FRISCO - Rather insanely, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his priciest player, Dak Prescott, have recently suggested that they were and/or are "very close'' to the Philadelphia Eagles, who just won the Super Bowl in resounding fashion.
Equally insane, we think, it a new proclamation that would have the lowly New York Giants, the NFC East bottom-feeder, in the same "close'' boat.
And neither proclamation seems right ... as the reality of the rosters at this moment is that the Cowboys and the Giants are not jousting for first place in the division ...
They are struggling to avoid last place.
The Cowboys, falling victim to their own "Blow It Up'' and "Lame Duck'' decisions, collapsed from being a three-time 12-5 playoff team to being a 7-10 team last year.
The Giants, falling victim to ... well, being the Giants, finished 3-14 and were arguably the NFL's wire-to-wire worst team.
So what is the justification for such 2025 optimism that would have Dallas' Dak claiming ""It's our turn and it's on us'' to win the division?
And what is the justification for such 2025 optimism that would have NFL Network's Peter Schrager, a Giants fan, claiming "They're a quarterback away. ... there are pieces there. Call me an optimist or maybe it's because I grew up in New Jersey (but) the Giants aren't that far off."
The NFL is designed for turnarounds like the ones these two teams are hoping for.
But delusion (dishonestly?) of the sort that had Jones swearing that "This time last year, I thought we'd win the division''?
Let the record show that Dak is right when he said, "I feel like we compete with with Eagles and beat them, for the most part, when we've played them. I don't want to say ‘Check the record' when they're the guys holding the trophy right now. Credit to them, they've earned it and deserve it by all means. ...''
Indeed, as no team has repeated as NFC East champs in 20 years, Prescott has, as he says, "for the most part" owned the division, going a combined 33-8 since becoming the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 2016.
But last year? In 2024 it was no contest, as the Eagles went 2-0 against Dallas by scores of 34-6 and 41-7.
The facts are, Philly also has won two Super Bowls since 2017 while the Cowboys haven't played in a conference championship game since 1995.
And the Giants? They haven't won the division since 2011!
Jones recently said, "We're operating with a mentality of (being) very competitive with our division. Not just the Eagles, but with the division."
Oh, that reminds us: The Eagles just beat the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game .. and the Commanders are in the NFC East, too.
That suggests that the battle in the NFC East involving Dallas and New York is a battle to stay out of last place.
Maybe new Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer changes things in Dallas and maybe the Giants sign a QB (Aaron Rodgers? Russell Wilson?) that leads their charge to respectability.
But for now? The odds for Super Bowl LX in 2026 are out. Among the bottom four teams in the NFC are ... Dallas and New York.
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This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 8:16 AM.