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The Eagles are on the brink of breaking a 20-year streak in the NFC East

They could clinch a second consecutive division title as soon as Saturday.

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown celebrates his third-quarter touchdown reception with Jalen Hurts on Sunday.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown celebrates his third-quarter touchdown reception with Jalen Hurts on Sunday.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
    by Jeff Neiburg
    Updated 
    Published 

The Eagles could break a 20-season streak on Saturday.

Their magic number to clinch the NFC East reached one late Sunday night after the Eagles blew out the Las Vegas Raiders, 31-0, earlier in the day, and the Dallas Cowboys lost a home game, 34-26, to the Minnesota Vikings in prime time.

The Eagles, at 9-5, have a 2½-game lead over the 6-7-1 Cowboys.

» READ MORE: NFL playoff picture: Eagles No. 1 seed scenarios, Chiefs eliminated, two teams clinch

Any Eagles win or Cowboys loss over the final three weeks of the season would clinch the NFC East for the Eagles and make them the first repeat champions in the division since the 2001-04 Eagles.

The Eagles won the division in 2022 before Dallas won in 2023. The Eagles clinched their 2024 division title with a 41-7 home victory over the Cowboys last December. The 2025 title would give them three in four years.

The Cowboys made things interesting in the division after they stormed back from a 21-0 deficit to beat the Eagles in Week 12. They followed that with a Thanksgiving Day victory over Kansas City. But Dallas’ defense, which has continuously let down the league’s best offense by yards per game, couldn’t hold up in losses to Detroit and Minnesota, and the Eagles inched closer to the finish line.

The Eagles play their first of two games in three weeks vs. Washington (4-10) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Landover, Md. The Eagles opened as 5½-point favorites at most sportsbooks.

The Commanders started Marcus Mariota at quarterback Sunday and beat the lowly Giants, 29-21. It was Washington’s first win since Oct. 5. Three of Washington’s four wins are against the Giants and Raiders. The Commanders did, however, beat the Chargers in that Oct. 5 game. Washington’s No. 1 quarterback, Jayden Daniels (elbow), was shut down for the remainder of the season Monday.

The Eagles remain two games behind the top-seeded Rams, who are tied with the Seahawks in the NFC West at 11-3, and a game behind second-seeded Chicago in the NFC playoff race.

At this stage, the No. 1 seed seems like a stretch, but it’s unlikely the Eagles finish below the third seed.

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The Eagles have a solid stash of draft picks (8) and, for a team just one season removed from winning the Super Bowl, a lot of positions that need to be addressed. Several elite members of the offensive line could be on the verge of retirement, while the wide receiver corps appears destined to lose a dynamic member. After bolstering the defense in the early rounds of the draft in recent years, will general manager Howie Roseman pivot this spring? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Devin Jackson combine their reporting and analysis to forecast how the Eagles might attack the 2026 NFL Draft, which gets underway Thursday in Pittsburgh. Listen here.

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    Jeff Neiburg
    Bluesky
    I cover the Eagles and also contribute to The Inquirer's coverage of college basketball, particularly the Villanova Wildcats.
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