2014 NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Eagles Compilation

Week 4 of the 2014 NFL season is over which means it's time for NFL Power Rankings. With the return of power rankings comes the return of the weekly Philadelphia Eagles power rankings compilation.

Here is a round-up of how various Internet media outlets have ranked the Eagles. Let's see what the 'experts' are saying. As always, we'll start by revisiting mine first.

Bleeding Green Nation

9) For as terrible as Philadelphia's offense in their loss to San Francisco, they were only two yards away from potentially winning the game. A close loss on the road to the 49ers is hardly the end of the world, but this Eagles team clearly has some issues to work out.

Last week: 4

SB Nation

9) San Francisco moves back into the top 10, and does so on the back of a dominant defensive beatdown of the previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. Chip Kelly's explosive, injury-decimated offense could not get anything done, managing only 213 total yards and 3.8 yards per play. The Niners appear to have gotten their mojo back on defense, and now they just have to get some consistency on offense and special teams to keep moving up. Crazily enough, even with that San Francisco defensive performance, the Eagles were actually in a position to take the lead very late in the game before the Niners put up a goal-line stand, so for now, balance is a big red flag for San Francisco.

Last week: 5

Baltimore Beatdown

13) The Eagles offense, thunderstruck. I see solid teams dissecting their style of play as we move forward.

Last week: 3

Music City Miracles

3) N/A

Last week: 1

ESPN

6) Nick Foles was 0-of-10 with two interceptions on passes more than 20 yards downfield Sunday, the most attempts without a completion in ESPN Stats & Info's dataset (since 2006).

Last week: 4

NFL.com

6) The offense might be fast-paced, but speed doesn't matter if you become one-dimensional. Having no faith in the run game killed the Eagles on that first-and-goal series in their penultimate drive in Santa Clara. You'd think LeSean McCoy, the NFL's reigning rushing king, would get the ball on one of the two plays from the 1-yard line. Instead, Nick Foles was left trying to fit the ball in an end zone full of 49ers defenders. And we know how that worked out.

Last week: 2

FOX

10)  Given the fact that they were on the field for more than two-thirds of the game, the Eagles defense fared well. The issue for the Eagles was their offense -- all 21 of their points came off of defense and special teams scores. Some blame does deserve to be directed at their patchwork offensive line again, but Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy did not have good games. The good news is that RT Lane Johnson comes off of suspension and should bolster the offensive line.

Last week: 6

USA Today

6) After their O-line got 'whooped' (according to Chip Kelly) by the Niners, it's a good time to get RT Lane Johnson back from suspension.

Last week: 4

CBS (Prisco)

7) The offense has taken way too many hits on the line, and that showed up in San Francisco. But at 3-1, they're still off to a good start, despite the injuries.

Last week: 4

CBS (Kirwan)

9) The up-tempo Eagles offense can't afford to throw it 43 times and not throw a touchdown pass like it did last week. Chip Kelly's offense didn't generate a point in the loss to San Francisco. The Eagles should right the ship against the Rams this week.

Last week: 4

Yahoo!

5) It's tough to function as usual when the offensive line is missing as many good players as it is.

Last week: 5

NJ.com

7) Their offensive line is a problem ... and LeSean McCoy doesn't look right.

Last week: 4

Washington Post

12) The running game, which was so productive last season, has disappeared and the entire offense was bottled up by the 49ers defense Sunday. Even with the Cowboys’ surprisingly good start, the history of poor finishes in Dallas looms. That’s why I think the Eagles will be the team to beat in the NFC East. The Eagles get one starter on the offensive line back with Lane Johnson’s suspension over. If they can get that unit healthy and intact at some point this season, perhaps they can re-establish RB LeSean McCoy as the centerpiece of the offense.

Last week: 2

Newsday

6) Something’s wrong with LeSean McCoy, and it showed at the end of a 26-21 loss to the 49ers. A yard away from the winning touchdown, and no McCoy? No second-half comeback win for the Iggles, either.

Last week: 4

Analysis

The rankings range from as high as 3 to as low as 13. 6 was the most common ranking. 7.71 is the average ranking. That's down nearly four spots from last week's average ranking of 3.75.

Some outlets dropped the Eagles big time while others made a less harsh ruling. I was hard on the Eagles by dropping them from 4 to 9. I was originally thinking 6 or 7 but I ended up changing it to 9. On one hand, the Eagles were one a few yards from potentially beating the 49ers on the road. On the other hand, Philadelphia has a number of issues moving forward that need to be resolved quickly. Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy both need to step up despite playing behind a less-than-ideal offensive line.

The good news for Philadelphia is that they can get right back on track with a home win over St. Louis on Sunday. They will need to beat the Rams decisively to earn respect in the almighty power rankings, though.