The NFC East has long been the NFL's most competitive division, but it's not looking like a good division in 2026. In a matter of minutes during the early afternoon window of Week 4, the Giants preserved a victory, the Cowboys rallied to win and the Eagles finished by blowing a lead.

With those topsy-turvy results on Sunday, a surprise team is in first place, and the two-time reigning favorite is tied for second with three of 12 total division games played.

Here's a look at how tight the standings are now and why the latest unpredictable sign of crazy things to come:

MORE NFL WEEK 4 NEWS:

NFC East standings

  1. New York Giants (3-1)
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
  3. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
  4. Washington Commanders (1-3)

The Giants are on a two-game winning streak with Jameis Winston starting for an injured Jaxson Dart (knee), who is out for at least the entire regular season. The Eagles are seeing injuries pile up on offense (Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith and now Saquon Barkley) and the defense hasn't been immune to losing some key pieces. The Cowboys' defense is a big liability, putting big pressure on Dak Prescott and the offense to score plenty to win games.

All three teams are flawed in many ways. The Commanders, the worst overall team, have struggled for the most part with shaky defense and their own injury-riddled now down to two quarterbacks, Jaylen Daniels and Marcus Mariota. But with their upset win over the Seahawks in Week 3, even they cannot be ruled out as a dangerous spoiler.

Here's making a case for how New York, Philadelphia, or Dallas ends up winning the division over the final three-quarters of the season:

How the Giants can win the NFC East

Winston defines "wild' with his fearless gunslinging, even if it would come at the expense of turnovers. He came up mostly aces (250 yards, 3 TDs, 8.6 yards per attempt vs. 2 interceptions) against the Cardinals in a 36-24 win that game down to the final play.

The Giants did beat the Cowboys with a ball-control game plan featuring a healthy Dart in Week 1. After getting ripped by the Rams in Week 2 when Dart went down, Winston has done enough leading the offense in wins over now winless Tennessee and 1-3 Arizona.

The schedule breaks continue in Week 5, back in the division at the Commanders with that team's uncertain QB situation. Then comes a home date with the Saints, a good but beatable former team of Winston's. Week 7 brings another suddenly winnable game at the 0-4 Texans.

After the Week 8 bye, the slate ramps up, with the two Eagles games sandwiching contests against the Jaguars, 49ers, Seahawks and Lions outside of the division. New York must stay hot and surge to improve to either 5-2 or 6-1 to have a chance.

John Harbaugh is used to having teams overachieve through adversity from his time with the Ravens. So far this season, he's done a better job leading any team in the NFC East. The Giants' offense proved it still has plenty of pop minus Dart, with more playmakers than just running back Cam Skattebo and wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Their defense has a lot of holes, but it has some big-play guys too. The secondary, led by safeties Jevon Holand and Dru Phillips, has come up with clutch moments in the wins.

The Giants will need to live with Winston's aggressive style to keep the necessary scoring. They will stay in the race until the end because of the emphasis on maximizing complementary football.

How the Eagles can win the NFC East

Staying healthy would be nice. Not only did Goedert, Smith and right tackle Lane Johnson (personal reasons) miss the Rams game, but Barkley's midgame ailment led to a significant backfield drop-off to the committee of Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley. With a limited receiving corps, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles went a historically bad 0-for-12 on third down.

The Eagles also didn't have ace cover linebacker Zack Baun healthy for the game. In the second half, the team also lost top outside cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (knee) and venerable pass rusher Jonathan Green (ankle). Vic Fangio's group has already had some trouble getting back to its Super Bowl 59 form, so such absences hurt a lot more.

When they have everyone on the field around Hurts, the Eagles are set up well to be balanced and explosive. At least Smith or Goedert needs to return ASAP to provide more reliable deep and intermediate targets in a new Sean Mannion offense. It's also difficult to replace the completeness and experience of Barkley.

Philadelphia has proved to have limited depth early. It will be on Mannion, Fangio and coach Nick Sirianni to make some key adjustments should more vital players be out for more than a game. The timing is bad, ahead of a tough London trip in Week 5 to face the red-hot 3-1 Jaguars. Carolina and Dallas also will be challenging in the next two games. Their schedule is much like the Giants' overall, crossing over to the NFC West and AFC South.

The Eagles are at a 2-2 crossroads. They either will fight through and flex like the 50-18 consistent NFC contender they have been the first four seasons under Sirianni — or succumb to their rash of adversity and miss the playoffs for the first time in his tenure.

MORE NFL WEEK 4 INJURY NEWS:

How the Cowboys can win the NFC East

In his division tale of Goldilocks, if the Giants are too hot and the Eagles are too cold, it might suggest the Cowboys are just right at 2-2. They looked flat losing to the Giants in Week 1 and Brian Schottenheimer rues how they lost to the Ravens in Rio in Week 3. But they blew through the Commanders in Week 2 and went back to unstoppable passing mode with Dak Prescott in Houston in Week 4.

Since the hiccup of limited possession time in Week 1, the Cowboys have scored 37, 34 and 34 points. Prescott has been locked into his top three targets, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson. He's getting more receivers involved and running back Javonte Williams continues to be the ultimate red zone finisher. Dallas proved to be a matchup nightmare everywhere for Houston. 

The Cowboys have the healthy starting quarterback and the cleanest bill of health by far in relation to the Giants, Eagles and Commanders. They have no offensive dysfunction in the second year of Schottenheimer. The defense also can't be much worse in the scheme of Christian Parker and will be more effective when the youth better serves the veterans.

Dallas will need to keep stepping on the gas and stay effective throwing 60-plus percent of the time with Prescott. The schedule is nice with struggling Tampa Bay (0-4) and Green Bay (2-2) next in prime-time games. The key upcoming contest is Week 7 at the Eagles, also at night. Then the Cowboys get the Cardinals, Colts and Titans to balance out the 49ers, Eagles again and Seahawks before an advantageous late Week 14 bye.

Is this leaning toward third-place Dallas being the new division favorite? There were some who thought the Cowboys could be sneaky Super Bowl 61 contenders before the season. Let's stop short of there, but it's looking more like 10 wins will be enough to win the NFC East.

If healthy, the Eagles would remain the team to beat. But the shocking early division results have worked out most in the Cowboys' favor.