Ross Tucker has backed the New York Giants to win the NFC East, but believes they won’t do enough to get a winning record.

Tom Coughlin’s Giants currently boast a 5-7 record, which leaves them tied with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles for first place, with the Dallas Cowboys just one game back.

The former Redskins and Cowboys offensive lineman has backed against two of his former teams and chosen his rivals to win the division and take the fourth seed in the NFC.

When asked if the division winner will have a sub-.500 record, he responded: “I don’t think there’s any question.”

“I think it’ll be 7-9. I can’t see any of those teams the way they’ve played going 3-1 down the stretch. I think 2-2 will be the best and it will be the third time we’ve seen a 7-9 winner in recent years.”

“If the Redskins won on Monday night maybe, but I’m going to go with the Giants probably, even though they’ve really been struggling. It’s going to be a total toss-up to see who wins that division.”

The Carolina Panthers were faced with a similar scenario last season as they won seven games to win the NFC South, and are now 12-0 and look set to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Tucker was an undrafted free agent in 2001 before signing for the Redskins and played six games in his first two years in Washington.

He was forced to undergo back surgery in 2003 when he was at the Buffalo Bills, which halted his career – then it was just a matter of hanging on. Tucker was a locker room favourite due to his intelligence and toughness and was thought to be a stabilising force on the offensive line.

During his 24 NFL starts, the 36-year-old operated between guard and center and knows a thing or two about coping with injuries.

He added: “It’s pretty physically demanding, you’re going to have contact with typically a 300-350 pound defensive lineman, pretty much every play, and that wears on you. Sometimes the fans don’t see the force of those collisions because it’s sort of in a scrum if you will.

“One of the biggest issues with being an NFL player, one of the toughest things, is to be able to stay healthy. It’s not easy to say the least.”

The final team he played for, New England Patriots, are currently 10-2 and are suffering from a few injuries to key players.

But Tucker believes even with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski on the field the Patriots can be beaten.

“The injuries have clearly affected them right now, but I think when they get Edelman and Gronk back for the playoffs that they’ll still be in pretty good shape,” he said.

“Those are two of their big match-up nightmare guys and it makes everyone else around them better.”

The two have combined for 118 receptions for 1623 yards and 16 touchdowns, despite missing four games between them.

Tom Brady’s two key weapons on offence are, at times unplayable, but Tucker believes there are teams that can stop the Patriots reaching a second consecutive Super Bowl.

“Certainly, I actually think anybody in the AFC could beat them,” said the former Patriots player.

“Losing Dion Lewis hurt them, they still are beat up on the offensive line – I think it’s going to be a dogfight in the AFC. The Broncos are running the ball better and playing better with [Brock] Osweiler. I could see even the Steelers or Chiefs making a run in the AFC.”