:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62373550/usa_today_11695762.0.jpg)
With Week 11 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
24 - The Eagles reached a new level of pathetic after suffering the worst loss by a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history. Philadelphia ranks 22th in offensive, defensive, and special teams DVOA. They’re consistently below average in all three phrases. This team stinks. (LW: 18)
SB Nation
20 - What is happening to the reigning Super Bowl champs? The Eagles were crushed by the Saints, who continue to dominate week after week. Carson Wentz played one of the worst games of his career, completing just 57.5 percent of his passes with no scores and three interceptions. He finished the game with a 31.9 passer rating against an average Saints defense. While Smith’s injury offers an opportunity for the Eagles to capitalize on, Philly has offered little reason to believe they’ll take advantage. (LW: 16)
ESPN
18 - Thankful for: A Super Bowl in the bank. There’s no such thing as a grace period in Philly -- the city is piping-hot following a 48-7 shellacking in New Orleans that dropped the Eagles to 4-6 -- but fans can break-glass-in-case-of-emergency to coddle their shiny new Lombardi Trophy. Upper management can find perspective there, too, which is good news for a coaching staff that might otherwise be in trouble given the maddening breakdowns in the operation. (LW: 13)
NFL.com
24 - To put it as eloquently as possible, the Eagles sucked on Sunday. That was a terrible showing at New Orleans, the worst by the team in Doug Pederson’s 2.5 years running the operation. Carson Wentz played poorly (19 of 33 for 156 yards, zero TDs, three picks and a 31.9 passer rating). The defense was dominated so thoroughly that the Saints seemed to be taking group photos on every offensive series. Oh, wait -- maybe that was their defense. The sorriest Philadelphia performance your friendly writer had ever seen before last week came on the final day of the 1983 season, when the Eagles were down 31-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth quarter at a snow-filled Busch Stadium, closing out Marion Campbell’s initial season with a whimper. Yes, Sunday’s loss was worse than meeting defeat at the hands of Neil Lomax. Oy. (LW: 19)
CBS Sports
18 - The Super Bowl hangover is real. They are still alive, but that was an awful showing in New Orleans. (LW: 17)
Pro Football Talk
22 - It’s officially time to break out the underdog masks. (LW: 15)
Yahoo! Sports
18 - It can’t be possible that losing Frank Reich, last season’s offensive coordinator who left to coach the Colts, was that big of a factor. The Super Bowl hangover is real, and that has affected Philadelphia. Some injuries have been an issue, but a lot of teams deal with injuries. Even if you could see the potential of a dip after an amazing Super Bowl season, the Eagles’ struggles are startling. And hard to explain. (LW: 15)
Washington Post
22 - So much for the idea that the Eagles might emerge from their bye to begin a second-half run that would put them in control of the NFC East. The loss to the Cowboys was puzzling. Sunday’s defeat in New Orleans was alarmingly lopsided. The Eagles look nothing like a team less than a year removed from a Super Bowl. This is bordering on being a mess right now, and it’s up to Coach Doug Pederson and QB Carson Wentz to clean things up. (LW: 16)
Bleacher Report
18 - Per the telecast of Sunday’s game featuring the Eagles and Saints, there have been eight instances in NFL history when the reigning Super Bowl champion has had a losing record at this point in the season. None of those teams went on to make the playoffs. The Eagles are on their way to making it nine for nine. That Philadelphia lost in New Orleans to fall to 4-6 is alarming. That it was annihilated by 41 points is that much more so. But the most alarming thing about these Eagles is the fact that there’s no easy fix to get this team back on track. The injury-ravaged secondary is horrendous at this point in the season. Even if the Eagles could run the ball effectively, they can’t stick with it because said secondary is giving up chunk plays left and right. The cold, hard truth is that the 2018 Eagles are all but done. There won’t be any title defense. (LW: 14)
Sporting News
20 - The Eagles had been playing scrappy and competitive despite all their issues, but it all came crashing down with a listless performance in New Orleans. The division is within reach, but a Super Bowl repeat is not. (LW: 15)
Pro Football Weekly
15 - They don’t seem to be having as much fun this season. (LW: 12)
Talk of Fame Network
23 - The Eagles have allowed 231 points through 10 games this season, an average of 23.1 points per game. They allowed only 295 points through 16 games last season, an average of 18.4 points per game, on the way to their first Lombardi Trophy. A suddenly porous defense has been a culprit in Philadelphia’s 4-6 record – already twice as many losses as last season. (LW: 20)
19 - The Eagles were obliterated in every facet of what can barely be referred to as a “football contest” on Sunday afternoon. Carson Wentz debuted his new throwing style, “Close Your Eyes and Hope” and Doug Pederson, borrowing an old Andy Reid trick, tried coaching from a John’s Roast Pork to-go menu. The overall result was an epic catastrophe and plunged the City of Brotherly Love into its blackout-drunk alter-ego, the City of Putrid Sports Talk Radio. (LW: 17)
Mile High Report
17 - While losing to the best team in the NFL is certainly expected, playing dead and curling up in the fetal position so maybe the Saints would quit playing is something else. (LW: 20)
Sports Illustrated
15 - The Eagles suffered the biggest beatdown of any defending Super Bowl champion ever. Is Week 11 too late to be considered a hangover? (LW: 10)
...
Analysis
The rankings range from as high as 15 to as low as 24. The most common ranking is 18. The average ranking is 19.5, which is down more than four spots from last week’s average of 15.1.
The Eagles can stop their free fall with a win over the Giants this Sunday. That might be easier said than done right now. If Philadelphia somehow loses to New York, well, this season will hit a new low.