NFL Power Rankings Roundup Week 9: Eagles stop the bleeding

It’s time for our weekly roundup of how various media outlets view the Philadelphia Eagles in their NFL power rankings. It’s always interesting to see how the Birds stack up from an outside perspective. Especially after a win.

Mile High Report

13 - Ronald Darby could be an option if Strap walks. I’d also consider Halapoulivaati Vaitai for the offensive line. He played left tackle in place of Jason Peters during the Iggles Super Bowl run and now backs up both spots on the right side. (LW: 14)

Denver Post

13 - Huge stretch for the Eagles — Chicago, New England and Seattle at home. Only one team from the NFC East will make the playoffs. (LW: 15)

Sporting News

13 - The Eagles dug deep to find their defense and running game just when they needed it in windy Buffalo with Carson Wentz facing a tough Bills pass defense. They’re still facing an uphill battle in a top-heavy NFC, but now they get three home games and a bye over the next month. (LW: 15)

The Athletic

13 - Just when we’re out on the Eagles, they go and pull us back in. With an explosive offensive performance with a ridiculous 218 rushing yards and a bounce-back defensive performance in the 31-13 win at Buffalo, it’s like the Eagles are trying to remind us why most of us were so high on Philly to start the season. But can we trust the Eagles? (LW: 16)

Blogging The Boys

13 - They were never going to lose to Buffalo. (LW: 16)

Pride Of Detroit

13 - Philadelphia’s ground game could not be contained as they dominated a one-loss Bills team to reenter the playoff race. Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders combined for 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles got a crucial win in the playoff race. (LW: 16)

Chicago Tribune

13 - Has Doug Pederson turned into a run-first play-caller? The Eagles handed the ball off 33 times as Jordan Howard rushed for 96 yards and Miles Sanders 74, including a 65-yard touchdown, in a 31-13 road victory against the Bills. Pederson has made a real change as the Eagles are eighth in rushes per game at 29.4 and 13th in yards per game at 125. It will be interesting to see if they continue to try to run the ball this week against the Bears, who have been good against the run with the exception of losses to the Raiders and Saints. (LW: 16)

MMQB

13 - Credit where it’s due–the Eagles went into upstate New York and hung 31 points on a solid defense while their own leaky unit only surrendered 13 points. The Birds should be licking their chops with a reeling Bears team in town this weekend. (LW: 16)

Bleacher Report

13 - After getting blasted on the road by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7, the Philadelphia Eagles needed more than just a win. Philly needed a statement: something to indicate it was still a contender in the NFC East. It got that statement, taking a 5-1 Bills team behind the woodshed in Buffalo to get back to .500 for the season. And in doing so, the Eagles may have happened upon a recipe to get their season back on track. Rather than try to throw the ball with a banged-up wideout corps against one of the league’s better pass defenses, the Eagles went ground-and-pound. They ran the ball 41 times for 218 yards Sunday, led by a 23-carry, 96-yard effort from bruiser Jordan Howard. The Eagles have a winnable game on tap next against the reeling Chicago Bears that could allow them to build some momentum, but they need speedster DeSean Jackson back on the field when they return from a Week 10 bye. Their first game after the break is a Super Bowl LII rematch with the unbeaten Patriots. (LW: 18)

Washington Post

13 - The win at Buffalo was decisive and impressive after all the talk about locker room issues. But the Eagles need to show that they can play like that more often. (LW: 20)

NFL.com

14 - That was a potential season-saving performance in Orchard Park. Rookie running back Miles Sanders made the play of the game, a 65-yard burst to the end zone early in the third quarter that put the Eagles in control. That’s why Philly used a second-round pick on the former Penn State star. The Eagles ran for 218 yards against a normally stout Bills defense, the highest rushing total in the Doug Pederson era. Speaking of Pederson, this performance reflects very well on the coach coming off a week of drama surrounding his team. With chatter everywhere, the Eagles showed up to Buffalo focused and took out their frustrations on a Bills team that entered the game with just one loss. Now the biggest question: Can the Eagles sustain this momentum? Up next are the Bears, who are about as desperate now as the Eagles were entering Sunday. (LW: 16)

ESPN

14 - Cox is finally starting to round into form after offseason foot surgery. He has 2.5 sacks this season, all coming in his past two games. The Eagles have had issues on all three levels of their defense, but many of those issues would lessen if Cox can reemerge as a line-busting game-wrecker. (LW: 15)

Pro Football Talk

14 - If the Eagles would play as well as they do with their backs against the wall when their backs aren’t against the wall, their backs would never be against the wall. (LW: 15)

[BLG Note: Best entry of the week.]

The Big Lead

14 - The Eagles won ugly, but they still won. Locking down Josh Allen isn’t the highest of accomplishments for a defense, but it is a good boost of confidence. Still a lot to work on before considering them serious contender. (LW: 15)

Yahoo! Sports

14 - This is how the NFL goes: You can look horrible and finished one week, then get one big road win and the entire picture changes. The Eagles had a good road win over a Bills team that had lost to only the Patriots this season. The Cowboys have a tough remaining schedule. As cooked as the Eagles looked after that horrible loss at Dallas, they’re right back in the race. (LW: 16)

Houston Chronicle

14 - The Eagles bounced back from their loss to the Cowboys with a victory at Buffalo. They host the rapidly deteriorating Bears. (LW: 16)

USA Today

14 - Haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in two years, a 35-game stretch that’s league’s longest. Yet Philly run game much better than its air attack. (LW: 17)

Business Insider

14 - Carson Wentz hasn’t had a game with either more than 200 passing yards or no interceptions since Week 4. Perhaps that’ll change with DeSean Jackson returning to practice and possibly playing soon. (LW: 17)

Reddit

14 - At the half-way point of the season, the Eagles took care of business in Buffalo and sit 2nd in the NFC East. The criticism of Doug Pederson was silenced for a week but the true test remains with a brutal homestand looming: Bears, Patriots, Seahawks in consecutive weeks. (LW: 17)

Scout

14 - They are worse in our neutral power ranking where they are ranked just #16 in the league. Our projection recommends not betting on them to win it all. Their 0.7% chance is #14 in the league. Current Odds are 40/1, 2.4%. They are projected to win 9 games and come in under their pre-season futures line of 10. Their average wins per simulation puts them at #8 in the NFC. After 8 games, their expected win percentage is 56% based on the money line odds. At 4-4 they are short of expectations. (LW: 18)

NJ.com

15 - A season-saving win. (LW: 16)

Bleeding Green Nation

16 - The Eagles kept their season alive by playing bully ball in Buffalo. They’re not going to be able to rely on the run game like that every week, though. The passing attack is going to have to play a big part in winning games and it’s hard to feel great about Carson Wentz’s current cadre of wide receivers. (LW: 18)

Rick Gosselin

16 - The Eagles need to put in some extra work on their return game if they hope to make a run at the playoffs. There have been too many gifts thus far. Philadelphia has fumbled away a league-high three kicks this season. Corey Clement has lost a kickoff and a punt and Boston Scott fumbled a punt last week against the Bills. (LW: 18)

CBS Sports

18 - That was a season-saving victory against the Bills. The running game has keyed two big road victories against the Packers and Buffalo. (LW: 19)

Detroit Free Press

18 - The Eagles kept their playoff hopes alive with last week’s blowout of Buffalo. (LW: 19)

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ANALYSIS

The rankings range from as high as 13 to as low as 18. The most common rankings are 13 and 14. The average ranking is 14.1, which is up 2.5 spots from last week’s average of 16.6.

The Eagles are mostly viewed as an above average team that’s firmly outside of the top 12. So, basically a fringe playoff team at best since there are always 12 postseason spots.

Beating the Bills was key to proving this isn’t just a lost season. Now the Eagles have a nice opportunity to get to 5-4 by taking care of business against a struggling Bears squad. Can the Birds keep the momentum going or will they blow this?