Eagles Power Rankings Round Up- Week 11
The Eagles finally lost. And did that cause writers around the NFL to overreact? Or did the reputation they have already built carry them through one bad game? Let’s take…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – NOVEMBER 14: DeVonta Smith #6 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the third quarter in the game at Lincoln Financial Field on November 14, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)The Eagles finally lost. And did that cause writers around the NFL to overreact? Or did the reputation they have already built carry them through one bad game? Let's take a look at where the various outlets ranked the Eagles going into week 11.
ESPN- Ranking- 2 (Last Week- 1)
With Hurts eligible for a contract extension after the season and the Eagles holding two first-round picks in April's quarterback-rich draft, this was widely viewed as a prove-it year for Hurts -- and he definitely has so far. He is squarely in the MVP discussion thanks in large part to his passing improvements. Entering Monday's game against the Commanders, Hurts' completion rate sat at 68.2% -- sixth best in the NFL and up nearly seven points from last year's mark (61.3%)
The biggest takeaway from this season has been how good Jalen Hurts is. Does he have the pure arm talent Mahomes or Allen have? Maybe not. But he has become far more accurate, has developed a decent deep ball, and most importantly, makes great decisions on the field. It's very rare this season that we ask, "What the hell was that pass?" Even if this year does not turn out well, we at least know there is a legit Qb in Philly now. Hurts has been one of the best QBs in the NFL this season. And considering where he was last year, that is an incredible amount of progression in one off-season.
NFL.com- Ranking 1 (Last Week- 1)
The Eagles were overdue for a bad game, which is a fair classification of Monday night's 32-21 stumble to the Commanders at the Linc. Philly's first loss of the season included four turnovers and a crushing late-hit penalty against Brandon Graham, however unsatisfying the call might have been. The Eagles lost because they couldn't keep the Commanders' offense off the field: Washington ran 34 more plays than Philly and possessed the ball for more than 40 minutes of game time. The defense held its own despite all those extra snaps, but the offense wasn't sharp enough when its opportunities arrived. A frustrating loss, for sure, but the Eagles remain the top team in the NFC with an inside track to the No. 1 seed.
Every other team in the NFL had a game where they played poorly. Panicking because the Eagles finally did what every other team had done is absurd. One of my pet peeves is people who wildly change their opinion about a team every week. Take the full 10 weeks of the NFL season into account, and this is still the best team. So I appreciate the writers for NFL Network pointing that out and not overreacting to one bad game.
Yahoo Sports- Ranking 2 (Last Week- 1)
Yes, officials missed a blatant facemask on a huge fourth-quarter fumble by Philly. The Eagles have a right to be upset about that. Put that aside for a moment: The Eagles got outplayed by an 11-point underdog at home. They are having trouble against the run with rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis out due to injury. Everyone in the NFL has lost already, and most teams have at least one bad loss. Losing on Monday night doesn't mean the Eagles aren't really good. But they have to be honest with themselves: The officials weren't the only reason they lost.
Who on the Eagles blamed the refs? Did I miss something that the players and coaches were making excuses about the refs? Everything I heard from the players is that they didn't play well enough. Brandon Graham noted that he was not happy with the call, but also took responsibility. So I am not really sure what the hell this writer is talking about.
USA Today- Ranking- 1 (Last Week- 1)
Unsurprisingly, they're mortal and will pose no threat to the still-unbeaten 1972 Dolphins. But amid a season that feels high on drama but low on greatness, they retain top spot almost by default – especially since the University of Georgia is ineligible for these rankings. Yet Monday's setback to Washington did seem a touch fluky, Philadelphia turning the ball over four times after entering Week 10 with three giveaways on the season while also getting victimized by some shaky officiating. And a keepaway strategy and domination of time of possession almost always works ... even when you average 4.1 yards per play, as the Commanders did while holding the ball for more than 40 minutes.
As already stated, every team has bad games. Just because the Eagles had theirs in primetime on their own field, doesn't make it any different than the other top teams that already had awful games. The Eagles are still in the driver's seat to win the NFC going into week 11.
The Athletic- Ranking- 2 (Last Week- 1)
After winning the turnover battle in each of their first eight games, everything finally went against Philadelphia in its surprising Monday night loss. A costly fumble on an uncalled face mask penalty, another after a 50-yard completion to Quez Watkins that looked like it might set up the game-winning score, and a borderline unnecessary roughness penalty on Brandon Graham after Taylor Heinicke gave himself up late that was either genius or cheap, depending on your perspective. Those were bad breaks bound to happen at some point, even if Nick Sirianni insisted last week that “luck has nothing to do with” their turnover fortune. Of greatest concern is the passive run defense the Eagles have rolled out since rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis went on injured reserve. They have surrendered 320 combined rushing yards over the past two games.
There was a fluky nature to the turnovers they had. One was a great pass from Hurts that the defender just made an even greater play on. Another clearly should have been brought back due to a blatant facemask. And the third was just a horrible play by Quez. They are still far and away the leader in turnover differential in week 11.
The Ringer- Ranking- 1- (Last Week- 1)
The Eagles had just three turnovers entering Week 10, four fewer than any other team in the NFL. They were bound for regression and got it all at once on Monday Night Football. Philadelphia matched its season total in turnovers with three against the Commanders, including a Dallas Goedert fumble on a play during which he was clearly grabbed by the face mask. Officials did not throw a flag—and the face mask was not reviewable. Monday also marked the first time the Eagles trailed in the second half at any point this season. I’m not dropping the Eagles from this spot after their first loss, but they can’t afford many more of these messy games if they want to hold on to the top spot in the NFC standings.
Why isn't a face mask reviewable? It's not like pass interference or most other penalties. There is no judgment call. You either grabbed the face mask, or you didn't.
Average Ranking- 1.5
The Eagles were either 1 or 2 in every power ranking from a source people care about. And in all of the ones that put them 2, the Chiefs were one. The only exception I saw was Mike Florio, who had the Vikings one because he has amnesia and can only judge teams on the last thing he saw them do. Let's just forget that those two teams met this season and one crushed the other one. But among people whose opinions anyone actually cares about, it was either the Eagles or the Chiefs at 1. I don't really think you can justify the Chiefs at 2 either, since they also lost the Colts, and have a loss to the Bills. But on paper, you can at least understand that one.
