NFL betting: Eagles loss, continued excellence of NFC East causes big odds shift

The NFC East wasn't expected to be very good this season. Like just about everything else with this 2022 NFL season, nobody got that right.

The NFC East has four teams with at least .500 records. If the season ended today, the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys would be in the playoffs and the Washington Commanders would be just a half-game out.

The Eagles had been running away with the division. They were 8-0 and looking like perhaps the best team in football. Then Monday night happened.

The Eagles lost to the Commanders in a surprising upset. The Eagles were 11-point favorites. The Eagles are still favored to win the NFC East by a significant margin, but their odds took a huge dip after Monday's game.

Eagles odds take a hit

At BetMGM, the Eagles were -750 to win the division before Monday's game, and those odds were chopped considerably after the loss.

There's still a long way to go for the Cowboys, Giants or Commanders to take the division, but at least the door opened a bit.

The Eagles did look a bit vulnerable on Monday night. With rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis on injured reserve, the Commanders ran the ball very well. That might give the Eagles' next opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, a shot at an upset this week. Jonathan Taylor is coming off his best game of the season.

Philadelphia is still favored, but it doesn't seem in that near-lock territory.

NFC East has been competitive

The team that has the best shot to beat the Eagles might be the Giants.

That possibility hasn't been given much oxygen because the Giants don't look like a dominant 7-2 team. They've been winning games — albeit a lot of them against a soft schedule and usually with close outcomes. But they are 7-2, a game back of the Eagles, and have two head-to-head games remaining against Philadelphia. The Giants sweeping the Eagles seems unlikely, but if it happens they probably would steal the division.

The Cowboys would be in much better shape had they not blown a 14-point fourth-quarter lead at the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. But Dallas does get Philadelphia at home in the second meeting of the season. If the Cowboys win that game, there's a chance.

The most important takeaway is that the NFC East is really good this season. We could end up seeing all four teams in the playoffs. In this upside-down NFL season, that seems fitting.