Table of Contents
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The Washington Commanders aside, the NFC East is perhaps the most competitive division in the NFL. Dallas, New York, and Philadelphia are all capable of making it into the playoffs, and – spoiler alert – I think there’s a chance they all will.
Certainly, this is a division where any of the top three teams are capable of beating one another in a given week, which is a good thing because divisional record dominance will likely determine who in the NFC East plays at home, who plays on the road, and who watches from their couch come playoff time.
To determine how things might play out in the NFC East in 2023, we’ll reference each team’s Strength of Schedule (SoS), Projected Wins (PW), and Playoff Probability (POP) as look-ahead metrics. Let’s get into it!
Dallas Cowboys
SoS: 15th most difficult, PW: 10.0, POP: 68.2%
RB Ezekiel Elliott and #2 leading receiver TE Dalton Schultz have departed; backfilling their roles are the underwhelming veteran duo of RB Ronald Jones and WR Brandin Cooks. Dak is back, the Oline is among the best in the league, and new toy TE Luke Schoonmaker has been added to the arsenal. First-round pick DT Mazi Smith will join a defensive front that was already good against the run, while third-round rookie LB DeMarvion Overshown will likely need to play a lot in ‘23 (‘cuz Leighton Vander Ouch).
Looking at the Cowboys’ 2023 schedule, I can see this team legit getting to 10 wins i.e. it’s not a hard schedule, but it is a tough December with games against Philadelphia, Miami, Buffalo, and Detroit. Everything in my mind screams that three playoff teams can come out of the NFC East in 2023. In your survivor pool, pick the Cowboys to win Week 3 at Arizona. If you are an ATS player, pick Dallas to win ATS any week after they lose ATS the previous week (trust me; it’s a thing).
New York Giants
SoS: 14th most difficult, PW: 7.9, POP: 37.9%
The Giants replaced most of the bunch of guys that caught the ball last season with another bunch of guys via free agency; namely WR Parris Campbell, WR Jamison Crowder, and TE Darren Waller. They’ll be joined by speedster draftee WR Jalin Hyatt. When fully healthy, as he is rumored to be now, RB Saquon Barkley is a beast, but this Oline may need more than draftee C John Michael Schmitz to patch holes in the run and pass-blocking game. The defensive line got better with the signing of DT A’Shawn Robinson but I’m not sure the other free agents or draftees will add much to this poor run D.
Looking at the Giants 2023 schedule, I do not get the projected win total of 7.9 the data models show. I see at least 9 wins for the Giants this season and no less than a 50% playoff probability. That said, New York’s entire season will come down to an away game at Philly in Week 16, and a rematch in Week 18 when the Giants get the Eagles at home to end the season. In survivor formats, you can comfortably pick the Giants in Week 2 at Arizona, or in Week 7 when they are home to Washington. In ATS formats, pick the Giants as underdogs in non-conference games, as they may be at Miami in Week 5, or at Buffalo in Week 6.
Philadelphia Eagles
SoS: 13 easiest, PW: 10.7, POP: 77.0%
WR Olamide Zaccheaus and running backs Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift were added as offensive reinforcements during free agency, and draftee OT/G Tyler Steen will join the league’s best offensive line from ‘22. But it is on the defensive side of the ball where the Eagles went big in the 2023 offseason, adding a couple of beasts to the defensive line rotation in draft picks DT Jalen Carter and DE Nolan Smith, as well as secondary help in the form of dangerous CB Kelee Ringo, and swiss army knife S Sydney Brown.
Looking at the Eagles 2023 schedule, I don’t see less than 11 wins and I can envision as many as 14. I think their odds to win the division are about 90% and the Eagles’ true PoP is approaching 100% — simply put, I just don’t think any other team in this division is better than the Eagles over 17 games. In survivor formats, feel free to deploy the Eagles anytime in Week 1 through Week 5 when Philly will face NE, MIN, TBY, WAS, and LAR (all games the Eagles should handily win). In ATS formats, look for the Eagles when they are at home, and avoid them when they are away.
Washington Commanders
SoS: 10th most difficult, PW: 6.7, POP: 21.9%
When you are a struggling organization, the point of the NFL offseason is to re-tool your team to make it more competitive. Did the Commanders do that in 2023? In a word, no. Washington was rumored to be interested in a handful of starting-caliber QBs but instead opted to sign journeyman Jacoby Brissett as a backup. Much attention, however, was paid to the Oline, with free agents OT Trent Scott and G Andrew Wylie signing, and C Ricky Stromberg and G/OT Braeden Daniels joining via the draft. On D, the Commanders have a decent pass rush, but are soft against the run and in the middle and have done nothing to improve in that regard.
Looking at the Commanders’ 2023 schedule, I don’t see where they are getting 7 projected wins from; I think 5 is more likely and I give the Commanders a none-percent chance of making the playoffs in 2023. In survivor pool formats, maybe take a gamble on the Commanders in Week 1 at home to Arizona but don’t come complaining here if that doesn’t pay off. After a win ATS in 2022, the Commanders were 4-2-1 (67%) ATS the following week — Do with that what you will.
Wrap-Up
Net-net, I think there is one elite team in this division and two that are pretty good. The Philadelphia Eagles are the class of the NFC East and one of the very best teams in the NFL. They will win this division by 1.5 games or more over the second-place finisher.
New York and Dallas will battle it out for the right to go to the playoffs as a wildcard and hope for runaway winners in the rest of the NFC divisions that would allow both clubs in. Washington is not a factor in ‘23, other than perhaps as a late-season spoiler of some other team’s dreams.
NFL FAQs
How do you play football survival pool?
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Players pick one team each week they think will win the game outright. They may only pick a team ONCE per season, meaning you can't pick the same team twice in one season. If their pick is correct, the player survives another week and continues to play. An incorrect pick eliminates the player from the contest entirely. This is sometimes called an elimination or suicide pool. The last person standing wins.
How to make a football pool?
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A football pool generally requires the creation of a shareable spreadsheet (like Google Sheets) so that members may pick teams. Then depending on the game type, creators must use several kinds of formulas (e.g. CountIF), data validation, and conditional formatting. Or, you can just use football pool hosting service like RunYourPool where we do all the work for you!
How to run a weekly football pool?
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In order to run a football pool, you must first crown yourself as Pool Commissioner. Begin by picking a game type like Survivor or Pick'Em. You'll want to establish rules before inviting friends, family, and colleagues to join. As commissioner, you make the rules and also need to enforce them equally and fairly.
What is a football survivor pool?
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In a Football Survivor Pool, players choose one team weekly they think will win. Usually, a team can be picked one time per season. Picks are made "straight up," no spreads necessary. If a pick is correct, members survive another week. An incorrect pick eliminates the player, unless a mulligan is used.
How does a football pool work?
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Football pools are games of skill played among a group of people. There are a variety of pool types to fit every players needs, from casual to competitive. Pool commissioners can set up pools manually, or use a hosting service like RunYourPool whiel still customizing your own settings. Some examples include NFL Squares, NFL Survivor, NFL Pick 'Em, and Playoff Brackets.
What is an NFL pickem pool?
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In an NFL pick’em pool, simply pick the outcome of each NFL game throughout the season. You can pick straight up winners or losers, or pick each game against the spread.
How to play a football pool?
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The way one plays a football pool varies on the game type. For example, in Survivor, you pick one team to win each week and can't pick that team again. Guess wrong and you lose. Another example is Pick'em Pools in which you simply pick every game each week.
How does a fantasy football pool work?
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Fantasy football pools don’t involve a traditional fantasy football draft. You can have as many members in your pool as you’d like, meaning no more 12 or 14 team limits! You pick a new lineup of players each week, and once you use a player once, you can’t use them again for the rest of the season.
What is a fantasy football pool?
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A fantasy football pool is similar to a traditional fantasy football league but without the draft. Pick a new lineup each week, and once you use a player, you can’t use them for the rest of the season. Your players will receive points based on their in-game stats, and the member with the most points at the end of the season is the winner.
What is a football pool?
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"Football Pool" is a broad term for a group of people competitively guessing the outcome of one or more football games. There are many types of formats, each assigning winners differently. They can be played informally between friends or through a more formalized system. They are often considered a great alternative to fantasy football given the ease of playing, although there are fantasy football pools as well.
How do football pool squares work?
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There are different kinds of football square pools. Most have a 10x10 grid with one team for the rows and columns. In an attempt to win, participants select a square where they believe the last digit number of each team's score will intersect at the end of each quarter, and the game's end.
How do you play football squares pools?
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To play a football squares pool, you're going to want to pick the squares with the best odds. As winners are determined by the point totals at the end of each quarter, try to consider options where scores are most common. Some of the most popular squares include 7-3, 7-0, 7-7, and 0-0. Numbers divisible by seven are good starting points.
How many squares in a football pool?
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In a traditional football squares pool, a grid is sectioned off into 100 squares with 10 columns and 10 rows. This accounts for a direct relationship between each possible digit from 0 to 9 on both the X and Y axis. For smaller square grids like 5x5, multiple numbers can be assigned to each column and row.
How to play squares football pools?
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Football squares are played by creating a grid, in which Team 1 takes the column and Team 2 the rows. In some cases, participants may claim as many squares as they like. In others, commissioners limit them to one. At the quarter times and end of the game, the winner is decided at the point the scores final digit intersect.
What is a football squares pool?
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Also called Grid, Block, or Box Pools, Football Squares Pools can be played with any single game, but are most popular during the Super Bowl. Pool members claim squares on a 25, 50, or 100-square grid by putting their information in the square. Game scores are matched to the winning square(s), usually with winners being determined every quarter.
How to read a football pool sheet?
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In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
How do you play football credits pool?
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In the credits format, all players start with the same number of credits. Players make picks each week by risking a certain number of credits on games, assigning more credits to the picks with a higher confidence level. Members receive double the credits risked for each win. The member with the most credits at the end of the season wins.
What is a football credits pool?
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In Football Credits Pools, players start with the same number of credits. They then make picks each week by risking a number of credits on games, assigning more to the picks they have more confidence in getting right. Members double credits risked for each win. The member with the highest credits at the end of the season wins.
How to run a football pool?
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How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
How do you play football confidence pool?
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A football confidence pool is played straight up, not with a point spread. Not only do members pick the winning teams, they must back up their picks by giving them a relative confidence ranking. Your score reflects the number of confidence points given to winning teams. So if your confidence for a team winning is '1', then you can only win one point at most. If your confidence for a team winning is '5', then you can win five points for a win. The member with the most credits at the end wins.
What is a football confidence pool?
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"Football Confidence Pool" refers to how you rank the teams that you think will win each week. For example, in the NFL, there are often 16 games weekly. In this scenario, you would rank each game from 16 to 1, based on the your confidence in that team winning.
How do you play football margin pool?
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Margin pools are an NFL pool format that rewards members for picking a winning team each week. Pool commissioners can decide whether they award points equal to a winning teams margin of victory or the point spread for that game. When a commissioner chooses the point spread option, this format is often referred to as an NFL Underdog Pool.
What is a football margin pool?
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In a Football Margin Pool, you are awarded points for picking a winning team. Pool commissioners get to decide whether they award points equal to a winning teams margin of victory or the point spread for that game. The player with the most points at the end of the season wins.
How do you play football 33 point pool?
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The football 33 pool format is a casual pool where members are each assigned an NFL team (these pools are 32 members max, as there are 32 NFL teams). Members win when their team scores 33 points. Options for changing the target score, or having the closest to the target win each week is also available.
What is a football 33 point pool?
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In the football 33 pool format, each member is assigned a unique NFL team (32 members max). A member will win when their team scores 33 points. This is a casual pool where you can change the target score or the option to have the closest to the target that week win.
How to run a weekly football pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
In order to run a football pool, you must first crown yourself as Pool Commissioner. Begin by picking a game type like Survivor or Pick'Em. You'll want to establish rules before inviting friends, family, and colleagues to join. As commissioner, you make the rules and also need to enforce them equally and fairly.
What is an NFL Playoff bracket pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
NFL Playoff Bracket pools are simple NFL pool formats where members pick every round of the playoffs before they start in an attempt to predict every match up correctly. It's optional to configure a multiplier for each round, or add a tiebreaker option of total points in the Super Bowl.
How to make a football pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
A football pool generally requires the creation of a shareable spreadsheet (like Google Sheets) so that members may pick teams. Then depending on the game type, creators must use several kinds of formulas (e.g. CountIF), data validation, and conditional formatting. Or, you can just use football pool hosting service like RunYourPool where we do all the work for you!
How to set up a football pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
To set up a football pool, you'll need to first choose a pool type like Survivor or Pick'em. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As pool commissioner, you'll enforce these rules and make sure the game runs smoothly throughout the season. Many commissioners use pool hosting sites like RunYourPool to make it easier and more engaging.
What is a football power ranking playoff pool?
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In a power ranking playoff pool, members rank all 12 NFL teams competing in the playoffs from strongest (12 points) to weakest (1 point). Picks are made only ONCE before any games begin. Members are awarded the number of points assigned to a team when they win. Commissioners can optionally set up a point multiplier for each playoff round.
What is a football confidence pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
"Football Confidence Pool" refers to how you rank the teams that you think will win each week. For example, in the NFL, there are often 16 games weekly. In this scenario, you would rank each game from 16 to 1, based on the your confidence in that team winning. This is similar to the Playoff Pool Power Ranking, just less teams.
How to run a football pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
What is a football playoff precision pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
In a playoff precision pool, members attempt to pick the winner of every playoff game each week. You can decide if it’s straight up or on a point spread picks, but point totals are also added. Points are awarded for correct picks AND for how close to the correct combined point total they were.
How to read a football pool sheet?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
What is a Super Bowl Prop Bets Pool?
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A Super Bowl Prop Bet Pool is a fun and thrilling way to compete against friends and family during the big game! It's a simple questionaire of prop betting questions revolving around the Super Bowl, and whoever earns the most points based off correct answers wins!
How does a Super Bowl Prop Bets Pool work?
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Pool members simply fill out a wide range of prop questions, each question worth a different value. Commissioners decide on the point value for each question, along with the amount of questions. Whichever member earns the most points based on corret answers wins the pool.
What is a football Super Bowl Squares pool?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
Also called Grid, Block, or Box Pools, Football Squares Pools can be played with any single game, but are most popular during the Super Bowl. Pool members claim squares on a 25, 50, or 100-square grid by putting their information in the square. Game scores are matched to the winning square(s), usually with winners being determined every quarter.
What is a prop bet?
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Prop bets are any sort of pick or wager on a game that has nothing to do with the score or the final score outcome. Props can range from game types, to team types and even player types - such as who will score the game's first and last touchdowns? Other props, such as novelty or exotic, feature bets on things such as the coin flip or the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
How to read a football pool sheet?
![down arrow](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.runyourpool.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/12215336/img_68483.png)
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.