December 12, 2023
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 14. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
Save for the end-of-game kneeldown by San Francisco in Week 13, Philadelphia's defense allowed points on 10 consecutive drives (nine TDs and one field goal) for a stretch over the past two games. The Eagles gave themselves life in the third quarter against the Cowboys on Sunday night, forcing a Dak Prescott fumble and returning it for a touchdown. But Dallas had three takeaways of its own, stripping the Eagles' three best offensive playmakers: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. In the first meeting with the Cowboys, the Eagles fumbled three times ... but recovered all three, allowing Philly to escape with a 28-23 win. Pummeled in the past two weeks, though, the Eagles are suddenly in danger of letting the division (and the No. 1 seed) go to someone else. A year ago, the Eagles were playing their best ball with the playoffs looming. Now, they're just trying to weather the team's gauntlet of a schedule and get to the tournament. As things stand at the moment, they'd have to go to some southern city for the first round of the playoffs.
#JimmySays: My southern city preference power rankings, should the Eagles get the 5 seed:
(This is purely for selfish reasons, as in, the cities I'd prefer to visit, not which matchups I think would be best for the Eagles.)
Biggest improvement: Third-down efficiency
The offense ranks third overall in this category with a 47.7% conversion rate. The Eagles got off to a slow start on third down, going 4-of-13 (30.8%) in the opener against the Patriots, but began to shoot up the charts after that. It helps that third-and-shorts are almost automatic thanks to the tush push, with Philadelphia converting on more than 90% of its sneak attempts. -- Tim McManus
#JimmySays: ESPN had a theme in which each of their beat writers had to come up with an area of improvement for each team. This was a tough assignment for Tim, as the Eagles haven't done much of anything well the last two games.
Fantasy spotlight: A.J. Brown
In the last four weeks, a span in which Philadelphia is 2-2, the Eagles wide receiver is averaging 7.33 fantasy points per game. That’s after averaging 15.17 in Weeks 1-9. During that span, Brown was the second-leading receiver in the league (1,005 yards), and the Eagles had the third-most productive offense in the league (376.8) and an 8-1 record. As he has slumped, so have the Eagles, who are 21st in yards per game in Weeks 10-14 (318.3).
#JimmySays: The Eagles somehow went from fifth to fourth in The Athletic's power rankings, because 🤷♂️.
They're no longer in first place. Their quarterback is giving credence to NFL Network analyst David Carr's suggestion he should sit until he's fully healthy. The wide receivers are fumbling the ball … presuming they're catching it at all. And for the first time in 95 regular-season games, they didn't score an offensive TD. Otherwise, all is well.
#JimmySays: Yes, USA Today, the Eagles should play Marcus Mariota, lose games, be content to get the 5 seed, and significantly lower their odds of making the Super Bowl because of some idea that Jalen Hurts is injured, even though (a) he hasn't yet appeared on the injury report, and (b) he looked fine running around on Sunday night? Good idea! 💡🧠💡
The Eagles have been absolutely overmatched and outclassed over their last seven quarters. They were blown out by the 49ers and the Cowboys. The Cowboys beat them by 20 despite giving up a defensive touchdown. The Eagles have the talent to rebound. They still have the inside track to the NFC East title due to a soft schedule and tiebreaker advantages. But their outlook is a lot different than it was going into that 49ers game.
#JimmySays: I understand that they mean "going forward," but it's still funny to see the words "soft schedule" after the Eagles just played the hardest five-game stretch of any team in the NFL.
They have issues on defense in a big way, which is why they are struggling the past few weeks. They still control their way to winning a division title.
#JimmySays: CBS with the fire🔥 analysis as always.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
