January 09, 2024
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.
Here's where people around the country have the Eagles ranked after Week 18. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
If you want you talk yourself into the Eagles' loss to the Giants "not meaning much," have at it. Meanwhile, I'll be wondering how a team that came into this season with a lot of pride -- and for darned good reason -- let its last regular-season opportunity to send a message saying "We've got this" pass by so helplessly. Maybe the veterans were subconsciously storing up some gas for next Monday's game, but come on! Philly came into the weekend with a chance to soar all the way up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC, so motivation shouldn't have been a problem. I'm sure it isn't very easy to ratchet things up when a team is fried -- like these Eagles look to be -- and doesn't control its own fate. But then, the Eagles did have a chance to control their fate in Week 17 and still flopped, so this is the bed in which they now must sleep. It's wild to say it aloud, but it's hard to find a potential rallying cry for a team whose biggest opponent right now might be itself.
#JimmySays: The Eagles have indeed been their own worst enemy, and their downfall this season has been self-inflicted.
On a side note, one thing that I'll say about Eagles fans is that they're (mostly) honest about the team when it sucks. I can't say that I've seen Eagles fans dismiss their embarrassing loss on Sunday as "not meaning much."
The Eagles have lost five of their last six games. Since Week 12, they are 31st in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing 30.3 points per game. On top of that, Jalen Hurts hurt a finger on his throwing hand and A.J. Brown suffered what is believed to be a minor knee injury Sunday. Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 25-11 in Week 3, but that feels like decades ago to Eagles fans.
#JimmySays: The Eagles' Week 3 win in Tampa was probably their best game of the season. I took a short peek back at that game this morning, and while the players are pretty much the same, it all looked a lot different than what we have seen the last couple of months.
After a promising start to the season, the Philadelphia Eagles fell off at the end of the year, losing four of their last six games, including a humiliating loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17 that guaranteed they would not claim the NFC's top seed. Despite their subpar play as of late, the Eagles are the reigning NFC champions. If anyone in this conference knows what it takes to get to a Super Bowl, it's Philly.
#JimmySays: The guy who normally does USA Today's power rankings didn't publish them yet, and I'm not waiting for him. Instead, this other guy ranked each team in terms of Super Bowl odds, via BetMGM. Somehow the Eagles have the sixth-best odds of winning it all, which is insane to me. The full list:
#JimmyAdvice: Do not buy the Eagles at +1300. (I do like the Chiefs at +900 and the Bills at +650.)
I'm not sure I've seen another top team totally fall apart like the Eagles, unless it was due to major injuries. The Eagles were 10-1 and while that was unsustainable, losing five of six to finish the regular season and looking like one of the worst teams in the NFL was unfathomable. Head coach Nick Sirianni is going to have to answer to that, and it will get worse if the Eagles lose their playoff opener in Tampa.
#JimmySays: 25 years from now this season will be remembered for the panic switch from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia, and the complete lack of planning for what was likely to happen when the new coordinator made schematic changes 13 games into the regular season.
They limp into the playoffs having lost five of six to close the season. They look nothing like last year's Super Bowl team.
#JimmySays: Oh man, CBS is bringing the extreme analytical fire🔥this week, lol.
Note: ESPN has not yet published power rankings and I don't know if they plan to, so I'm just going to go ahead and publish this and eat my lunch.
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