Blount allowed to (or forced to) pursue careers elsewhere, despite excellent contributions to the franchise.

The Eagles under Roseman have been increasingly motivated by identifying specific players to perform specific roles - particularly on offense - and primarily because of how nuanced the offensive schemes of head coach Doug Pederson are.

The current Philadelphia roster is a work of salary cap genius, with not a single player receiving more than 7.4% of the total cap. That’s one of the very lowest numbers in the NFL and one usually reserved for struggling teams lacking in star power. Not a team who is just one season removed from a Super Bowl.

Whether the Eagles are ready to contend for another NFL Championship this season may well come down to the health of their young franchise QB, Carson Wentz. The former #2 overall pick in 2016's NFL Draft tore his ACL on the eve of the 2017 NFL Playoffs and missed the Eagles' famous Super Bowl victory.

Wentz did return last season, but only for 11 games before once again missing a playoff run, yet in those matches he once again flashed his exceptional talent, tossing 21 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, while posting a career-high 102.2 QB rating.

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A fit and firing Wentz, coupled with the sheer roster-wide talent of the Eagles is a proposition the rest of the NFL simply doesn’t want to know about. But health really will be the key for Pederson’s squad, especially now that the Eagles won’t have the Nick Foles security blanket that has served them so incredibly well (Super Bowl MVP well!) over the past two seasons.

Is Dwayne Haskins the Washington Redskins' next great saviour? 

It would be an understatement to say things haven’t gone well for the Washington Redskins over the past 30 years.

In fact, Washington has appeared in the NFL Playoffs just five times in the past 27 years, and have employed no less than nine different head coaches in that same period.

About the only moment in recent franchise history to generate genuine excitement amongst 'skins fans, was when they drafted QB Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL Draft.

‘RG3’ proceeded to take the NFL by storm in his first season, with the former Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor winning Rookie of the Year, off the back of a 20 TD, 5 INT campaign, which was complimented by an insane 815 rushing yards and a further 7 touchdowns on the ground. The staggering season by Griffin resulted in the Redskins winning their first division title in 13 years.

It was dizzying heights in contemporary Washington sports history, but one which was tragically cut short, with ‘RG3’ injured in the 2012 NFL Playoffs, and within three years he would be off the team entirely.

For the Redskins it was like winning the lottery, only to be told to return all the winnings as soon as possible.

Since that phenomenal ‘RG3’ rookie season, the Redskins have just one winning season from their last six, and have generated precious little league-wide buzz.

Yet, a small ray of sunshine has glanced upon those beautiful burgundy, white and gold uniforms, thanks to the 2019 NFL Draft.

When selection #15 rolled around on draft night back in April 2019, few believed there would be any chance Quarterback Dwayne Haskins would be available, but, there he was, and Washington simply couldn’t believe their luck.  

While Hoskins’ time as a starting QB at Ohio State was brief, his numbers were simply brilliant, with the kid who grew up around the corner from Redskins HQ throwing for 4,831 yards in 2018, while tossing an outrageous 50 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.

They were the kind of numbers which many NFL scouts were suggesting could make Haskins the #1 overall NFL Draft pick, and, so, for the QB to fall into their lap at #15 was a moment of incredible fortune which has seldom graced the Redskins in recent seasons.

The big question, however, is what kind of situation is Haskins entering in Washington, and what kind of squad will they be able to surround him with?

This is a franchise who’ll be paying the injured, potentially to never-play-again Alex Smith $20 million this year, and an offense - coming off a season which was able to cobble together just 281 total points - which was ranked #29 in the league, constituting a ten-year franchise low.

To make matters worse, the team’s heart and soul, and seven-time Pro Bowler, offensive tackle Trent Williams, is holding out for a new contract with many speculating there’s little chance the former first-round pick will be playing for the Redskins in 2019.  

Washington will likely struggle again this season, but Haskins’ development will be reason enough to keep an eye on the three-time Super Bowl champions.

How did the NY Giants let Dave Gettleman take over the building? 

If the Philadelphia Eagles are indeed the smartest guys in the room, then the New York Giants are in the corridor shaking the vending machine trying to get their dollar back.   

When Dave Gettleman was hired as the Giants GM in late December 2017, it was off the back of the ten-year Jerry Reese regime, which bought the Giants two Super Bowl titles. Yet by the time Reese and legendary coach Tom Coughlin were let go, the franchise was a shadow of its former self and seemingly miles away from realistic contention.

At the time, the appointment raised many an eyebrow throughout the NFL, as Gettleman is something of a throwback to a bygone era.

The 30-year scout and one-time Carolina GM has expressed continual disdain for the growing role of analytics within the league, along with his predilection for lineman on both sides of the ball, which has usually been at the expense of athleticism and skill - two areas that are unquestionably taking over the league.

The initial scepticism of the Gettleman appointment has only intensified after his first 18 months in the job, with essentially every move under his watch routinely criticised across the board.

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Initially, it was his decision to take running back Saquon Barkley with the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, an often ill-advised move, taking an RB that high in the modern NFL.

And while the Barkley choice was ultimately proven to be an inspired decision, with the former Penn State star accruing 2,028 all-purpose yards, 15 touchdowns and the Rookie of the Year award, for many it will be a long time before Gettleman is seen as a positive force in New York.

The biggest criticism the 68-year old has faced since becoming Giants GM was trading the face of the franchise, star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr to the Cleveland Browns.

‘OBJ’ amassed no less than 5,476 receiving yards, along with 44 touchdowns in his five years at the Meadowlands, numbers, which so far, have the star’s career likely headed for the Hall of Fame.

If the decision to trade ‘OBJ’ wasn’t enough, drafting QB Daniel Jones at #6 overall just about caused the Giants fan base to riot.

Many evaluators didn’t consider Jones worthy of being selected within the first three rounds, let alone in the Top 10, and, considering how many gaps there are on the roster, coupled with the fact the Giants already have $23 million committed to Eli Manning at the same position, the move left many shaking their heads.

The list of Gettleman’s questionable moves goes on, including allowing two time Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins to leave for division rivals, Washington, while giving former Patriot left tackle Nate Solder, a four year, $62 million deal.

The reality is, however, is that Gettleman was hired by the Giants management to completely restructure their organisation, and though his scorched earth policy has been pilloried, it has been one which has had the blessing of ownership.

The New York Giants are a very proud franchise with a rabid fan base. Going 8-24 over the last two seasons, with two last-place division finishes, has for many, been simply unacceptable. 

A third season of Giant drudgery will not make for a pretty 2019 for the red, white and blue.

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