NFC East
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The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, 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. The New York Giants replaced the Saints in 1968; the Giants took the place of the Saints permanently with the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, which led to the division's current name. With the merger, it also added 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.[citation needed]
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 19 Super Bowl appearances and eleven 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. One possible peak of glory for the division came in the early 1990's, when the division claimed four consecutive Super Bowl champions, as the Cowboys won two and the Giants and Redskins took one each.
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 | 10-4-0 | Lost NFL Divisional Playoffs |
| 1969 | Dallas Cowboys | 11-2-1 | Lost NFL Divisional Playoffs |
As NFC East
- * 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 and Giants tied with three. However, the Giants hold the better percentage (3-1, .750), 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 - 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
* - 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)
**** - lost to New York Giants in 1986 NFC Championship.
*****- advanced to that season's Super Bowl, def. New England Patriots 17-14. First NFC Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl.
Total playoff berths
| Team | Division Titles | Playoff Berths |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 19 | 28 |
| 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.