NFC East
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The NFC East refers to the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League. It currently has four members: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. The division's team's histories, and current statistics have caused many analysts to refer to the NFC East as the toughest division in the NFL.
When the division was created after the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, the division also included the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite relocating to Arizona in 1988, the Cardinals continued to belong to the NFC East until the 2002 re-alignment when they were put into 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.
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 the 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 a combined 10 wins, which is the most out of any division in the NFL.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
* - 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.
[edit] Total playoff berths
| Team | Championships | Playoff Berths |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 15 | 24 |
| 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.
