:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67630867/1229015467.jpg.0.jpg)
It’s time for our weekly roundup of how various media outlets view the Philadelphia Eagles in their NFL power rankings. Always interesting to see how the Birds stack up from an outside perspective.
Sports Illustrated
15 - Whatever was wrong with Carson Wentz the first three games of the season, it’s not wrong anymore. He was fantastic in a losing effort in Pittsburgh—of his two interceptions one was a Hail Mary and the other was due to a blatant defensive penalty, he made a number of mind-blowing throws and worked magic to buy time late in the down, and he was within inches of completing two of the season’s best throws. And that was all with his only proven weapon, Zach Ertz, sleepwalking through the game (apparently Travis Fulgham will carry the receiving corps for a while). Jim Schwartz’s defense has a couple head-scratchers every week (especially that linebacking corps—yeesh), but it feels like it’s on the verge of clicking for the Eagles, and they’re only a half-game behind a Cowboys team that just lost its quarterback. (LW: 15)
Rick Gosselin
19 - The two best teams in the NFC East are the Cowboys and the Eagles with a combined 3-6-1 record. There’s a reason those two teams are struggling – they share last place in the NFL in offensive giveaways with 11 apiece. That’s 22 turnovers in 10 games. The entire NFC North has 18 giveaways. The entire NFC South has 19. Throw in Washington and the New York Giants and the NFC East has a combined 39 offensive giveaways. When the turnovers stop, the winning starts. (LW: 18)
Washington Post
20 - Even the 10-catch, 152-yard exploits of unheralded wide receiver Travis Fulgham couldn’t keep the Eagles from losing Sunday in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia’s one-game winning streak, which qualifies as making a big run in this season’s NFC East, was ended. (LW: 17)
CBS Sports
20 - Even at 1-3-1, they are far from out of the division race. They showed some fight in Pittsburgh. (LW: 18)
Sporting News
21 - The Eagles did their best to get the big plays against a tough Steelers defense with Carson Wentz and Miles Sanders, but the breakdowns and mistakes continued. Their defense has some pop up front, but there are growing holes there, too. (LW: 19)
The Athletic
21 - I don’t know what it says about the state of the franchise that their most encouraging game of the season was a 38-29 loss, but it’s true. Carson Wentz played his best game, and the Eagles might have something in Travis Fulgham, who caught 10 of 13 targets for 152 yards. This team has a bunch of major issues — both in the short term and the long term. Yet at 1-3-1 with a likely loss coming next week against the Ravens, the Eagles are still positioned to potentially win the NFC East, given how bad the Giants and Washington are and the Cowboys having to play without Prescott. Unlike Dallas, the Eagles can expect to get injured players like Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert back. They have five games remaining against division opponents, and — I can’t believe I’m typing this — 6-9-1 could be enough to win the NFC East. (LW: 21)
Bleeding Green Nation
22 - Kind of felt like a moral victory for the Eagles with Carson Wentz playing much better and the offense coming alive. Plus, Philly might actually have a good wide receiver in Travis Fulgham!? It’s unfortunate that the defense ruined what could’ve been a big win. (LW: 23)
Blogging The Boys
22 - The “competition” for the Cowboys to win the division. (LW: 21)
ESPN
22 - The Eagles have the smallest amount of cap dollars ($4.3 million) committed to linebacker in the NFL, and it shows. Opposing tight ends have racked up 32 catches for 323 yards and five touchdowns through five games. Much of that damage has come with linebackers in coverage. The position is ranked low (last?) on the team’s priority list when it comes to roster construction. While there is some merit to that philosophy given how often defenses are in subpackages these days, the Eagles have taken it to an extreme — and it’s hurting them. (LW: 20)
Pro Football Network
22 - Have the Eagles found a wide receiver gem in Travis Fulgham? Well, the Steelers had no answer for him on Sunday, and Fulgham finished the day with 10 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. Carson Wentz finally got some help and played very well against a great Steelers defense, but it wasn’t enough. The Eagles are 22nd in these NFL Power Rankings. (LW: 19)
Pro Football Talk
22 - They’re not good enough to be 1-3-1. (LW: 22)
USA Today
22 - WR Travis Fulgham’s breakout (10 catches, 152 yards, TD) was overshadowed by Chase Claypool’s Sunday, but Philly might have something here. (LW: 19)
NFL.com
23 - There were positives to take out of Sunday. Miles Sanders ripped off a 74-yard touchdown run in his return to his hometown of Pittsburgh. Travis Fulgham is officially a thing after a sterling 10/152/1 performance on 13 targets. But the Eagles’ defense had no answers for Ben Roethlisberger or rookie Steelers wideout Chase Claypool (four TDs) in a 38-29 loss. Philadelphia showed heart in nearly rallying back from a 31-14 deficit in the second half, but there were too many mistakes, both by Carson Wentz (two more interceptions) and the defense, which had a number of ugly coverage breakdowns and a quiet day rushing the passer. Things don’t get any easier this week against the 4-1 Ravens. (LW: 19)
Yahoo! Sports
23 - It’s not a good sign that the NFC East is realistically a two-team race, one of the teams lost its quarterback and might have the worst defense in franchise history, and the Eagles still seem like the underdog to win the division. (LW: 20)
Chicago Tribune
23 - As awful as the Eagles have looked — and the defense was atrocious in a 38-29 loss in Pittsburgh — they are in the thick of the NFC East race. But the Ravens are up next, and that will be a chore. (LW: 23)
The Ringer
24 - [BLG Note: The Eagles are in the “There’s Always Next Year” category here.”]
Bleacher Report
24 - The Philadelphia Eagles are a mess. The good feelings about their first win of the season—which temporarily moved them into first place in the NFC Least—lasted until another sloppy, mistake-filled loss dropped them to 1-3-1 for the season. Carson Wentz again didn’t play well, throwing two more interceptions to bring his total to nine for the season. Pittsburgh went 11-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts. Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool gashed the Eagles for four total touchdowns, and the Eagles gave up 367 total yards and 38 points. At least wide receiver Travis Fulgham played well? There’s no real light at the end of the tunnel for the Eagles, either. Playing in the woeful NFC East offers at least some reprieve, but over the next six games, Philly’s out-of-division opponents have a combined record of 13-2. Given how Philadelphia is playing, it’s hard to envision the Eagles winning any games outside the division. (LW: 21)
ANALYSIS
The rankings range from as high as 15 to as low as 24. The most common ranking is 22. The average ranking is 21.5, which is down a little from last week’s 20.0 mark.
The Eagles didn’t experience a big drop despite falling to 1-3-1. And that’s fair because they arguably played their best game of the season in Pittsburgh. if Carson Wentz can continue to play well, there’s some level of hope for this team.
If the Eagles can pull off an unlikely upset against the Baltimore Ravens, they’ll make a big leap. If not, they’ll only continue to fall with a 1-4-1 record.