As The Deadline Passes, The Eagles Are The Team To Beat In The NFC

The NFL trade deadline came and went at 4:00 PM ET. Even with all of the moves that went down in the league – the Philadelphia Eagles are still the best team in the NFC.

Of course, there is an argument that the Eagles -- the only remaining undefeated team in Pro Football at 7-0 -- is the best overall team in the league, let's just focus on the competition in the NFC East and the conference as a whole. In the division, both the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants sit right behind the Birds with identical 6-2 records. Both teams have had surprisingly good seasons, but for different reasons. For the Cowboys, they lost their franchise quarterback Dak Prescott at the beginning of the season and that spelled nothing but trouble, insert backup QB Cooper Rush, and he stepped in in won games when not many expected. Their defense has been fantastic all season long and they are right there in the mix.

But they didn't do anything at the trade deadline to add to their roster to surpass Philadelphia. For the Giants, their new culture led by new head coach Brian Daboll has really accelerated their timeline and the wins have followed. Running back Saquon Barkley is back to his All-Pro form... quarterback Daniel Jones is managing the game and not turning the ball over, while the defense has been strong. However, like Dallas, New York did nothing to improve their roster on the offensive side of the ball, therefore not much of a threat to the Eagles.

As for the conference, the Minnesota Vikings improved on Tuesday acquiring talented tight end TJ Hockenson from the Detroit Lions -- bolstering their offensive attack. The Vikings are 6-1 after eight weeks,  their lone loss on the season came at the hands of the Eagles in week two in Philadelphia. Green Bay could get things together with Aaron Rodgers, but things don’t look good for the 3-5 Packers. There's always a chance that Tampa Bay could turn it around with Tom Brady under center, but things haven't looked great for the future Hall of Famer and his team at 3-5.

And for the NFC West, Seattle and San Francisco look to be the two best teams in that division. With the 49ers getting better at the deadline after acquiring All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey who was already paying dividends. In their victory over Los Angeles on Sunday, McCaffrey scored rushing and receiving touchdowns. He also showed his passing skills by throwing a touchdown to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Their defense is so strong that San Francisco could present a problem in the playoffs.

There’s a really good balance going on with the Eagles this campaign and they’ve found different ways to remain undefeated in their wins. Defensive end Robert Quinn was a solid addition before the deadline for the Birds... he’ll help their quest for another Super Bowl. With the favorable schedule ahead, all they need to do is stay the course and the no.1 seed in the NFC should be theirs.