PHILADELPHIA (CBS) —Malcolm Jenkins doesn't mince words. He's always been the unfiltered sort, and, the truthful type. It's why when the Eagles' veteran safety, a respected team leader—and NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 16—says openly he likes the job rookie head coach Doug Pederson has done in 2016 you tend to listen.

"We're not that far away from the Cowboys, Giants and Redskins, I really don't think we are and you can credit Doug for that." Jenkins said. "Look at the NFC East. It's definitely the best division in the NFC and probably the best in the NFL. We can compete with everyone in our division, and this year shows that. The experience we gained this year in Doug's first year will help us next year."

Six of the Eagles' nine losses have come by seven points or less. The Eagles are 1-4 against the NFC East and all four losses have by seven points or less. Dallas, the New York Giants and Washington have a combined 31-13-1 record, better than any combination of top three teams in each NFL division (the AFC West is a combined 31-14).

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"Look at all the adversity we faced this year," Jenkins said. "Lane Johnson was suspended for 10 games. We had a rookie quarterback, and there were some injuries that definitely hurt us on offense, whether it was at running back, or offensive line. The defense carried the load and we had our struggles, and we needed to find ourselves, and I think we have. It's something we can continue to build on going into next year."

Jenkins said the confidence in Pederson is there and said something very revealing in terms of the Eagles being more a player-oriented group under Pederson than in his three years he's been with the Eagles. Jenkins also maintained that the Eagles as whole remained a tight-knit group throughout the season—even after the Cincinnati debacle where the Eagles' overall effort was questioned.

"I like Doug, I definitely do," Jenkins said. "I think he's done a good job this year. He's been aggressive in the things he does, and has shown great confidence in us. Those aggressive things sometimes didn't work, and people can look back on that and criticize it. But what that's done for us is place everything on his players, and with that aggressiveness, shown great confidence in us to carry out those aggressive plays.

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"Players love that. We didn't get it done. But we prepared well, because of Doug. He's carried himself very well. He's never gotten too up, or too down. He's kept everything on an even keel. It's all about the process. For me, that's what I look for in a head coach. He's someone who understands the process of winning games and preparing. He's placed us in a good position to win. I can't speak for everyone, but in general, I know the guys like him.

"I know the team is a lot closer this year than it has been since I've been here. Doug is a former NFL player. He'll talk to you. He's created an atmosphere where he wants guys to play for each other, he wants guys to have fun outside of the building, and he wants to build a family environment. That was a big thing this year. It's why we stayed together through the adversity. We had guys genuinely care about one another, which I haven't seen here before.

"That comes from Doug."