NFC East up for grabs between Giants, Redskins, Cowboys

There are two weeks left in the NFL season and the NFC East is up for grabs among three teams. Sound familiar?

It was the same situation last year with the New York Giants, Dallas and the Eagles fighting it out. Now, RGIII and the Washington Redskins are in the mix while the Eagles try to play spoiler.

That scenario worked out nicely for the Giants in 2011. They won two straight do-or-die regular-season games, three more in the conference playoffs and then beat New England for the second time in five years in the Super Bowl.

Can they do it again?

"These are the circumstances you want to be in," two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning said. "You want to be fighting to make it in the playoffs and that's just football and you understand it's tough to make the playoffs. You've got to work. You've got to win games. You've got to win important games and this is a chance."

The Giants, Redskins and Cowboys each are 8-6 and control their playoff fates. Win and they're in - either as division champion or a wild card. The Redskins clinch the East if they win out because they hold tiebreaker advantages.

"Every game we go into now we believe we can win and that has to be your mind-set," coach Mike Shanahan said. "When you win close games, you expect it."

The Cowboys' division hopes came down to the final game at New York last year. The Giants won, 31-14. Dallas could be in the same position this season, playing for first place in Week 17. The only difference is the game is at Washington.

Here's a breakdown for the three teams:

The Giants visit the reeling Baltimore Ravens (9-5) on Sunday. The Ravens already clinched their fifth straight trip to the playoffs but have lost three in a row.

The Giants finish up with a home game against the 4-10 Eagles, who beat New York in Week 4.

Robert Griffin III has the Redskins in position to earn their first playoff berth since 2007. Their five straight wins include victories over the Cowboys, Giants and Ravens. Even with RGIII sidelined by a knee injury, the Redskins beat Cleveland with another rookie, Kirk Cousins, at quarterback.

Griffin could be back for Sunday's game at Lincoln Financial Field. A win would set up a potential all-or-nothing matchup against Dallas.

The Cowboys have won five of six and three in a row. They face a difficult test Sunday against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints (6-8).

"I think our football team has developed that mental toughness that no matter what's going on during the game, as bad as it may look or whatever, we get to that fourth quarter, we have a shot to win the game," quarterback Tony Romo said. "We believe that we can do that. We have had a lot of comeback wins this year."