It's been a weird year for the NFC as the three favorites entering the 2022 season have been huge disappointments. The reigning champions L.A. Rams don't look like a winning team right now. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs are struggling to adjust to a new-look offensive line. And the Green Bay Packers have no receivers.

That's led to unlikely teams being atop the NFC which makes the conversation a lot muddier. What does that mean to the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys? Are they really in the mix to be Super Bowl contenders?

Below is my "NFC Top 4 Rankings" with the biggest strength and weakness for each team. You can catch my nightly Cowboys show "A to Z Sports Primetime" in which we take a look at the conference, too.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-0)

Biggest strength: Offensive line

The Eagles' success starts up front. Their offensive scheme is not as creative or cutting-edge as the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills. But it's simply solid. The NFL's best offensive line allows them to keep it simple and be efficient by simply being better.

Biggest weakness: ???

This might be the scariest thing about Philly. They don't have a glaring weakness to point out other than maybe the fact that they've had (and will continue to have) one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. But since that's something they can't control, I decided against listing it as such.

So, instead, I'll point out the Eagles have yet to trail significantly in any game and Jalen Hurts has yet to prove he can be consistent against the blitz. That's one area that tougher defenses will aim to exploit down the road.

2. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)

Biggest strength: Pass Rush 

Micah Parsons is amazing. We get that. But the reason why the Cowboys are the league's best pass rush through eight weeks of the season is that Dan Quinn has a bunch of other talented, versatile players that can wreak havoc against any opponent.

Pair that with genius pressure designs by the Cowboys' defensive coordinator and you get devastating results. Quinn is able to find the weak spot in any pass protection unit and get to it all game long. This is the most dangerous unit in the entire NFL.

And if top-tier quarterbacks like Rodgers and Brady aren't able to overcome their team's struggles, having that pass rush will prove even more important in the playoffs as the Cowboys face less experienced quarterbacks.

One thing is having such a dangerous pass rush against those guys who can get rid of the ball quickly and identify your blitzes and another one is having it against less-proven signal-callers. In this year's playoffs, the Cowboys pass rush could carry the team to a deep postseason run.

Biggest weakness: Third down offense

The good news is this is fixable, especially with QB1 back. Last Sunday, the Cowboys converted 9-of-11 third down attempts against the Chicago Bears. But they still rank 21st in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage.

With Dallas' offensive coordinator Kellen Moore coming off of one of his best games yet, things are shaping up for the offense.

3. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

Biggest strength: Scheme + Playmakers

Kyle Shanahan remains one of the best offensive minds and play-callers in the NFL. So naturally, if he has Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey at his disposal, that HAS to be the biggest strength of the team. Sure, the defense has been great. But the old "defense wins championships" cliché has been proven to be a myth.

Scheme and playmakers are the way to go in the NFL.

Biggest weakness: Quarterback

I hate jotting down Jimmy Garoppolo as the weakness here. I really do. When healthy, he's been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league running Shanahan's scheme. But out of the four teams in my Top 4, Garoppolo is probably the worst signal-caller.

He's mistake-prone and was clearly not the plan for the 49ers before Trey Lance's injury.

4. Minnesota Vikings (6-1)

Biggest strength: Run offense

Kevin O'Connell has put together the fourth-best rushing offense in DVOA. The Vikings have Dalvin Cook leading the charge and have no clear-cut identity when running the football. They do a little bit of everything and are a big-time headache in close games.

Biggest weakness: Close games

Being in a lot of close games isn't ideal, though. Of Minnesota's six wins, five have been in one-possession games. The Vikings actually rank 18th in the NFL in overall DVOA, which is a testament to why a 6-1 record doesn't necessarily make them one of the best teams in the conference.

For those teams who missed the cut, you can catch the full show here:

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