The NFC East is walking into the season with the Eagles trying to pull off a three-peat and everybody else doing their part to make it easier.
Washington made a mess of camp almost from the jump. Adam Peters signed four 32-year-olds, a 31-year-old, and two 30-year-olds in August alone, and the roster has already taken hits where it hurts most.
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil is out for most of the year, and center Nick Allegretti got hurt on the first day of camp and hasn’t practiced since. The preseason didn’t help the mood much either: Washington went 1-2, beat a Dolphins team that wasn’t even trying to look like it was trying, and then closed with a 41-3 loss to the Ravens.
That came after last year’s 0-3 preseason and a 5-12 regular season. The Commanders also said they have no plans to bring back the old Redskins name or logo, but last week they started selling merchandise with the Redskins name and part of the logo anyway.
It sold out in two days.
The Giants, meanwhile, have been providing a different kind of camp entertainment. Jaxson Dart keeps taking hits that make people wonder if he’s okay, which has become his signature move, and he still doesn’t understand why that means he has to go to the blue tent.
Malik Nabers left practice early, not because of anything planned, but because he felt like it. The team says he’s fine and feeling good, though Week 1 is still up in the air.
Cam Skattebo has also been getting penalized during practice. Practice.
And yes, it is 2026 and Odell Beckham is on a roster. There’s even a new boat pic.
The Giants do have some players who could be fun, but their best weekly theater may end up being John Harbaugh’s exasperated reactions as a mediocre, messy roster keeps letting him down.
Dallas is bringing a different kind of energy: mostly shrugging. Dak Prescott called the Cowboys “the Greatest Offense There Is,” despite the fact that they were seventh in scoring last year.
The response was mostly laughter, and that fits the current state of the franchise. Not too long ago, Dallas could sign some washed-up depth piece and the whole football world would spend days asking whether this was finally the move that put them over the top.
Now? People just move on.
Back-to-back seven-win seasons have left the Cowboys not just mediocre, but irrelevant.
And then there’s Philadelphia, where the defense looks like it’s going to be very, very good and the offense is still sorting itself out. The starting quarterback is using ChatGPT for Stuart Smalley daily affirmations.
Andy Dalton is in the picture too, though if he’s on the field, that probably means things have gone badly elsewhere. What really stands out is the hole left by AJ Brown, and nobody has stepped up to fill it this summer.
If Washington, New York, or Dallas were looking at Dontayvion Wicks, whose most productive season was his 39-catch, 581-yard rookie year three seasons ago; a first-round pick who missed basically all of camp with injury; Hollywood Brown, who the Chiefs didn’t bring back; and an undrafted free agent who caught nine passes last season, they’d be getting mocked too. Zach Ertz isn’t going to solve it.
Sean Mannion, who was sitting on his couch three years ago hoping for a practice-squad call, is the one trying to make it all work now.
In Other News...
Zack Baun Is Becoming Even More Important To This Eagles Defense
Zack Baun has hardly left the field for the Eagles this season, and that has mattered as much as any box score number. Even while dealing with multiple injuries, he has started every game and been on the field for 98% of the teams defensive snaps, still functioning as one of the most stable pieces of a defense that has needed steady voices in the middle. The raw production has dipped from his 2024 All-Pro peak, but his value has clearly gone beyond splash plays.
Bauns influence has been especially important with Nakobe Dean gone and second-year linebacker Jihaad Campbell stepping into a bigger role. Eagles linebackers coach Bobby King has pointed to Bauns toughness, leadership and the way he has helped Campbell adjust to life as a starter, which says plenty about where the veterans importance now sits. Even if the numbers are not as eye-catching as they were a year ago, the Eagles keep finding more reasons to lean on him. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Hurts Faces A 2026 Eagles Test He Has Never Had Before
The Eagles offense is about to ask Jalen Hurts to do something he has not done much of in his NFL career, and that makes Sean Mannions arrival as offensive coordinator one of the more important changes in Philadelphia this offseason. Mannion comes over from the Packers with a scheme that leans more heavily on under-center throws, a shift that could reshape how the Eagles approach the passing game and how Hurts is used within it.
For a quarterback who has built much of his success operating in a different style, the transition could become one of the defining storylines of Philadelphias 2026 season. The adjustment will not just be about comfort level, either, because the effectiveness of Mannions offense may hinge on how quickly Hurts adapts and whether the Eagles can keep their attack moving without a long growing pains period. [Read more 🡒]
Howie Rosemans 2016 Trade Is Still Paying Off For The Eagles
The ripple effects of Howie Rosemans Sept. 3, 2016 deal are still showing up in Philadelphia years later. By sending Sam Bradford to Minnesota, the Eagles landed draft capital that helped shape the roster that went on to win Super Bowls, with the return eventually touching players such as Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat. It was the kind of move that looked like a clean quarterback transaction at the time and wound up becoming a foundational piece of the franchises recent run.
What makes the trade even more striking is how long the benefits kept compounding. The 2018 fourth-round pick also stayed in the Eagles ecosystem, eventually turning into a compensatory pick that helped Philadelphia move up for wide receiver Makai Lemon in 2026. For a front office that has built a reputation on squeezing value out of every asset, it is a reminder that one September swap can still echo through the roster nearly a decade later. [Read more 🡒]