Power Rankings Week 17

Heading into the final week of the regular season in which the Eagles have already clinched a playoff spot, a win over the Falcons will give Birds the NFC East title. So let's take a check in on how the national media ranks the Birds...

ESPN Rank #7 up from #9 and #3 in the NFC - In the up-and-down (mostly down) NFC, the Eagles are now legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Amazing.

CBS Rank #7 up from #8 and #3 in the NFC - Lost in all the Jeff Garcia hype is how well the defense is suddenly playing. The secondary has really stepped it up.

Real Football 365 Rank #6 up from #8 and #3 in the NFC - Successfully sticking it to Terrell Owens on Christmas Day must have been one of the bigger thrills of Jeff Garcia's career. The 36-year-old has emerged as one of the great stories of the 2006 season, leading the once-dead Eagles to a playoff berth. The final week of the regular season gives Philadelphia a chance to win the NFC East. Even if Garcia and Co. fail to do that, nobody wants a piece of this team in the playoffs; they're scary.

Fox Sports Rank #7 up from #13 and #3 in the NFC East -     It was quite a Christmas for Eagles fans. Jeff Garcia played the role of Santa, delivering Philly his best performance as an Eagle. Monday's 23-7 win pushed Philadelphia ahead of Dallas in the NFC East, and clinched a playoff spot. With "Rocky Balboa" coming out in the theatres, "Invincible" being released on DVD, and the Eagles blowing the Cowboys out on national television, the City of Brotherly Love truly was the biggest city in sports over the holiday weekend. Now, if only the Sixers can pull off a 2007 miracle and make a mid-season playoff run of their own. Crazier things have happened.

Yahoo! Sports Rank #7 and #3 in the NFC - Not to be cynical, but this whole run by Jeff Garcia is just inviting a quarterback controversy for 2007. Coach Andy Reid is too smart for that, and he'll always have Donovan McNabb's back (which he should). But it only gives Philly fans another reason to turn on McNabb at the faintest sign of struggle.

NFL.com Rank #7 up from #11 - This no longer is the warm, fuzzy Jeff Garcia feel-good story. It is about a team that, in all phases, looks like it means business in the postseason.