00:00Mike Jones, who writes for The Athletic, covers the league, wrote this morning about the NFL's underrated and overrated teams
00:09heading into 2026.
00:13Now, I'm not about to tell you, because they're not on the list, that the reason this was interesting to
00:17me was because Washington was one of the underrated teams listed.
00:22He did not actually mention Washington as an underrated team. He mentioned Atlanta, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Carolina, and New Orleans as
00:33the underrated teams entering 2026.
00:36By the way, I agree with him on New Orleans. I think the Saints have a pretty good roster, and
00:41if Shuck is right, if Tyler Shuck is right, and he looked good at the end of last year, I
00:46think they could be a threat to win the NFC South.
00:49To me, what caught my attention was his overrated team list. So he mentioned Buffalo, he mentioned Chicago, and he
00:59mentioned New England.
01:00But then he mentioned two NFC East teams, Dallas and Philadelphia.
01:08And I wonder whether or not there is a chance here he's going to be dead on correct.
01:18It feels to me like this could be a step back year for the Eagles.
01:24They won the division two straight years. They won the Super Bowl two years ago.
01:28There just seems to be a lot of, you know, other stuff going on in Philadelphia, the trading of A
01:34.J. Brown, the bringing in of another offensive coordinator.
01:38Although I'd be encouraged if I were a Philadelphia fan with Sean Mannion as the offensive coordinator, but he's never
01:44done it before.
01:45Same situation with us. You know, there are more new coordinators offensively and defensively than we've ever seen in the
01:53NFL.
01:54We went through that data a few weeks ago. And Philadelphia is one of those teams that has a new
02:01coordinator offensively.
02:02Dallas has a new coordinator defensively. But the Eagles, you know, and whether or not that will mesh quickly and
02:10Nick Sirianni appears to be on a warm seat at the very least.
02:14They lost arguably their most talented offensive player, even though he was disgruntled for sure.
02:21They've added some pieces, but it could be a step back year for them. It could be a step back
02:27year for the Cowboys.
02:28Imagine if Mike Jones is correct and Dallas and Philadelphia both are a bit overdone, overrated going into the season.
02:39He writes about Dallas. Jerry Jones will tell you the Cowboys always have a shot at contention and his team
02:44does generate plenty of buzz.
02:46But the Cowboys will have to gel in a hurry on defense where new defensive coordinator, I'll add first time
02:51defensive coordinator,
02:52Christian Parker inherits a unit unit that struggled mightily last season, but added plenty of new faces,
02:59including veterans like pass rusher Rashawn Gary, Kobe Durant, linebacker Dee Winters, and rookie linebackers Malachi Lawrence and Ja'Shawn Barham.
03:09The offense, led by Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens, should again put up points,
03:14but the much-needed defensive backing could take some time.
03:19Then he writes about Philadelphia being overrated.
03:21The Eagles have ranked among the elite teams of the NFC for the last 10 years, making the playoffs nine
03:30times and winning the Super Bowl twice.
03:34I'll add in there, losing a Super Bowl.
03:37Even with last season's regression, they won the NFC East for the third time in four seasons.
03:42But now they're trying to retool on the fly, subtracting the disgruntled A.J. Brown and drafting Makai Lemon,
03:50rolling with their fourth offensive coordinator in his many years, rookie play caller Sean Mannion,
03:56and adding veterans Jonathan Grenard and Enrique Woolen on defense while losing standouts to Kobe Dean and Reed Blankenship.
04:05I had forgotten that they lost Blankenship.
04:07I knew they lost Dean, forgot that they lost Blankenship, who was a bit of a problem for our team
04:13the last few years.
04:15And then he finishes up by writing,
04:17The health of the offensive line is a concern, as is a tough late-season stretch.
04:23Although viewed as a bar setter, the Eagles could hit a few snags this season.
04:30I mean, two teams, one division being, you know, described by Mike Jones of The Athletic as overrated.
04:38Well, if he's right, that clearly opens up an opportunity for the two other teams in the division.
04:45He doesn't list the Giants or Washington as underrated.
04:49And obviously, two teams with win totals of seven and a half can't be overrated heading into an NFL season.
04:57Nobody's going to, last year, you could list Washington as an overrated team.
05:02And you would have been correct.
05:03Maybe not for the reasons that you thought you would be correct, but you were correct nonetheless.
05:10Right now, the NFL division odds, sort of a consensus of the division odds,
05:18have Philly as a favorite at around plus 125.
05:22The Cowboys at plus 216, and then there's a drop-off to Washington at plus 460,
05:28and the Giants at plus 580.
05:34I still think that Washington has the highest ceiling quarterback in the division.
05:44And if he remains healthy and plays 17 games and the offensive coordinator is good enough,
05:51they have an absolute shot to win the division.
05:55And I would say of the two teams that I find as a possibility of being overrated,
06:00I think the Philadelphia one feels the most real.
06:04And it's not because they don't have a great roster, because they do have an excellent roster.
06:10They still have one of the best rosters in the NFL.
06:12And they have the best roster in the NFC East.
06:15I don't think there's any doubt about that.
06:17The Eagles have the best roster in the NFC East.
06:21The issue is just it's feeling old and stale there.
06:27It's feeling like they want Sirianni gone.
06:31They want Sirianni to fail to a certain degree.
06:35Jalen Hurts, you know, giving him enough.
06:38This guy in nine years, ten years, has had nine different coordinators going back to college.
06:46The, you know, Saquon Barkley, let's keep in mind, you know, when Saquon Barkley got,
06:51you know, signed with Philadelphia, the issue was, well, you know, will it be different?
06:57Will he be healthy?
06:58Because in New York, he wasn't always healthy.
07:01Played 16 games in 2024.
07:03They sat him for the 17th.
07:04Same thing in 2025.
07:06He's been healthy two consecutive years.
07:08Can he make a healthy three-peat in Philadelphia as he's approaching 30 years old at running back?
07:17The offensive line was banged up all last year.
07:21That was a big problem for that team.
07:24And do they have a true number one wide receiver for Sean Mannion and Jalen Hurts?
07:32I don't know.
07:33I mean, I think Devontae Smith is a number one, yes, but he's not a high level.
07:39You know, he is a top half of the league, maybe number one, but probably, you know,
07:46in that 15 to 22 range, 16 to 22 range.
07:50I'd take Terry McLaurin even at this age over Devontae Smith.
07:54I like Devontae Smith, but he's not going to carry them.
07:57They had somebody in A.J. Brown, despite his attitude at the end of last year and how, you know,
08:03unhappy he was, that certainly when he played was a true high level, borderline elite level,
08:11number one wide receiver.
08:12They don't have that on their roster right now.
08:14Makai Lemon's more of an inside guy.
08:17Hollywood Brown's not that guy.
08:18Elijah Moore's not that guy.
08:20They got backs in Barkley, in Shipley, in Bigsby, but what will it look like offensively?
08:28Defensively, I still look at that team and I'm like, man, they've got arguably the number one
08:35defensive coordinator in the league in Vic Fangio.
08:38And then you've got, I mean, up front, Carter, Davis.
08:43You got Bond behind him.
08:45You got the rookie from last year, Campbell, who, you know, now you added Jonathan Grenard to that mix.
08:52Nolan Smith is a part of that.
08:54Then in the secondary, Dejean and Quinion Mitchell.
08:57They added Rick Woolen to the team.
09:00I mean, defensively, the Eagles still have a chance to be dominant defensively.
09:06So I don't see them like cratering, although injuries could certainly put them in a cratering position.
09:15But I think offensively, man, God, what a big year for Jalen Hurts.
09:19What a big year for Nick Sirianni, whether or not he picked the right coordinator there in Sean Mannion.
09:24We'll see.
09:26Dallas, I mean, I don't trust the Cowboys.
09:29I don't trust even the quarterback when it matters.
09:32And I certainly don't trust them defensively.
09:34You know, Dallas, Cincinnati, and Washington are very similar in that they've got quarterbacks that can lead you to double
09:44-digit wins.
09:45But they've had recently horrendous defensive football teams.
09:53And that puts them at risk of being a good team and even a playoff team, but a team that
10:01can't make a deep run.
10:04Dallas, remember, added Quinan Williams, Kenny Clark last year, you know, via the Parsons trade.
10:10Quinan Williams at the deadline.
10:12That guy, DeMarvian Overshown, you know, was hurt, came back.
10:16He's certainly talented.
10:19Ezraku, who they picked, remember, from Boston College in the 25 draft, really hasn't necessarily made his bones yet.
10:27Caleb Downs was their first-round pick.
10:29We'll see what he looks like in a Dallas uniform.
10:32But they've got to be much better defensively, just like Washington's got to be much better defensively.
10:38I don't know.
10:39The NFC East seems like one of those years where it could get flipped on its side based on preseason
10:48expectations.
10:49Philly the favorite, Dallas the second favorite.
10:52It wouldn't surprise me if one of the other two teams won the division.
10:57And if you said, you know, which one, I'd say Washington because I'll take Jaden over Jackson Dart, you know,
11:04all day long.
11:05The Giants roster, though, is solid.
11:08I mean, really solid.
11:10You know, even without Dexter Lawrence, they've got a solid overall roster.
11:16They do.
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