👀 All Eyes On The NFC East This Weekend

In order to claim a playoff spot, at least one NFC East team must complete an unfamiliar task on Sunday ... win. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider: It’s no secret that the NFC East is a bad division, but somehow, some way, one team will secure a division championship and a spot in the playoffs on Sunday ... we take a look at the best stories, tweets and videos of 2020 ... and we are treated to a hilarious Rob Gronkowski impression from Tom Brady. Okay, let’s have a feel-good story to start the New Year with. How about … the NFC East? Admittedly, the worst and weakest division in the National Football League wouldn’t be the most obvious launching point for a heartwarming tale and this isn’t an attempt to confuse those of you who might be nursing a post-celebratory hangover. However, as Sunday delivers us the final throes of a season that at times felt like a long shot to even make it this far, there is simply no more fascinating tale of drama and unpredictability than amid the varying levels of chaos surrounding the New York Giants (5-10), Dallas Cowboys (6-9), Philadelphia Eagles (4-9-1) and Washington Football Team (6-9). The NFC East has been utterly vilified for its ineptitude over the past several months, at various times described as the “worst division ever” (Slate), “embarrassingly bad” (USA TODAY Sports), “putrid” (Yahoo Sports), “pathetic” (CBS) and “beyond pathetic” (The Big Lead). Come on, it’s not really so bad. Is it? [STORY IMAGE 1] “Yes,” [former All-Pro Brandon Marshall said on First Things First, all the way back at the midpoint of the campaign](. “It is a mess of a division.” Fine, it still is, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as watchable on Sunday if it wasn’t. Ultimately, it will be a feel-good tale for one team and one team only, whose regular season will end having caught a playoff rainbow despite failing to complete the most intrinsic goal for any squad – to win more than you lose. For the rest of us, it is the can’t miss finale to a freakishly wild episodic, with a closing plotline guaranteed to build throughout the day given the deliberate nature of the scheduling. The Cowboys and Giants will do battle to begin things (1 p.m. ET on FOX) with the loser eliminated and left to face all the soul searching that could and should come from suffering at least 10 defeats. The winner must then sit tight and fulfill an appointment with the remote control, as Washington, with its fate resting squarely in its own hands, bids for a win against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are the only one of the four divisional teams to be out of the running entirely. In NFC East 2020 bizarro world, five wins keep you in contention all the way through to Week 17 but four (plus a tie) just doesn’t cut it. Wouldn’t it also be entirely in character though, for Philly to play spoiler and break a heart or two? “We’re attacking,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay told reporters. “We’re an attack team. We know what’s on the line. We don’t want anybody celebrating on our field wearing (championship) hats and T-shirts. We’re looking forward to going out to mess up some dreams.” There is never truly a good time for whining and certainly not on the first weekend of a brand new year, which is why all the grumbles about the NFC East really don’t matter a hoot right now. (Speaking of a brand new year, treat yourself to a gift to kick off 2021. Check out the [Waterproof SkinSafe Trimmer from MANSCAPED]( [STORY IMAGE 2]( Believe me, I know all the stats and the quirks. I know the division’s representatives have only gone 11-28-1 against external opponents. I know that only twice in NFL history has a losing record secured a division title in a 16-game season. I know that if results go a certain way, it will be the first time a 6-10 squad makes the postseason. I know that whichever of the three possibles make it will create a new benchmark, having each started 2-7, a record that spelled doom for the previous teams to have begun so poorly. It’s now at a point where I really don’t care about all that. The rules are the rules, they’re designed for maximum entertainment and there are times when they harm teams and times when they help them. The basic requirement of guaranteeing yourself a home playoff game is to finish better than the three other teams that you’re lumped in with. That challenge is no fun if you’re paired with a 14-1 monster like the Kansas City Chiefs and a whole lot more promising if your nemeses all happen to currently be among football’s biggest strugglers. It is what it is. [STORY IMAGE 3] The best part of what it is, is that it’s a genuine fight for a prize and therefore a pair of Week 17 games that greatly matter. It is neat and simple, unless there is a tie, in which it all gets complex. Barring that, there is one do-or-die clash followed by another, with a solitary survivor at the end of it and a carrot that is absolutely worth having. When coaches talk too much about playoffs it sometimes ends up as memes or beer commercials, so it is no surprise the contending coaches, from Washington’s Ron Rivera, to the Giants’ Joe Judge and the Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy, are each handling it differently. Rivera wants to get to the playoffs because he thinks his team can spring some upsets. “I believe we can make some noise, I really do,” he said. McCarthy wants in because he believes in momentum and feels a winning conclusion can only bode well. “Success at the end of the season catapults you into your offseason program,” he said. (Speaking of success, our friends at MANSCAPED have found a ton of success following their launch of the Lawn Mower 3.0. [You can receive 20 percent off the product by visiting their website]( [STORY IMAGE 4]( Judge meanwhile, was the most circumspect of them all, to the point where the playoffs transmit for him only in a hypothetical realm. “Those games right now don’t exist,” Judge said. “At the same time, it’s human nature that (the players) are very conscious of what’s going on around the league and it would be naive or ignorant to pretend they’re not paying attention.” We’ll be paying attention too, for a bad division doesn’t mean poor entertainment, quite the opposite in this case. And, on Sunday, someone will be crowned a champion, a weird and dumbfounding kind of champion, sure. But at least to claim that honor they’ll have had to finish the regular season – and kick off 2021 by doing something rare and unfamiliar. Win. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports: “This entire, historically bad year for the East has rarely, if ever, been about who's playing well. It's almost always been about who's not doing the worst. There's a reason the second-place finisher here just might own a top-10 draft pick. Every team is bad.” Chris Ryan, NJ.com: “This game shouldn’t matter. Two teams that could end up picking in the top 10 of the NFL Draft should not also be playing for a chance at the division title in Week 17, but here we are. The Giants haven’t shown much reason to believe they’ll pull out a win here, but Daniel Jones and company will find a way against a bad Cowboys team.” Nick Wright, First Things First: “Washington is the most dangerous team in the NFC East. And if they get the right matchup they actually could be a dangerous team in the first round of the playoffs.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - It’s Ohio State vs. the world. [ESPN senior writer Ryan McGee]( details how the Buckeyes and their fans feed off perceived slights. - There were plenty of memorable moments that helped define the year in sports. [Dan Gartland of Sports Illustrated]( takes a look at the best stories, tweets and videos of 2020. - Becky Hammon became the first woman to coach a major American professional men’s team on Wednesday. [Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wetzel]( explains why Hammon’s historic moment shows it is past time for men’s pro sports to embrace female coaches. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( There’s nothing better than a well-done impersonation, and Tom Brady’s recent impersonation of long-time teammate Rob Gronkowski is SPOT ON. Check out this video, which was posted by Buccaneers staff writer Carmen Vitali, who has certainly spent plenty of time listening to Gronk speak this past year. “It’s everything I could have hoped for,” said Vitali. We co-sign that, Carmen. Well done, Mr. Brady! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Notre Dame vs. Alabama (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET) Mac Jones and the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide take on Ian Book and the No. 4-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State vs. Clemson (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) Justin Fields and the Ohio State Buckeyes go up against Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Roman Reigns makes a special request of WWE Management in the wake of his Universal Title win over Kevin Owens. Texas at Kansas (Saturday, ESPN2, 12 p.m. ET) Matt Coleman III and the No. 8-ranked Texas Longhorns battle Marcus Garrett and the No. 3-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants (Sunday, FOX, 1 p.m. ET) Andy Dalton and the Dallas Cowboys take on Daniel Jones and the New York Giants in a much-anticipated NFC East showdown. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY]( Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Depending on your outlook on life — is this glass half-full or half-empty? — Week 17 is one of the best to gamble on, or one of the worst. Keep that in mind before making your Week 17 picks in [the FOX Bet Super 6 contest]( where $100,000 is on the line if you can correctly predict the outcomes of all six games on the final weekend. Here is a look at Jason McIntyre’s Week 17 picks: Cowboys by 4-6 points vs. Giants Buccaneers by 1-3 points vs. Falcons Vikings by 10-12 points vs. Lions Dolphins by 4-6 points vs. Bills Browns by 4-6 points vs. Steelers Packers by 7-9 points vs. Bears [WHAT THEY SAID] “Always, through my whole life, I’ve had a thirst for knowledge.” — Emmitt Smith [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. 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