The NFC’s East division has been run by the Philadelphia Eagles as of late. With three Super Bowl appearances in the last decade, and two championships, they then became the first team to win the division in back-to-back seasons in 20 years.
Their opponents are hoping to build up around them in an effort to wrestle the title away. The Washington Commanders, New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys have reworked their rosters and coaching staffs in an effort to compete better. The roster on paper isn’t the end-all, be-all, but it’s still an excellent idea to see where each team lines up against one another at each position.
First up, the most important position of them all, the quarterback rankings.
4: New York Giants
Jaxson Dart had a promising rookie season after taking over for Russell Wilson. Dallas’ Week 1 opponent started 12 games, threw for over 2,200 yards, and had a 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Dart didn’t get to play with Malik Nabers, who was injured in Week 4, and RB Cam Skattebo was only available for half the season.
Dart also needs to protect himself from injury. He can’t keep taking the punishment he took as a rookie. The team has Jameis Winston as their primary backup. He has won plenty of games in the NFL and could be a top backup if he limits his turnovers.
3: Washington Commanders
After one of the best rookie seasons of all time, Jayden Daniels had a steep fall off before getting injured after seven starts. His completion percentage dropped nearly 10%, along with declines in touchdown, on-target, and success rate percentages. His QBR fell by over 20 points, and his bad throw percentage slightly increased. If Daniels took a step forward in Year 2, he probably would have overtaken second, but now he needs to show he can stay healthy and that his rookie season wasn’t an outlier.
Marcus Mariota is the best backup in the division. He was unbelievable in his three games in 2024, and played solidly in his eight starts last year. Whether he will play as well under the new offensive coordinator, David Blough, is his only question mark.
2: Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts had the same elite supporting cast, including Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert as he did in 2024, plus a top-three defense, but the offensive success fell off.
Hurts had his highest bad throw percentage and his lowest on-target percentage and success rate since his rookie year. His QBR and quarterback rating were also his worst since then. The Eagles led the NFL in three-and-out drives, and they went entire second halves of games without completing a pass. They will now run it back with rookie Mekai Lemon replacing Brown, once a trade to the New England Patriots is completed.
Hurts has to be careful not to play poorly in Philadelphia, especially with his significant cap hits just coming on. If he gets swept by the Cowboys, especially if they play poorly on Thanksgiving, the Eagles could look to move on as they did with Carson Wentz a few seasons ago.
Tanner McKee looked fantastic in his two games in 2024, but had a drastic drop-off in his four games in 2025. He has promise, but he is no longer seen as a possible threat to the starter, even if Hurts has another bad season.
1: Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott continues to elevate his play as the team around him falls apart. In his last two fully healthy seasons, Prescott averaged over 4,500 yards passing, 33 touchdown passes, and under 10 interceptions. He was second in the MVP race in 2023 and an All-Pro.
Compared to the division quarterbacks, Prescott had the best QBR and quarterback rating, the best bad throw percentage, the most yards, the most touchdown passes, and the highest success rate. Dallas added Sam Howell to be a steady hand who could win games if Prescott missed any time. Joe Milton can continue to develop without the team needing to worry if he is ready to start games if necessary.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Can anyone unseat Dak Prescott as the NFC East’s best QB in 2026?
Reporting by Mike Crum, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
