{"id":952689,"date":"2026-07-22T20:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/952689\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T20:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:00:15","slug":"series-of-2026-nfc-east-predictions-read-like-a-game-of-dart-throws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/952689\/","title":{"rendered":"Series of 2026 NFC East predictions read like a game of dart throws"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated July 22, 2026, 2:45 p.m. CT<\/p>\n

Predicting the future has been a cottage industry for as long as we can remember. There was probably a time when clairvoyance was a common skillset, when communities at large had people who could see what was going to happen. And sure, there are likely descendants who still weild such powers, or folks who have been awoken from The Matrix and can see outside of space time, but generally they don’t write about sports (though they may profit from sports betting, but that’s a different story).<\/p>\n

Anyways, a recent article appearing on SB Nation made a valiant attempt at seeing the future when it comes to the 2026 NFL season<\/a>. To say that the predictions aren’t to be taken seriously would be an understatement. Auther Jarrett Bailey seems to acknowledge it, with his warning, “how about one more long-form piece for everyone to get angry about?”<\/p>\n

With training camps spinning up around the country, it’s the perfect time, mostly because every fanbase has dreams of either maintaining their status as a contender, returning to that perch, or finally escaping the doldrums. Hope springs eternal in the summer.<\/p>\n

That’s the case for the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, after missing the playoffs the last two seasons. It’s really for the NFC East as a whole, with the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> looking to return to contenders after falling apart in 2025, the Washington Commanders looking to return to the playoffs after a 2024 run to the NFC Championship, and the New York Giants<\/a>, who have simply sucked for a long, long time.<\/p>\n

But some of the predictions are so laughable, they do deserve to be highlighted. Here’s a run down of what we think about Bailey’s future-gazing into the NFC East teams, starting with his first one, suggesting WR Stefon Diggs is on his way to Dallas. We’ll judge them on a scale of Ridiculous – Laughable – Interesting – or We’re On Board.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a>1. WR Stefon Diggs signs with Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n

Outside of stars CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, Dallas has zero depth at receiver. Ryan Flournoy, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kavontae Turpin are the names behind the terrific duo – that simply won\u2019t cut it<\/p>\n

Judgement: Ridiculous<\/p>\n

6. Jayden Daniels lights up the Eagles in Week 1<\/p>\n

Jayden Daniels enters this season with a point to prove after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, and he makes a statement in Week 1. The LSU product throws for 284 yards, three passing touchdowns, and adds 64 yards with a rushing score on the ground as Washington defeats Philadelphia 34-27.<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

8. Eagles start season 0-2<\/p>\n

In terms of survivor pools, many pick the Eagles with such hubris, but are stunned to see that Robert Saleh\u2019s defense does what it did to Hurts in the divisional round this past January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

13. Myles Garrett has massive night vs. Giants in Week 2<\/p>\n

The two-time Defensive Player of the Year sacks Jaxson Dart three times and earns a half sack on another takedown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judgement: We’re On Board<\/p>\n

26. Giants finish last in NFC East again<\/p>\n

Despite the addition of John Harbaugh, the Giants end up being the 2026 version of the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> – a team that hires a Super Bowl-winning head coach in hopes of taking a leap forward, but performs poorly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judgement: We’re On Board<\/p>\n

30. League leader predictions<\/p>\n

Passing yards: No. 3 Dak Prescott: 4,298<\/p>\n

Passing TDs: No. 3 Dak Prescott: 33<\/p>\n

Rushing TDs: No. 5 Javonte Williams: 12<\/p>\n

Receptions: No. 5 DeVonta Smith: 108<\/p>\n

Receiving yards: No. 5 George Pickens: 1,375<\/p>\n

Sacks: No. 4 Abdul Carter: 14.5<\/p>\n

Tackles: No. 2 Sonny Styles: 175<\/p>\n

Interceptions: No. 4 Sonny Styles: 4<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

32. Jayden Daniels wins Comeback Player of the Year<\/p>\n

Daniels reminds everyone that he is one of the best young quarterbacks in football, throwing 26 touchdowns and adding seven on the ground to just nine interceptions as he leads Washington back to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

34. Sonny Styles wins Defensive Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n

The Ohio State product will be a top five tackler in the NFL, as well as pick off four passes to help Washington\u2019s defense improve from finishing 28th in success rate.<\/p>\n

Judgement: We’re On Board<\/p>\n

35. Brian Schottenheimer wins Coach of the Year<\/p>\n

After two straight years of missing the postseason, Schottenheimer gets Dallas to 12 wins and earns the Coach of the Year award – the same award his father won in 2004.<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

45. Cowboys win NFC East<\/p>\n

Judgement: We’re On Board<\/p>\n

48. Eagles earn No. 5 seed in NFC<\/p>\n

I was proclaiming they\u2019d win seven games and then blow everything up, firing Nick Sirianni and trading Jalen Hurts. I\u2019ve swung back to a more favorable outcome for Philly, rebounding after the aforementioned 0-2 start by winning 11 games.<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

50. Commanders earn No. 7 seed in NFC<\/p>\n

Washington bounces back after a five-win 2025 campaign and gets back into the postseason…<\/p>\n

Judgement: Laughable<\/p>\n

52. Cowboys vs. Rams in NFC Championship Game<\/p>\n

The two teams exchange offensive blows, but a Caleb Downs interception with less than two minutes to play seals the 34-30 win for the Cowboys to send them to their first Super Bowl in over 30 years.<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n

54. Cowboys defeat Bengals in Super Bowl LXI<\/p>\n

Judgement: Interesting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated July 22, 2026, 2:45 p.m. CT Predicting the future has been a cottage industry for as long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":952690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[95878,230,229,257,2461,7,6,119287,96666,96667,95882,95930,95946,96669,97216,96253,96003,102371,95885,108175,96505,95896,95891,97021,95888,95895,95899,96191,95975,97038,96099,95883,97162,95881],"class_list":["post-952689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-cowboys","tag-accessfree","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallascowboys","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-sourcecowboys-wire","tag-sstssportsnflcowboys","tag-sstsncowboys","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagbig-ten-conference-football","tag-tagcalifornia-gold-rush","tag-tagceedee-lamb","tag-tagcgr-sports","tag-taggeorge-pickens","tag-tagjayden-daniels","tag-tagkavontae-turpin","tag-taglas-vegas-raiders","tag-tagmarquez-valdes-scantling","tag-tagmyles-garrett","tag-tagnational-sports","tag-tagnew-york-giants","tag-tagnfc-east","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-neutral","tag-tagphiladelphia-eagles","tag-tagrobert-saleh","tag-tagryan-flournoy","tag-tagsec-conference-football","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagstefon-diggs","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/952690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}