NFC East

NFC East

Conference	National Football Conference
League	National Football League
Sport	American Football
Founded	1967
No. of teams	4
Most recent champion(s)	Philadelphia Eagles (8th title)
Most titles	Dallas Cowboys (21 titles)

The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins.

The division was formed in 1967 as the National Football League Capitol Division, keeping with the theme of having all of the league's divisions starting with the letter "C." The division was so named because it was centered around the capital of the United States, Washington, DC. In 1967 and 1969 the teams in the NFL Capitol Division were Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington and the expansion New Orleans Saints, which had been replaced by the New York Giants for the 1968 season.

Although the St. Louis Rams are geographically farther east than Dallas, the Cowboys remained in the NFC East and the Rams stayed in the NFC West because of long-standing rivalries: the Cowboys with all three other teams in the East, and the Rams with the San Francisco 49ers in the West.

NFC East teams have a combined 19 NFC wins and eleven Super Bowl victories, the highest marks of any division in the NFL. Each of the current NFC East's four teams has won at least three NFL titles during their existence; however, only Philadelphia has yet to win a championship in the Super Bowl era. Given the division members' histories and intense rivalries such as the Cowboys–Redskins rivalry and Eagles–Giants rivalry (indeed, the entire division is often seen as one singular 4-team rivalry), many sports analysts and fans regard the NFC East as the toughest division in the NFL. In the early 1990s the division claimed four consecutive Super Bowl champions, as the Cowboys won two and the Giants and Redskins took one each, all against the Buffalo Bills (those same three teams won seven out of ten Super Bowls, from 1987–1996).

ESPN's Chris Berman often calls this division the "NFC Patrick" due to its geographical similarity to the old Patrick Division of the NHL, now known as the Atlantic Division.

The Eagles are the only division team to play in the central city of their market:

• The Cowboys play in Arlington, Texas
• The Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey
• The Redskins play in Landover, Maryland

All the AFC East teams also play in the suburbs (in fact, the New York Jets share a stadium with the Giants). The only team not from either East division to do so is the Arizona Cardinals, a former NFC East team now playing in the West (they originally played in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, but moved to another suburb, Glendale, in 2006).

Division lineups

1967

• Dallas Cowboys
• New Orleans Saints
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins

The Eastern Conference respectively divided into the Capitol and Century Divisions. Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington moved in. Also, New Orleans Saints are enfranchised.

1968

• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins

New York moved in from Century Division, New Orleans moved to Century Division as well.

1969

• Dallas Cowboys
• New Orleans Saints
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins

New York moved back to Century Division, New Orleans moved back from Century Division as well.

1970–1987

• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• St. Louis Cardinals
• Washington Redskins

The Capitol Division became National Football Conference's East division (called "NFC East"). New Orleans moved to Coastal Division (renamed National Football Conference's West division, or NFC West for short), moved in from Century Division (renamed AFC Central) are N.Y. Giants and St. Louis.

1988–1993

• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Phoenix Cardinals
• Washington Redskins

St. Louis moved to Phoenix.

1994–2001

• Arizona Cardinals
• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins

Phoenix Cardinals renamed Arizona Cardinals.

2002–present

• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins

Arizona moved to NFC West in 2002.

Division champions

As NFL Capitol Division

Season	Team	Record	Playoff Results
NFL Capitol
1967	Dallas Cowboys	9–5–0	Lost NFL Championship
1968	Dallas Cowboys	12–2–0	Lost NFL Divisional Playoffs
1969	Dallas Cowboys	11–2–1	Lost NFL Divisional Playoffs

As NFC East

Season	Team	Record	Playoff Results
1970	Dallas Cowboys	10–4–0	Lost Super Bowl V
1971	Dallas Cowboys	11–3–0	Won Super Bowl VI
1972	Washington Redskins	11–3–0	Lost Super Bowl VII
1973	Dallas Cowboys	10–4–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1974	St. Louis Cardinals	10–4–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1975	St. Louis Cardinals	11–3–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1976	Dallas Cowboys	11–3–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1977	Dallas Cowboys	12–2–0	Won Super Bowl XII
1978	Dallas Cowboys	12–4–0	Lost Super Bowl XIII
1979	Dallas Cowboys	11–5–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1980	Philadelphia Eagles	12–4–0	Lost Super Bowl XV
1981	Dallas Cowboys	12–4–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1982*	Washington Redskins	8–1–0	Won Super Bowl XVII
1983	Washington Redskins	14–2–0	Lost Super Bowl XVIII
1984	Washington Redskins	11–5–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1985	Dallas Cowboys	10–6–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1986	New York Giants	14–2–0	Won Super Bowl XXI
1987	Washington Redskins	11–4–0	Won Super Bowl XXII
1988	Philadelphia Eagles	10–6–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1989	New York Giants	12–4–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1990	New York Giants	13–3–0	Won Super Bowl XXV
1991	Washington Redskins	14–2–0	Won Super Bowl XXVI
1992	Dallas Cowboys	13–3–0	Won Super Bowl XXVII
1993	Dallas Cowboys	12–4–0	Won Super Bowl XXVIII
1994	Dallas Cowboys	12–4–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1995	Dallas Cowboys	12–4–0	Won Super Bowl XXX
1996	Dallas Cowboys	10–6–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1997	New York Giants	10–5–1	Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
1998	Dallas Cowboys	10–6–0	Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
1999	Washington Redskins	10–6–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
2000	New York Giants	12–4–0	Lost Super Bowl XXXV
2001	Philadelphia Eagles	11–5–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
2002	Philadelphia Eagles	12–4–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
2003	Philadelphia Eagles	12–4–0	Lost NFC Championship Game
2004	Philadelphia Eagles	13–3–0	Lost Super Bowl XXXIX
2005	New York Giants	11–5–0	Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
2006	Philadelphia Eagles	10–6–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
2007	Dallas Cowboys	13–3–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
2008	New York Giants	12–4–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
2009	Dallas Cowboys	11–5–0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
2010	Philadelphia Eagles	10-6-0	Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs

• * A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored; Washington had the best record of the division teams and won the Super Bowl

The Philadelphia Eagles remain the only team in the NFC East not to win a Super Bowl. The Cowboys lead with five, followed by the Redskins and Giants, tied with three. In overall NFL history, however, the Giants lead with seven league championships, followed by the Redskins and Cowboys with five each, then the Eagles with three.

Wild Card qualifiers

Since 1970

• 1970 – None
• 1971 – Washington Redskins
• 1972 – Dallas Cowboys**
• 1973 – Washington Redskins
• 1974 – Washington Redskins
• 1975 – Dallas Cowboys***
• 1976 – Washington Redskins
• 1977 – None
• 1978 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 1979 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 1980 – Dallas Cowboys**
• 1981 – New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles
• 1982 – No Division (Just NFC Conference)*
• 1983 – Dallas Cowboys
• 1984 – New York Giants
• 1985 – New York Giants
• 1986 – Washington Redskins**
• 1987 – None
• 1988 – None
• 1989 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 1990 – Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
• 1991 – Dallas Cowboys
• 1992 – Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
• 1993 – New York Giants
• 1994 – None
• 1995 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 1996 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 1997 – None
• 1998 – Arizona Cardinals
• 1999 – Dallas Cowboys
• 2000 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 2001 – None
• 2002 – New York Giants
• 2003 – Dallas Cowboys
• 2004 – None
• 2005 – Washington Redskins
• 2006 – Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants
• 2007 – New York Giants****, Washington Redskins
• 2008 – Philadelphia Eagles**
• 2009 – Philadelphia Eagles
• 2010 – None

* – A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored.
** – advanced to that season's NFC Championship Game (the Cowboys lost to the Washington Redskins in 1972 and to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1980; the 1986 Redskins lost to the New York Giants; and the 2008 Eagles lost to the Arizona Cardinals)
*** – advanced to that season's Super Bowl
**** – won that season's Super Bowl

See Also

• Cowboys-Giants Rivalry
• Cowboys-Eagles rivalry
• Cowboys-Redskins Rivalry
• Eagles-Giants rivalry
• Giants-Redskins Rivalry

Total playoff berths

Team	Division Championships	Playoff Berths	Super Bowl Appearances	Super Bowl Wins
Dallas Cowboys	21	30	8 (V, VI, X, XII, XIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)	5 (VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)
Philadelphia Eagles	8	19	2 (XV, XXXIX)	0
New York Giants	7	14	4 (XXI, XXV, XXXV, XLII)	3 (XXI, XXV, XLII)
Washington Redskins	61	15	5 (VII, XVII, XVIII, XXII, XXVI)	3 (XVII, XXII, XXVI)
St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals2	2	3	0	0

¹ Even though the Redskins had the best record in 1982, the NFL ignored division champions because of the players' strike.
² Known as the St. Louis Cardinals until 1987, and the Phoenix Cardinals from 1988 until 1993. These numbers only reflect the Cardinals' time as a member of the NFC East, as the team realigned to the NFC West before the 2002 season.