What are the experts saying about the defending Super Bowl champs?
With Week 13 of the NFL season in the books, it’s time look at how various media outlets have ranked the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in their NFL power rankings. It’s always interesting to see how the Eagles stack up from an outside perspective. But first, let’s start by revisiting mine.
Bleeding Green Nation
15 - The Eagles’ season is still alive for at least one more week. Philadelphia can take the division lead with a win in Dallas. (LW: 17)
ESPN
17 - Slow starts. The Eagles have been blanked nine times in the first quarters of their 12 games. They’ve scored 28 points in the first quarter all season (LW: 18)
NFL.com
15 - The defending champs are relevant again, toppling the Redskins en route to Sunday’s showdown in Big D for first place in the NFC East. JerryWorld has been kind to the visitors from the Northeast this decade: Philadelphia won there last year, lost in overtime the season prior and won in OT the year before that. They also prevailed on Turkey Day 2014, and won the division over Neckbeard and the Cowboys in the last regular-season game of 2013. The Andy Reid Eagles also won two out of three in Dallas back in 2010-2012. So Doug Pederson’s version won’t be scared. If the Eagles are to take down Dallas again, they must run the football effectively early, which was a problem again Monday night (though they picked it up late). Stopping the run was problematic for Philly the last time it faced the ‘Boys, as Ezekiel Elliott scurried all over the place in Week 10. Gotta love this matchup, with all the juice it carries. (LW: 19)
CBS Sports
15 - They looked like a playoff contender against the Redskins. But they must beat the Cowboys this week to have a chance. (LW: 18)
Pro Football Talk
14 - They won’t beat the Cowboys, Rams, and/or Texans if they play like they did on Monday night. (LW: 18)
Yahoo! Sports
13 - Even if the Eagles beat the Cowboys on Sunday, they still have the Rams and Texans after that. But if the Eagles win at Dallas, at least they’d have a chance to make something out of a disappointing season. (LW: 16)
Washington Post
13 - The win Monday night over the Redskins means that the Eagles still have possibilities for the remainder of their season. But their performance was not all that sharp, at least not for the first three quarters, and left tackle Jason Peters limping off the field in the final minutes was not a welcome sight. (LW: 16)
Bleacher Report
16 - The champions have life. Heading into Week 13, any hope the Philadelphia Eagles had of making it to the postseason tournament and defending their Super Bowl title was hanging by a thread. Lose to the Washington Redskins on Monday night, and that thread would have severed. The Eagles didn’t exactly pile up the style points, but in dominating the second half against the Redskins, Philly got the win it so badly needed. There were reasons for optimism moving forward, including 130 rushing yards and Golden Tate’s best game since he joined the team. However, there were also causes for concern, including a late injury to offensive tackle Jason Peters and a bad red-zone turnover. The Eagles have now won consecutive games for the first time this season, but there’s precious little time for attaboys. Next up is a matchup with the surging Cowboys in Dallas, with first place in the NFC East on the line. (LW: 19)
Sporting News
14 - The Eagles saved their season by taking care of the Redskins at home as expected on Monday night. They still face a tough schedule ahead to either take back the NFC East or sneak in as the last wild card. (LW: 18)
Pro Football Weekly
14 - Better performance but still not firing on all cylinders. (LW: 16)
USA TODAY
14 - They face brutal finish, starting in Dallas. But it appears offense finally coming together as Josh Adams, Golden Tate integrate. (LW: 18).
Talk of Fame Network
15 - Zach Ertz leads all NFL tight ends with 93 receptions. His nine catches Monday night against the Redskins gave him the franchise single-season record. Next up is the NFL single-season record for tight ends at 110 held by Jason Witten. He needs to average 4.5 catches over his next four games to claim that one.
16 - The Eagles effots were sufficient to win against a very personnel-depleted Redskins team and positioned themselves to make a run for the division when they face-off against the worst team from Texas on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the rest of the season won’t be played against 3rd-string quarterbacks whose glory days are behind them like Tony Luke’s quality control. For Eagles fans everywhere, the prayers to the cornerback ghost of Vince Papale continue. (LW: 18)
Mile High Report
15 - The rollercoaster ride of the Eagles continue. Why do I have you this high? You don’t deserve it. (LW: 19)
Sports Illustrated
12 - No explanation (LW: 14)
...
ANALYSIS
The rankings range from as high as 12 to as low as 17. The most common ranking is 15. The average ranking is 14.3, which is up slightly more than three spots from last week’s average of 17.4.
The Eagles have won two in a row but they aren’t exactly scoring a ton of style points. Beating the Cowboys in Dallas this week, regardless of the score, would be a much-needed signature win for this 2018 squad. Not to mention a tremendous boon to Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.
Losing means the season is probably over.
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