5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
Let’s be clear. Philly still has a strong chance of repeating as winners of the NFC East, but there’s no question in my mind the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants have a chance to be much better in 2014. The Eagles can probably go 4-2 in intra-division games again, largely because the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to be atrocious.
The team has the task of replacing DeSean Jackson, but seems to be high on rookie wideout Jordan Matthews and has veteran Jeremy Maclin returning to the fold. But don’t forget that the defense was subject to getting torched at times. And I’m not sure the team did much to change that for 2014.
The Eagles will score a lot and give up a lot of points, and that won’t bode well against playoff-caliber teams. It will be enough to top middle-of-the-pack teams, though.
2014: 9-7