The Philadelphia Eagles haven't had any issues winning the NFC East in Nick Sirianni's tenure, as they've won the division three times since the 2022 season. However, there has been a lot of change that has hit the Eagles this offseason, and it's not totally clear if this team got better.
Furthermore, teams like Dallas and Washington improved thanks to an active free agency period and an aggressive NFL Draft strategy. While Philly should be looked at as the favorite, there is also a realistic chance that another team wins the NFC East this year.
Let's dive into the three biggest obstacles in the way of the Eagles winning the division for a third year in a row in 2026.
3 major obstacles in the Philadelphia Eagles way to win the NFC East in 2026
The offense without A.J. Brown is a massive question mark
Everything began to come together for this era of Eagles football in 2022, which was the first year A.J. Brown was a member of the team. With Brown now gone, the Eagles are obviously missing that explosive part of their offense. Brown's ability to stretch the field vertically, and his raw size and physicality over defensive backs were honestly making life easier for Jalen Hurts.
Sure, the Eagles now have a new duo with DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon, but that big, consistent X receiver just isn't present anymore. Hurts has also played the best football of his career with Brown in the picture. It's worth wondering how much different this offense is going to look, as Philly may then want to lean more on other players, but guys like Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert are getting up there in age, so it's really anyone's guess which players step up in 2026, and if they can.
Dallas Cowboys' clear improvement on defense
I understand that people like to joke about the Cowboys, but this team did get a lot better this offseason, and it's not like Dallas is always a losing team. The Cowboys were, with one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year, 6-5-1 at one point during 2025.
And all this team did to improve on that side of the ball was bring in new faces like Rashan Gary, Jalen Thompson, Caleb Downs, and Malachi Lawrence, and also hire away Christian Parker as the new defensive coordinator.
Dallas' offense ranked seventh in the NFL in points scored per game, so you'd really not ask much from the defense for this team to be formidable. If the Cowboys' unit can simply play at an average level, Dallas' offense would be plenty for this team to add a few more wins and get into the double-digit win territory.
Philly was kind of the opposite, ranking 19th in points per game and 5th in points allowed per game. If the Cowboys are in a similar boat, but with these rankings flipped, it's going to be a tough for the Eagles to three-peat as division champions.
Jalen Hurts limited passing profile
We need to have an honest conversation here. Jalen Hurts is a winner - he's won nearly 70 percent of his regular season starts, and is 6-4 in the postseason with a Super Bowl title.
Most quarterbacks in the NFL simply do not have these accomplishments. At the same time, Hurts is a limited passer, and it's been this way his entire career. He has never thrown for 4,000 yards in a season or thrown for more than 25 touchdown passes.
While the winning has been sustained for about five years now, Hurts isn't among the top passers in the NFL - he's not in the tier of guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and others. He plays a very specific style of quarterback that doesn't lend itself to high-octane passing offenses.
Yes, the rushing skill set is there, but that isn't the first job of a quarterback. Hurts not being a prolific passer does still remain a concern heading into 2026, especially without Brown in the picture on offense.
If the Eagles have to lean on Hurts more, it's far from a guarantee he'll be able to up his game. Dak Prescott is clearly a high-volume passer and can win the game with his arm, and even Jayden Daniels averages more touchdown passes per 17-game season than Hurts does.
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Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants is still a question mark, but the Giants are also likely still a year away. The point here is that Hurts is good at certain things, but he's also not good at certain things. The 2026 season does feel like a year where Hurts has to elevate his ability as a passer to prevent the Eagles from regressing in the division race.
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