Coming into this year, the NFC East was viewed as one of the worst divisions in the NFL. The Redskins were one of the worst teams in the league last year, the Giants were a turnover-prone, injury-riddled team and the Cowboys had the worst defense in football. The Eagles were the only team that appeared destined for the playoffs. They had the “genius” head coach, along with a quarterback who rarely made mistakes.

After Week 8, it appears as if there may not be a tougher division in football than the NFC East. The Cowboys and Eagles are two of the best teams in football and while the Giants and Redskins may not be elite, they both have enough weapons to scare anybody.

Now, let’s take a look at six things you need to know about this surprisingly tough division.

1. It’s a Two-Team Race

The Cowboys (despite what happened Monday night) and Eagles have separated themselves as the two best teams in the division and among the upper-echelon in the NFL. The Cowboys have won with their smash-mouth running game and bend-but-don’t-break defense. On the other hand, the Eagles have won on the back of their opportunistic defense illustrated by the fact that Philadelphia has forced a turnover in 20 straight games.

The Cowboys and Eagles will play each other twice in a three-week span in late-November and early-December, which will likely determine the division’s winner.

2. Philadelphia is Winning Despite Nick Foles

Last year, Nick Foles was arguably one of the top-three quarterbacks in the NFL. He was efficient with the ball in his hands and rarely turned it over. He was able to lead the Eagles’ late-season surge into the playoffs. However, this season has been quite the opposite. Foles has struggled with his deep ball, going 8-of-35 on passes over 20 yards, and has been careless with the ball in his hands with nine interceptions and three fumbles.

In both of the Eagles losses this year, Foles has played poorly. In the two losses, Foles has completed 54.2 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions. The reason for Foles’ struggles has mostly been because of his footwork and mechanics. He hasn’t done a great job of setting his feet before he throws, while also throwing off his back foot way too often. If the Eagles plan on making it to and going deep in the playoffs, Foles needs to improve his play significantly.

3. Offensive Line Play Tells the Tale for the Giants

The Giants’ wins and losses have come down to how well their offensive line has played. In their four losses, the Giants have allowed seven sacks, nine quarterback hits and 26 quarterback hurries, while in their three wins, they have allowed just three sacks, zero quarterback hits and nine quarterback hurries.

The best teams in football are the teams that can control the line of scrimmage and in their wins the Giants have done just that; however, in their losses they have done the exact opposite. If you continually allow opposing defenses to reset the line of scrimmage, it will disrupt a majority of the things they are trying to accomplish.

If the Giants can get more consistent play from their offensive line, then they may be able to put together a string of wins in the second half of the season. However, it appears as though they will be hit and miss, which will lead to a similar second half as the first half of the season.

4. The Washington Redskins Offense could be Elite With a Stable Quarterback

The Redskins offense is littered with a great deal of top-tier talent. DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garçon, Jordan Reed, Alfred Morris and Trent Williams are all extremely talented players who are among some of the best at their positions. However, the Redskins are missing competent and stable quarterback play as they have had three different quarterbacks start in eight games and that is a recipe for disaster.

Kirk Cousins was utterly disappointing in the five games he started and ended up getting benched for Colt McCoy against the Titans. McCoy has played well, but his skill set doesn’t fit the Redskins’ downfield passing attack very well. Robert Griffin III appears to be the perfect quarterback for this offense, but he has not shown the ability to stay healthy yet in his career.

If the Redskins can find stability at the quarterback position, then they could be a scary team in the second half of the season.

5. The Cowboys’ Best Defense is a Great Rushing Attack

Everybody knows that the Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL last season. On top of that, they lost their three best defensive players to either free agency or injury. However, the Cowboys are 14^th in team defense and ninth in points allowed this season. We have detailed in the past about the changes Rod Marinelli has made on defense, but the biggest reason the Cowboys defense is playing so well may be because of the offense.

Last year, the Cowboys offense was 26^th in time of possession, which led to the defense being on the field for long periods of time. This allowed opposing offense to wear down the Cowboys defense and significantly exploit them late in games.

This year, the Cowboys are second in time of possession, which allows the defense to remain fresh throughout the game. This has allowed the Cowboys to play much better defense late in ball games, which has been one of the biggest reasons for their 6-2 start.

6. Rolando McClain should Win the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Coming into this season, Rolando McClain hadn’t played a single football snap since 2012. After two retirements and a couple of arrests, the Cowboys made a low-risk trade for the troubled linebacker and it has paid off tenfold.

Despite his porous performance against the Redskins, McClain has been the leader and star of the Cowboys defense. When he has missed time due to injury, late in the Titans game and the entire Rams game, the Cowboys defense has been totally different. McClain is the physical tone-setter for the defense, which has led to a much more physical Dallas team as a whole. Last year, the Cowboys were never a team that won the physical battle, but this year they are physically dominating teams like the Seattle Seahawks.

McClain has not only excelled coming downhill against the run, but he has also been very productive in coverage. His terrific instincts and lateral agility have allowed him to play soundly in coverage throughout the season.

McClain’s stellar play has led some to look forward to next year, when the Cowboys will get Sean Lee back from injury, and wonder how much better the defense could be with that tandem in the linebacker corps. McClain and Lee manning the middle of the field would be a scary sight for any opposing quarterback.

The fact that McClain has come back to play at an extremely high level despite the layoff and plethora of off-the-field issues should make him the easy choice for Comeback Player of the Year.