Remember when the National League and American League East were well-represented at the outset of the MLB postseason? There’s still plenty of football left to be played, but a similar situation is brewing as the NFL Playoffs continue creeping closer.
Week 12 is officially in the books for the AFC and NFC East. Each division contains nothing but winning teams. No other division in football can boast that.
Here’s what the AFC East looks like:
- Miami Dolphins: 8-3
- Buffalo Bills: 8-3
- New York Jets: 7-4
- New England Patriots: 6-5
Here’s what the NFC East looks like:
- Philadelphia Eagles: 10-1
- Dallas Cowboys: 8-3
- New York Giants: 7-4
- Washington Commanders: 7-5
That’s not the only interesting thing going on between these two divisions, though. If the season ended today (November 28th), each of the above teams would be in the NFL Playoffs…except for the Patriots.
Each conference has seven playoff spots open. In the AFC, the Dolphins are slotted for the two-seed. The Bills are the five-seed and the Jets hold the final spot. New England is the first team out at the moment, according to NFL.com.
In the NFC, each of the Eastern Division teams would be playing in January if the season finished on Sunday. Philadelphia owns the league’s best record, so they’re the top seed right now. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, Giants, and Commanders are in possession of the fifth, sixth, and seventh spots, respectively.
Clearly, there’s lots of good football being played in the eastern portion of the United States so far this season. When we drill it down to the Giants and Jets, though, they’re in different situations despite identical 7-4 records.
The Jets are fresh off a dominant win over the Chicago Bears with quarterback Mike White leading the way in impressive fashion. They’ll be heading to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 13. Gang Green will also have road games against the Dolphins, Bills, and Seattle Seahawks. The collective .591 winning percentage of New York’s final six opponents are the fifth-toughest in football.
Meanwhile, the Giants have lost three of their last four games, including each of the last two. Big Blue just began a streak of four straight NFC East divisional games on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys. This also includes a trip to Minnesota and two matchups against the Eagles. New York’s remaining opponents have a .699 winning percentage, which is the highest in football, according to Tankathon.
The final stretch won’t be easy for either the Jets or the Giants. If they break their respective playoff droughts, though, they’ll have definitely earned it.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
