The NFL's Weirdest Streak: Cowboys Title Keeps Alive 19-Year NFC East Oddity

The Dallas Cowboys kept a streak that's lasted nearly a generation alive by winning the NFC East title Sunday.

Producers at NBC, ABC, FOX and ESPN slept well Sunday night, because their favorite graphic -- you know, the one reminding you there hasn't been a repeat NFC East winner since 2001-2004 -- will live on another year thanks to the Dallas Cowboys locking up a division title in Week 18. 

And of course, the 2023 Cowboys are just fine with it.

"We should be proud of the No. 2 seed and the divisional championship, and I'm proud of that, but most important is playoff time,'' said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy.

"We need to play our best football. It doesn't matter who we play or where we're playing, and that has to be our mindset. … It's really about how you're playing. It's about the team that is playing the best time of year."

All true. But winning the division matters. And how that goes in the East is ... odd.

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For much of the 2023 season, quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles seemed poised to win their second straight NFC East title. The Eagles jumped out to a 10-1 start, and with a Week 9 28-23 win over the Cowboys in hand, Philadelphia needed to collapse to let quarterback Dak Prescott back into the race to win the division.

And that's exactly what the Eagles did, losing five of their last six games -- including inexcusable losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants to finish the season -- to cough up the NFC East. 

To their credit, the Cowboys won seven of their last nine games -- including throttling the Eagles 33-13 on Sunday Night Football in Week 14 -- to finish 12-5 and win the NFC East. 

Predictably, Prescott was measured in his postgame response to the division title. 

"Obviously it's a huge accomplishment for myself, this team, the organization," Prescott said after leading the Cowboys to a division-clinching win over the Washington Commanders. 

"Don't get me wrong," Prescott continued. "But the focus is ahead. Simple as that ... I want something better."

Still, those of us who don't have to prepare to play in a postseason game can't help but marvel at the parity in the division. The Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb Eagles won the NFC East title four years in a row from 2001-2004. Since then, there hasn't been a repeat winner for close to a generation. 

Here's a look at how many NFC East titles each team has won since the last time the division had a repeat champion.

Cowboys - Seven: 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023

Eagles - Six: 2006, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022

Giants - Three: 2005, 2008, 2011

Washington - Three: 2012, 2015, 2018

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There's certainly plenty of historical bad blood between all these franchises, but during this century, Cowboys-Eagles has become the best rivalry in the NFC East. Obviously, the two franchises want to win the division every year. But you do get a sense that the fanbases of these four teams -- specifically, Eagles and Cowboys -- appreciate this streak, because it shows how difficult it is to come out on top in the NFC East.