December 24, 2025
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 16 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
It wasn't pretty, but beating Washington iced the NFC East crown for Philadelphia, ending a two-decade run of the division never having back-to-back champs. The Eagles played good defense against the Commanders without Jalen Carter, and the offense has slowly started to regain something of an identity in recent games against lesser opponents. Saquon Barkley found some lanes and helped close it out, while Dallas Goedert caught his 10th TD pass of the season. Sure, Philly needed some help from Washington in this one, but the Super Bowl LIX champions took care of business in the end. Just how viable the Eagles are as Super Bowl LX contenders is ripe for debate, but they're at least trending back in the right direction prior to a tough test and playoff tune-up at Buffalo.
#JimmySays: I do believe the Eagles are viable Super Bowl contenders. They've held each of their last three opponents to under 300 yards, while racking up 13 sacks and 5 takeaways in those games. During that stretch they're allowing 190 yards per game. They haven't allowed more than 24 points in a game since Week 6.
So if they're going to do big things in the postseason, it's going to have to be by the defense. And the defense is awesome. They have a pair of All-Pros at corner, three quality pass rushers on the edge, one of the best linebacker duos in the league at LB (assuming Nakobe Dean's injury isn't long-term), and a defensive interior that has really stepped up with Jalen Carter out.
Would you take any defense in the NFC over this one at the moment?
If the offense can just be kinda good, they have a fighting chance.
(It's also worth noting that they're relatively healthy, and if last year is any indication they really turned it on in all phases at the end of the season.)
Rookie of the year: Linebacker Jihaad Campbell
Campbell, a first-round pick out of Alabama, has 63 tackles, an interception, two passes defensed and a forced fumble. His playing time decreased when Nakobe Dean (knee) hit his stride around the midway point of the season, but he has maintained a role in coordinator Vic Fangio's defense and stepped up his production when Dean exited Saturday's win because of a hamstring injury.
#JimmySays: I've been impressed by Campbell this season with the way that he has handled losing almost all of his playing time to Dean. He has remained positive, said all the right things, and he was ready to play when Dean went down on Saturday in Maryland. He's a good teammate and mature young player.
And it's not as if he was benched because he was playing poorly. In addition to the numbers noted above, Campbell has been really good in coverage. There was a time this season when he was pretty clearly in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year. He obviously won't be that now, but he has proven to be an immediately capable player with upside, and a good locker room guy.
As long as we're on the subject, my long-term view at the linebacker position is that the Eagles will prioritize getting a new contract done this offseason with Dean, who is scheduled to be a free agent. The Eagles love his on-field and off-field leadership, and he has obviously been a really good player when healthy. They'll then have Dean and Zack Baun under contract together through 2027, the last year of Baun's contract. Short-term, Campbell can find a role in the defense both at off-ball linebacker and on the edge. The Eagles can let Baun play out his contract and allow Campbell to be his successor.
At a time when it can't seem to execute the "Tush Push," the offense oddly seems to be finding a groove otherwise − averaging 30 points and 386 yards, albeit against Vegas and Washington, over the past two weeks on the way to the NFC East crown.
#JimmySays: The Tush Push just isn't a "cheat code" play anymore. My guess is that there won't be as much outcry over "safety" issues with it this offseason.
The Eagles have clinched the division and have almost no chance to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC. That means the next two weeks can be used for a combination of rest and fixing the ongoing issues with the offense. The offense has looked better lately, with 60 combined points in the last two games, but that came against the Raiders and Commanders. At least the Eagles get a couple games out of the spotlight before the playoffs start.
#JimmySays: The "spotlight" comment is interesting. Ever since the bye week, the Eagles have played almost exclusively in high-profile games:
• Week 10: At Packers (Monday Night Football)
• Week 11: Lions (Sunday Night Football)
• Week 12: At Dallas (4:25, televised across like 95% of the country)
• Week 13: Bears (Black Friday)
• Week 14: At Chargers (Monday Night Football)
• Week 15: Raiders (1:00)
• Week 16: At Commanders (5:00 Saturday game, only game on)
The only game above that wasn't seen by a wide audience was the Raiders game.
I'll disagree that Eagles will be out of the spotlight this week. The only late afternoon games on Sunday are Giants-Raiders and Eagles-Bills. Guess which one will be on the vast majority of TV sets.
I have no idea if that kind of exposure / schedule weirdness can wear on a team over time, but it's not really going to end. They'll maybe get to play backups Week 18, but then they'll be right back in the spotlight during the playoffs.
One concern: Lack of offensive consistency
The Eagles have put up impressive numbers since Nick Sirianni said he became more involved in the offense, scoring 31 last week and 29 on Saturday. But those performances came against the Raiders and Commanders. Is their offensive turnaround legit or a byproduct of playing bad teams?
#JimmySays: It's certainly at least partly because the Raiders and Commanders suck. But it's also maybe a little bit that the offense is finding its way a little?
The Commanders' defense in particular looked awful, but I also thought that the Eagles did a good job of exploiting what the Commanders were giving them. It's a step in the right direction, at a minimum. Let's just say that.
They have beaten up two bad teams the last two weeks to seemingly right things. Now they face a tough road game at Buffalo with just seeding on the line since they clinched the NFC East.
#JimmySays: CBS fire #analysis meter: 3/10 🔥🔥🔥
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