The second half of the NFL season begins on Thursday night as the New York Giants host the Washington Commanders in a key NFC East matchup. Although Washington enters the game at 2-5-1 while New York holds a 5-2-1 record, an upset by the Commanders could disrupt the division race and potentially set up an unprecedented scenario where a six-win team captures the NFC East title, as reported by CBS Sports Headlines.
The Path to a Six-Win Division Winner
According to an analysis by CBS Sports Headlines, a plausible series of outcomes down the stretch could leave the Commanders, Giants, and Dallas Cowboys battling at the bottom of the division while excluding the Philadelphia Eagles from the calculation. For Washington, beating New York in Week 10, winning against the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, and defeating Dallas in Week 18—while losing to the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars—would yield a final record of 6-10-1.
For the Giants, dropping Thursday’s contest to Washington along with subsequent games against Jacksonville, the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Cowboys, before closing with a Week 18 victory over Philadelphia, would also result in a 6-10-1 finish. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, who enter Week 10 at 4-5, could finish 6-11 by losing to San Francisco, Tennessee, Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville, and Washington, while securing wins against Philadelphia and New York.
Under this breakdown, Washington and New York would finish tied at the top of the division standings at 6-10-1, with Dallas in third at 6-11. The Commanders would claim the NFC East title over the Giants courtesy of a superior head-to-head tiebreaker record of 1-0-1.
Historical Significance and Playoff Reform
No NFL team has ever won a division with only six victories in a full, non-strike season. Only three franchises have taken division titles with seven wins: the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, the 2014 Carolina Panthers, and the 2020 Commanders. As division champions, a six-win Washington team would automatically host a Wild Card round playoff game, potentially against an opponent with twice as many regular-season victories.
Such an outcome could prompt the league to reconsider its postseason formatting. Early in 2025, the Detroit Lions presented a proposal to base playoff seeding strictly on overall regular-season records rather than guaranteeing division winners a home game. If the NFC East or another division yields a champion with just six wins, the NFL may re-evaluate seeding rules during the upcoming offseason.
