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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. It’s even more interesting when the Eagles are, you know, actually winning. But here we are.
The Big Lead
10 - Both injuries and drops have been continuous and unforgiving, and they lost a very winnable game against the Lions. Still, Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson are tough to bet against.
Yahoo! Sports
14 - The Eagles are a tough team to rank. I still like their roster and assume injuries have set them back. The truth remains they’re 1-2, needed a big comeback to beat a bad Washington team at home, lost to a 1-2 Falcons team and then the Lions at home. You either buy the potential or the results. And the results have not been very good. (LW: 6)
Bleacher Report
14 - In fairness, there are reasons outside the Eagles control why the team has struggled of late—chief among them a wide receiver corps that has been decimated by injuries. But the Eagles have been forced to continue throwing the ball because the run game has been inconsistent—at best. The Eagles have defended the run well but struggled against the pass. And whether it’s a turnover or a special teams letdown (both of which happened in Philadelphia on Sunday), the Eagles are coming up short at crucial moments in games. With the Cowboys rolling along at 3-0, the Eagles are already two back of first place in the NFC East. And with the Packers, Vikings and Cowboys all on the schedule over the next month, the Eagles could find themselves in a hole too deep to dig out of by the season’s halfway point. ”So far, the Eagles lost two straight games and their only victory came courtesy of a second-half comeback,” Sobleski wrote. “In fact, the Eagles have trailed at halftime in all three contests, which is the first time that’s happened since the 2016 campaign, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank. The Eagles entered this season as arguably the NFL’s deepest team, but they’re being tested by numerous injuries, and it shows in the squad’s quality of play.” (LW: 8)
Denver Post
14 - A fork-in-the-road game for the Eagles, who look out of sorts. (LW: 10)
ESPN
15 - What we got wrong: That the offense would carry the defense early. With so many key players such as Fletcher Cox, Derek Barnett, Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod and Nigel Bradham coming off injuries, I expected the defense to be shaky to start. Good thing Philadelphia has that high-powered offense, right? So much for that. Once DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery went down, the fireworks quickly stopped popping, with the Eagles averaging a pedestrian 22 points per game in their past two outings. (LW: 9)
Pro Football Focus
15 - Things have changed quickly for the Eagles. Once seen as the most complete team in the NFL, now they’re firmly in the middle of our rankings. The team has been ravaged by injuries, but a loss at home to the Lions is a big blow regardless. While Doug Pederson has maintained his fourth-down aggressiveness, the team has been more conservative passing on longer (7+ yards) early downs (54.9% vs 59.5% in 2018). Their defense has been middling, at best, with a total grade ranked 20th (65.4) in the NFL. (LW: 8)
Mile High Report
15 - The Iggles are trying to fly with broken wings right now. Going to be an interesting flight for the next couple weeks. (LW: 4)
MMQB
15 - This still looks like a contending team (one voter has the Eagles in the top 10), but will it ever be healthy enough? Things won’t get easier on the road against the Packers on a short week. (LW: 7)
The Score
15 - Miles Sanders, RB - Drafted during the second round in April to lead Philadelphia’s backfield, Sanders has struggled to the tune of 3.1 yards per carry, no touchdowns, and two fumbles. The Penn State product must improve in order for Doug Pederson’s offense to start clicking. (LW: 8)
Chicago Tribune
16 - They were touted as a Super Bowl contender but are in a tough spot after a poor performance in a home loss to the Lions. The offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Carson Wentz, who was sacked three times and hit five other times, and the defense failed to sack Matthew Stafford even once. The Eagles face a quick turnaround for Thursday’s game in Green Bay and will play at home only once in the next 40 days. They’ll have to solve some critical issues away from Lincoln Financial Field. (LW: 6)
The Athletic
16 - The keyword here for Philadelphia is drop. As in: Dropping the football. And: Dropping in the poll. The Eagles’ sloppy offensive play, with key drops from receivers Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, is the biggest reason the Eagles lost to the Falcons, and then tumbled eight spots in our rankings. And while this technically isn’t a GIF, this video is the best thing you may watch all week, and the perfect encapsulation of the Eagles’ problems. (LW: 8)
Sporting News
16 - Carson Wentz is doing his best while shorthanded in the passing game, and the Eagles still can’t run the ball in important spots. But Jim Schwartz’s defense has more holes up front than expected, allowing a shaky secondary to be exposed. And now it gets to see Rodgers. (LW: 10)
PennLive
16 - It’s been quite the tumble for the Eagles, who lost another one-score game late. Philadelphia has a tough turnaround, too, with a Thursday night game at the Packers kicking off a stretch of four road games in five weeks. (LW: 8)
NJ.com
16 - The natives got restless in Philadelphia on Sunday. (LW: 6)
NFL.com
17 - The Eagles really need their starting wide receivers back in the lineup. Philadelphia had at least seven drops in Sunday’s narrow loss to the Lions, none more damaging than J.J. Arcega-Whiteside’s flub on fourth down in the final minute. If Arcega-Whiteside holds on, the Eagles likely win, or least tie the game. Instead, it’s back-to-back losses for an injury-ravaged squad. To make matters worse, the Iggles are on a short week, with a very difficult Thursday night matchup against the undefeated Packers at Lambeau. There is optimism that at least Alshon Jeffery (out since Week 1 with a calf injury) will be back in action for that game, but Philadelphia will be facing an uphill challenge, given their injury situation on both sides of the ball. Give Carson Wentz credit: He hasn’t gotten much help from his teammates, but he put the Eagles in position to win in each of the past two weeks. QB1 needs others to step up their game. (LW: 8)
Rick Gosselin
17 - With DT Fletcher Cox standing in the middle of their defense, the Eagles can play the run just fine. They rank second in the NFL in run defense. But when offenses go to the air, the Eagles have problems. They have allowed two 300-yard passers and four 100-yard receivers through the first three weeks, which helps explain Philadelphia’s 1-2 start. (LW: 9)
Blogging The Boys
17 - Honestly they should have beaten Detroit, but, you know, they didn’t. (LW: 9)
Detroit Free Press
17 - If they lose Thursday at Lambeau Field, they’ll have little room for error in the season’s final three months. (LW: 8)
Business Insider
17 - On one hand, the Eagles have nearly won the last two games without their best receivers, while their backups have dropped go-ahead touchdowns in the final moments. On the other, the Eagles are beat-up and could easily be 0-3 if they hadn’t pulled off a narrow comeback over Washington in Week 1. (LW: 8)
17 - 7 dropped passes, 3 fumbles (2 lost), 3 offensive pass interference. The Eagles’ wide receiving corps was absolutely abysmal. Worse, Wentz’s two top targets won’t be ready to travel to Green Bay, where the Packers have never lost on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, the citizens of Philadelphia have taken to insulting the team in new and creative ways, so fans got that going for them, which is nice. (LW: 8)
Scout
17 - Scout had the Eagles as by far the weakest of the 3 leading contenders in the preseason NFC forecast. The Saints, Eagles and Rams were all 5/1 to win the NFC but the Eagles were given less than half the chance of winning the NFC as the other two teams. So far after three weeks that forecast looks accurate. They are not a good bet to win the Super Bowl. Their 0.4% chance is #17 in the league. Current Odds are 25/1, 3.8%. They are projected to win 8 games and come in under their pre-season futures line of 10. Their average wins per simulation puts them at #10 in the NFC. Based on the money lines, the Eagles had an expected win percentage of 67% after 3 games. At 1-2, they are short of expectations in this early part of the season. They were expected to win 56% of their games last season so their 9-7 met expectations. If healthy on a neutral field they have a better power ranking (#15 in the league).
Bleeding Green Nation
18 - Big drop for the Eagles, who continue to find ways to beat themselves. Carson Wentz had to deal with eight drops, three offensive pass interference penalties, and two drive-killing fumbles in a loss to Detroit. It’d be nice if his teammates could actually help him out, especially with Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Dallas Goedert all injured. (LW: 7)
CBS Sports
18 - Injuries have crippled the offense, but two straight losses have this team reeling. They need to pick it up - no matter who is on the field - starting with a tough game at Green Bay this week. (LW: 14)
USA Today
18 - Average margin of three games has been four points, and Lambeau visit Thursday night should be nip and tuck. Battered Iggles a long way from needed Week 10 bye. (LW: 12)
Washington Post
18 - The injuries have handcuffed the offense but no one particularly wants to hear about it. That’s just part of the deal in the NFL. The Eagles must regroup quickly, with a Thursday night meeting with the Packers looming and the Cowboys threatening to run away with the NFC East race. (LW: 15)
Pro Football Talk
20 - My NFC preseason Super Bowl representative has plenty of work to do, starting Thursday night at Lambeau Field. (LW: 6)
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ANALYSIS
The rankings range from as high as 10 to as low as 20. The most common ranking is 17. The average ranking is 16.1, which is down big from last week’s average of 8.2.
The Eagles are still getting some benefit of the doubt but that’s not going to last much longer if they keep losing. A road win over the Packers would do much to improve the Eagles’ outlook moving forward. It sure won’t be easy but it’s time for this team to show us what they’re really made of.