NFC East Predictions & Best Bets 2026: Eagles, Giants, Cowboys & Commanders
With the Patriots and Seahawks set for a Wednesday night kickoff on September 9, the 2026 NFL regular season is almost upon us. The marathon battle for the Lombardi Trophy will get underway before we know it, and our experts are building up to the new season with a ton of content in our NFL futures guide — which includes our Super Bowl winner picks, MVP best bets, player award predictions and much more.
For now, our handicapping team is breaking down every division with in-depth team analysis and best bets. Let’s dive into the NFC East, which will generate plenty of headlines all season long as the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Commanders. Here are the NFL odds and our expert NFL picks for this fascinating division.
Find out Chris Farley’s Super Bowl 61 best bets and breakdown of all the main contenders, including his top pick at +2000 odds!
2026 NFC East Odds
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and available at time of publishing
- Philadelphia Eagles (+115)
- Dallas Cowboys (+235)
- Washington Commanders (+460)
- New York Giants (+600)
Philadelphia Eagles (+115)
The Eagles finally broke the "repeat division champion" curse in the NFC East by finishing atop the division a season ago. And while Philadelphia had won the NFC East in five of the last nine seasons, I’m not convinced that they’ll have as easy a road to the division crown as in previous years. Despite having consistently strong play in the trenches, the Eagles struggled mightily on offense over the last couple of seasons, and I’m not convinced that the insertion of Sean Mannion as a first-time offensive coordinator is going to change much. While the loss of AJ Brown might end up being a net positive for the locker room, Philadelphia’s wide receiver room will likely take a hit without an All-Pro caliber player. Even if Saquon Barkley returns to his 2024 form, it’s not a given that the Eagles offense takes a noticeable step forward this fall.
The calling card for this organization in recent years has been its excellence on defense, and that is a unit that can be trusted to have a very high floor this season. Most of the defense returns, including a secondary that added cornerback Riq Woolen to an already loaded stable of players. Up front, the tandem of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis should make things very difficult for opposing offensive lines, while Zack Baun continues to be a reliable presence at linebacker. If new addition Arnold Ebiketie hits, this will likely end up being a very formidable unit once again. Ultimately, while I have my fair share of concerns with the Eagles as a Super Bowl contender, there’s enough here to project another 10+ win season in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Eagles best bet: Over 3.5 division wins (-140)
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Dallas Cowboys (+235)
The Cowboys were a team that I was higher on than market consensus last summer, and while Dallas failed to exceed its win total a season ago, it felt like this was a better team than what its final record (7-9-1) indicated. With that in mind, I'm going back to the well with Dak Prescott and company this fall and taking Dallas to exceed their win total. The Cowboys bring back most of an offense that should have a very high floor thanks to Prescott, a solid offensive line and the dynamic wide receiver duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Dallas boasted high marks in EPA per play and weighted EPA per drive, only trailing the Rams, Bills, Patriots and Packers in that department. This should be another successful season for the Cowboys offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Dallas defense has been a maligned unit for the last couple of years, but I’m expecting a noticeable improvement on that front in 2026. Christian Parker was brought in to be the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history, and he’ll be leading a defense that underwent some significant changes in the offseason. Rashan Gary was brought in to beef up the pass rush, while rookie phenom Caleb Downs, safety Jalen Thompson and cornerback Cobie Durant are expected to be immediate contributors in the secondary. The schedule features some brutal road trips, but as long as the Cowboys take care of business at home, they should be in a decent position to win 10+ games.
Dallas Cowboys best bet: Over 8.5 wins (-150)
Washington Commanders (+460)
Following a season in which they suffered a myriad of debilitating injuries on both sides of the ball, few teams were as aggressive in free agency as the Washington Commanders. The front office attempted to make some big swings in order to fix a few glaring areas of need, and we saw notable additions at wide receiver (Stefon Diggs) and on the defensive line (Odafe Oweh), along with a handful of promising rookies from last April’s draft class. There are also new coordinators on both sides of the ball, with David Blough getting promoted from within to be the new offensive coordinator, and Daronte Jones coming over from the Vikings to be the new defensive coordinator. The market is projecting something of a bounce-back year for Washington, but there are some glaring red flags with this team that lead me to be a bit skeptical.
This amount of coaching turnover on both sides of the ball could end up being a good thing following such a tumultuous season. However, I’m still not sold on Dan Quinn as a successful head coach, and the coordinator hires didn’t do much for me either. Furthermore, it hasn’t been a smooth training camp for Washington either, with the Commanders suffering a couple of notable injuries, including star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (expected to miss significant time). The schedule isn’t favorable, either, as Jayden Daniels and company are set to face the Eagles, Cowboys and Seahawks to open the season. They also drew the Rams and 49ers from the NFC West, plus the Bengals, Texans and Jaguars from the AFC. I only have Washington as a clear favorite in 5 games, so I’ll grab the under at this number.
Washington Commanders best bet: Under 7.5 wins (+100)
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New York Giants (+600)
To round out the NFC East, the Giants are projected to finish outside of the playoffs for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons. There is a bit more hype around New York heading into this season, but I'm not exactly joining the parade of pundits that are touting head coach John Harbaugh's team as a potential sleeper in the NFC. There's no doubt that Harbaugh will be an upgrade at head coach, and that could lead to a few more wins for a Giants team that finished with just four victories a season ago. However, the hire of Matt Nagy is a massive misstep for an offense that needs to take a step forward, and I'm not sold that he'll be able to get the most out of Jaxson Dart — a quarterback who is already pretty one-dimensional and struggles to stay healthy. Add in the injury concerns I have with Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, and this offense feels extremely combustible.
Fortunately, the Giants will boast one of the best defensive lines in football, which at least gives this defense one elite component to build on. However, it's certainly on the board that this unit will find itself on the field fairly often, especially if things go south for an offense that is hard to trust at this stage. Furthermore, outside of games against the Browns and Cardinals at home, there are very few surefire wins on a schedule that ranks as the 11th-hardest slate this season by projected win totals. Even though the top of the NFC East could be a bit down compared to recent years, this is still a pretty daunting road slate for New York, particularly late in the season. The Giants should take a step forward, but I have a hard time getting to eight wins with this team.
New York Giants best bet: Under 7.5 wins (-110)
Now check out our NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year predictions and best bet, featuring picks at +1600 and +3500 odds!
NFC East division predictions
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Dallas Cowboys
- Washington Commanders
- New York Giants
NFC East best bet: Dallas Cowboys to make the playoffs (+105)
Dallas doesn't have an easy schedule by any means, but this is a team that has an extremely high offensive floor thanks to the wide receiver duo of Lamb and Pickens, plus the steady hand of Prescott at quarterback. And if the additions on defense end up panning out, this could be one of the most improved units in the NFL by the end of the season. I'll gladly take the plus-money with Dallas to make the playoffs in a volatile NFC.
NFL Division Predictions & Team-by-Team Guide
Want more NFL division predictions? We've covered all the other 7 divisions and given our best bets for EVERY team! Check 'em out below:
- AFC East Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - will it be the Buffalo Bills or New England Patriots that win the division?
- AFC North Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - get our top pick for the division featuring the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers
- AFC South Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - can the Jacksonville Jaguars repeat, or will the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts dethrone them?
- AFC West Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - will the Kansas City Chiefs bounce back? Will the Denver Broncos stay on top? Or can the LA Chargers pull through?
- NFC North Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - check out our +930 pick on a team in this division
- NFC South Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - who will be the best in the worst division in football?
- NFC West Predictions & Best Bets 2026 - in arguably the NFL's hottest division, will the LA Rams, Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers reign supreme?
