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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.
The Big Lead
9 - The defensive front is now more than healthy enough to cover for the issues on the back end. But the lack of receiving options outside of Zach Ertz becomes abundantly clear against upper-echelon units like the Patriots. (LW: 10)
MMQB
10 - Carson Wentz and the offense had no answer for New England’s defensive adjustments following the first quarter and went the final 42:20 without scoring despite their own unit keeping it close. Coupled with another Cowboys win and the Seahawks visiting next week, this loss could haunt the Eagles down the stretch. (LW: 9)
Scout
12 - Our projection recommends not betting on them to win it all. Their 0.8% chance is #12 in the league. Current Odds are 60/1, 1.6%. 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. Based on money line odds their expected record at this point of the season is 5.5-4.5. They are coming up short of expectations at 5-5. (LW: 12)
NFL.com
13 - Watching this Eagles offense is like watching a team on a 120-yard field going uphill both ways. But how did it get to this point? A serious dearth of playmakers at wide receiver is one significant reason. Without DeSean Jackson (abdomen) and Alshon Jeffery (ankle), Carson Wentz targeted the following would-be wideouts in a listless 17-10 loss to the Pats on Sunday: Nelson Agholor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jordan Matthews and Mack Hollins. Jordan Matthews was targeted six times in a game in 2019. You won’t be surprised to learn Matthews finished with one catch for 6 yards. It’s on Wentz to find a way to make it work, but the ask was too big against the Patriots. The quarterback will have to raise his game to an elite level to carry the Iggles back to the postseason. A soft schedule in the coming weeks should help. (LW: 11)
Pride Of Detroit
13 - Carson Wentz could not do what Foles did a few years ago. Wentz struggled against the Patriots in a rematch of the 2017 Super Bowl, throwing for only 214 yards on 40 attempts. His accuracy was everywhere and he had trouble dealing with the Patriots defense. His receivers inability to catch passes did not help either. (LW: 12
Bleeding Green Nation
14 - The Eagles are arguably the most average team in the NFL. They’re 5-5 and 16th in point differential. The Eagles are going to need Carson Wentz to be sharper down the stretch. It’s not an easy ask given his unhelpful supporting cast. (LW: 12)
CBS Sports
14 - They are so banged up and now their season is on the line this week against Seattle. It’s a tough way to try and save it. (LW: 11)
USA Today
14 - They really need more production from their wideouts, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor combining for fewer than 77 yards per game. (LW: 11)
Detroit Free Press
14 - Philly’s season is still coming down to that Week 16 game against the Cowboys. (LW: 11)
Chicago Tribune
14 - Struggling wide receivers remain a hot topic in Philadelphia. The Eagles played a close game against the Patriots but couldn’t get a couple of big plays to turn the tide. Tight end Zach Ertz is far and away Carson Wentz’s post productive target. The top wide receiver is Nelson Agholor, and he has 36 catches for 322 yards. Agholor has been plagued by dropped passes. (LW: 12)
Yahoo! Sports
14 - It wasn’t ideal to lose a game in the standings to the Cowboys, but let’s take a step back. Losing to the Patriots, even at home, was expected. The Eagles still have the easier schedule than Dallas. If the Eagles win the games they should, they should be in position to win the NFC East with a home win over Dallas in Week 16. Next week’s home game against Seattle is crucial though. (LW: 12)
ESPN
14 - He isn’t the fastest or flashiest corner out there, but there’s no denying the value Jalen Mills brings to the Eagles’ secondary. The defense has looked much different since he returned to the lineup Week 7 following a lengthy absence due to a foot injury. Over the past three games, opposing quarterbacks have managed only two passing touchdowns while averaging 170 passing yards per game. That’s quite a shift from earlier in the season, when the Eagles were among the most giving pass defenses in the NFL. Mills’ swagger and steady, physical style have been a big part of the turnaround. (LW: 12)
Mile High Report
14 - If the four best teams regardless of conference made the playoffs, the Eagles would be 12. [...] The four NFC teams are fighting for two spots. I have Dallas where they are only because they look like a good match up on the Iggles in what will be a de facto playoff game in week 16. (LW: 12)
The Athletic
14 - Just when the Eagles’ defense finally seems to be putting together stretches of good games, the offense is floundering. It’s easy to make excuses for Carson Wentz — he lost right tackle Lane Johnson, Nelson Agholor dropped another crucial pass — but bottom line is that top to bottom the Eagles’ offense doesn’t look like a playoff-caliber group, and that includes Wentz and an unreliable receiver corps. (LW: 13)
Sporting News
15 - The Eagles’ offense was without both Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Howard against the Patriots, leaving the tight ends as the only real help for Carson Wentz. The defense has done well to tighten the screws, but they simply aren’t capable of scoring enough anymore. (LW: 11)
Bleacher Report
15 - The Philadelphia Eagles have problems. Many of them are outside the team’s control. Injuries have ravaged the Eagles offense. Philly took the field Sunday against the Patriots without its top running back and top two wide receivers. The team put up a good effort, but the cold, hard truth is you aren’t beating the defending Super Bowl champions with the “B” team. The loss leaves the Eagles in quite the midnight-green pickle. At 5-5, the Eagles are just a game back of the Cowboys in the NFC East. But Philly also lost to the Cowboys. When Dallas comes to town in Week 16, it will be the epitome of a must-win game. That’s because a wild-card spot is becoming more unlikely by the week. As things stand, the Minnesota Vikings are in the NFC’s No. 6 spot—with eight wins. The odds of making up a three-game deficit over the final six weeks of the season aren’t good. Frankly, neither are the chances that this beaten-up Eagles team will top the Seahawks in Week 12. (LW: 10)
15 - A brutal night for the Eagles offense saw them take a 10-0 lead and then proceed to accomplish nothing of note. The conditions didn’t help, but the Eagles badly need playmakers to help Carson Wentz out. (LW: 11)
Blogging The Boys
15 - Yikes. (LW: 11)
Houston Chronicle
15 - The Eagles failed to win at home against the Patriots. Now they’ve fallen one game behind Dallas again in the NFC East. (LW: 13)
Business Insider
15 - The Eagles defense is rounding into form, but it comes as the offense is falling apart. Carson Wentz hasn’t been impressive this season, but he has little help when key players like Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Jordan Howard are out, as they were in Week 11. (LW: 15)
Talk of Fame Sports
16 - Only two quarterbacks have thrown touchdown passes in every game their teams have played this season – Carson Wentz (Eagles) and Russell Wilson (Seahawks). Wentz has a pair of three TD games against Green Bay and Washington, a pair of two-TD games against Detroit and Minnesota and six other games in which he has thrown a single touchdown pass, including each of the last four weeks against Dallas, Buffalo, Chicago and New England. (LW: 13)
Pro Football Talk
17 - The margin for error is getting slimmer and slimmer. (LW: 12)
Washington Post
17 - Don’t forget that the Eagles’ best moments and biggest wins the previous two seasons came with Nick Foles, not Carson Wentz, at quarterback. Foles is now in Jacksonville, and his offseason exit from the Eagles is not working out particularly well for either side. (LW: 10)
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ANALYSIS
The rankings range from as high as 9 to as low as 17. The most common ranking is 14. The average ranking is also 14, which is down from last week’s average of 11.7.
The Eagles should really be a permanent fixture at the No. 16 spot because they’re perfectly mediocre. They’re 5-5 and 16th in point differential. There’s not much interesting to say about such a boringly average team.