Eagles Fly into the Top 10: Crunching The Numbers Week 6

It was another wild week in the NFL as the Bengals and Panthers ended in the highest-scoring tie in league history and the upstart Cowboys beat the reigning Super Bowl champions in front of the twelfth man. Of course, the Eagles also pitched a shutout against their hated rival, the New York Giants. With all of this intrigue, what do the stats have to say about Week 6?

Crunching The Numbers Rank Index, Week 6

1. Cincinnati (29.174): The Bengals are falling back to Earth as their sack rate worsens (now at 0.4/game). They'll have to start picking up the pace if they want to stay on top, because San Diego is gaining fast. Last Week: 1, 48.705

2. San Diego (21.983): The Chargers really deserve to be in this spot, an nobody is playing better right now than Philip Rivers, who has a passer rating of 117. On the other side of the ball, their defense is only giving up 6.2 yards per attempt. If they keep playing like this they'll be hosting a playoff game in January. Last Week: 2, 28.837

3. Baltimore (21.810): Joe Flacco really brought his A-game against the schizophrenic Buccaneers and tossed four touchdown passes in the first quarter alone. He brought his yards per attempt up to a modest 7 while the defense is forcing over 14 incompletions per game. That will be good enough to stay competitive in the AFC North. Last Week: 5, 15.734

4. Denver (19.302): The Broncos are getting back into midseason form with a much-improved defense (3 sacks per game). The offense is clicking, as is the norm, with Peyton Manning posting a passer rating of 110.5. Last Week: 4, 17.078

5. Indianapolis (16.465): The Colts have now won four straight games after dropping their first two. Andrew Luck is engineering the league's most potent offense (31.5 points per game). Houston may have given them a scare, but they found a way to hold on last week, which is what good teams do. Last Week: 3, 18.477

6. Philadelphia (15.571): The Eagles vaulted into the top ten after their impressive win on Sunday Night Football. The play of Nick Foles leaves much to be desired (6.6 yards/attempt, 82.1 quarterback rating) but the rest of the unit is starting to click (especially the pass rush with 3.2 sacks/game). The best news is that the offensive line should return all starters before they play Dallas, who is emerging as a legitimate contender in the NFC. Last Week: 11, 10.919

7. Dallas (14.785): What a season it's been for the Cowboys. First they drop their opening game, to the delight of the naysayers. Then they rip off five straight wins while orchestrating the largest comeback in franchise history and knocking off the defending champions in the process. This team is running through its dominant offensive line (8.3 rushing first downs per game, 1.7 sacks allowed per game) and doesn't seem to have plans to change that anytime soon. Last Week: 8, 14.090

8. Cleveland (14.722): Who would have ever thought that the Browns would be the top ten in anything? The defense is playing just good enough to win, but that Brian Hoyer-led offense is averaging 8.4 rushing first downs per game and 7.9 yards per pass attempt. Incredible. Last Week: 13, 9.277

9. Green Bay (13.806): The Packers don't exactly look as elegant as they have been in the past, but they're getting the job done. Aaron Rodgers is doing his part to keep the offense running, and the defensive secondary (72.4 allowed passer rating) is helping out a subpar front seven (8.8 rushing first downs allowed/game). Last Week: 7, 14.406

10. New England (13.004): The Pats round off the top ten here after a slow start to their season. Tom Terrific was, well, terrific again as he threw four touchdowns against the Bills. The defense is also playing at a high level (2.5 sacks per game, 6.4 yards per attempt allowed). Last Week: 12, 10.239

11. San Francisco (12.006): After a rough start, the Niners now have three straight wins. They're averaging 6.3 rushing first downs per game and are forcing over 16 incompletions per game. That alone will be enough to keep them in the thick of the NFC West race. Last Week: 15, 8.663

12. Detroit (11.766): The Lions' dominant defense almost feels wasted because of their much-maligned offense. If Calvin Johnson can get healthy and the offensive line can get its act together (currently allowing 3.5 sacks/game) then the Lions could be poised for a big second half to their season. Last Week: 14, 8.804

13. Seattle (10.618): The Seahawks are really slumping after dropping the rare home game. The pass defense is just not there like it was last year (1.4 sacks per game, 99.9 passer rating allowed). Still, this is a playoff team and should be disciplined enough to get it together for the home stretch. Last Week: 6, 14.996

14. Houston (9.106): The scrappy Texans gave Indy a run for their money but ultimately fell short. They have a lot of fight in them, but until that front seven improves (1.7 sacks/game, 7.2 rushing first downs allowed) they will probably take a back seat to the Colts. Last Week: 10, 12.528

15. Arizona (7.679): The 4-1 Cardinals feel like they should be higher than this. But the passing game on both sides of the ball (6.2 yards per attempt and an opposing passer rating of 91.2) is mediocre, and in today's NFL that will make your team mediocre. Last Week: 22, 4.627

16. Kansas City (7.636): The Chiefs had their bye this week, so no change in score. The play of other teams was enough to push them up two spots, however. Last Week: 18, 7.636

17. New Orleans (6.833): Another team on their bye week. I do not think they are very good, but other teams played poorly enough to let them move up three spots. Last Week: 20, 6.833

18. Chicago (6.366): The Bears are your Jekyll-and-Hyde team, except for the fact that they show up on the road but not at home. Jay Cutler is playing mostly well (passer rating of 97.5) and the pass rush is hitting home (2.5 sacks/game). If they were actually consistent they might be higher on this list. Last Week: 23, 2.839

19. New York Giants (5.938): This is how far a team will fall when they're shut out. They entered Sunday brimming with confidence from a three game winning streak and were thoroughly outplayed in all phases of the game. Their defense may be holding opponents to a passer rating of 76.5, but Eli Manning's 6.5 yards per attempt will hold them back as the season goes on. Last Week: 9, 14.021

20. Miami (5.613): The Dolphins played the Packers well but were simply beaten by the better team. The offense needs some work (passer rating of 81.5) but the defense is playing admirably with 2.8 sacks/game and 5.7 yards/attempt allowed. Last Week: 21, 6.331

21. Buffalo (3.450): The Bills are just a mediocre team that can't really celebrate much more than their pass rush. But I suppose that is an improvement upon the past. Last Week: 16, 8.637

22. Atlanta (3.279): It looks like another disappointing year for the Falcons, who are allowing a staggering 8.3 yards per attempt through the air. Mike Nolan probably won't be back next year. Last Week: 17, 8.274

23. Carolina (2.935): Cam Newton is really the only thing keeping this team going (passer rating of 97.1). They can't go 8-8 like I predicted last week, so I'll modify that to 7-8-1. Last Week: 24, 2.043

24. Pittsburgh (2.469): I look over the Steeler's stat line and I don't see anything good, except for maybe Ben Roethlisberger (and his statistics aren't eye-popping). Their recent poor drafts are really catching up to them. Last Week: 19, 6.839

25. Washington (-2.536): The Redskins find themselves near the bottom of the barrel after a 1-5 start to the season. Right now opposing quarterbacks are posting a passer rating of 105 against them. Last Week: 25, -0.950

26. Tennessee (-3.779): They staved off being "the team who loses to the Jaguars" via a missed field goal. They are really being held back by their passing game, which has produced a passer rating of just 79.8. Last Week: 28, -6.165

27. Minnesota (-5.314): The Vikings are definitely in rebuilding mode. They turn the ball over a lot (-0.8 turnover differential) which explains a majority of their struggles. Last Week: 26, -2.904

28. Oakland (-7.793): The Raiders move up a few spots after their gutsy game against the Chargers. They only allow 0.8 sacks per game but have just 6 yards per pass attempt to show for it. Last Week: 31, -11.307

29. St. Louis (-8.022): It's hard to have any success rebuilding when you're in a very competitive division. They are giving up over three sacks per game and allowing opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of 104.1. Yikes. Last Week: 27, -6.160

30. New York Jets (-9.639): This has to be the year Ryan loses his job. His only success came from a team he didn't build. Their quarterbacks are last in the league with only 5.2 yards per attempt. Last Week: 30, -7.662

31. Tampa Bay (-12.256): So much for progress. Lovie Smith just needs more talent - their passer rating is just 79.2 while opponents are enjoying 8.1 yards per pass attempt. Last Week: 29, -7.516

32. Jacksonville (-17.011): Will the Jaguars win a game this year? I can't answer that, but I will say that they probably won't leave this spot. Somehow, they have managed to let quarterbacks post a passer rating of 109.7 even after sacking them 3.2 times/game. Last Week: 32, -20.474

What are your thoughts? Which teams are too high? Too low? What do you think of the Eagles?