The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. When the division was created after the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, it also included the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite relocating to Arizona in 1988, the Cardinals continued to play in the NFC East until the 2002 re-alignment when they were moved to the NFC West. However, at the request of the Cardinals, the Cowboys and Cardinals continue to face each other on an annual basis in the preseason. The agreement was not honored in 2007 for undisclosed reasons. 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 due to 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 18 Super Bowl appearances and ten wins, the highest marks of any division in the NFL. All 4 teams have won at least 3 NFL championships. Given the division member's histories and intense rivalries, many sports analysts and fans regard the NFC East as the toughest division in the NFL.
Division champions
- * 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 are the only team in the NFC East to have not won a Super Bowl. The Cowboys lead with five, followed by the Redskins with three, and the Giants with two. However, the Giants hold the better percentage (2-1, .667), followed by the Cowboys (5-3, .625), then the Redskins (3-2, .600). The Eagles are 0-2.
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 - *
- 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
- * 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 NFC Championship (the 1972 and 1980 Dallas Cowboys lost to the Washington Redskins, and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively)
- * * * advanced to that season's Super Bowl (lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers)
Total playoff berths
| Team | Division Titles | Playoff Berths |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 16 | 25 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 16 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 15 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 12 |
| St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals1 | 2 | 4 |
1 Known as the St. Louis Cardinals before 1988. Realigned to the NFC West during the 2002 NFL season.
