Its Not Just The Eagles, Every Team Is Winning Ugly This Season

There has been a lot made about how the Eagles have been winning ugly games this season. From eking out wins vs the Patriots and Vikings early, the two close Commanders games, and this past weekend's win over the Cowboys. The Eagles are winning, but not looking their best while doing so. And if you ignored the rest of the league, you may be a bit concerned about that.

However, if you take a step back and loom around at the other elite teams, you begin to notice the Eagles are not alone. The Chiefs just beat the Dolphins, but they scored no points in the second half on the way to doing so. They took a 21-0 lead into halftime, with one of those TDs being on defense, and it wound up being a one-score game. The 49ers blew out teams early, but have lost 3 in a row. The Cowboys have a loss to the Cardinals, got blown out by the Niners, and just lost to the Eagles. And the Bills... well they look like a complete mess.

Across the league, it is an issue. And if you don't believe me, take the word of a National Reporter in the NFL. James Palmer from the NFL Network joined The Best Show Ever earlier this week and talked about how ugly has been a theme in the NFL this season.

Just look around. What team is playing perfect football right now? The 49ers? No. Chiefs? No. Bills? Hell no. The Ravens? Maybe the last few weeks, but they had some ugly games and two ugly losses earlier in the year. Everyone is struggling, and everyone has glaring flaws. The Eagles' secondary may be an issue, but are they more of an issue than the Chiefs having no WRs? Or the 49ers not having a star QB?

It is fair to point out the flaws in the Eagles. But it is also important to recognize other teams have flaws too. And the Eagles don't need to be perfect to win it all, they just need to be better than the other teams. Ugly wins are still wins. And the Eagles have more of those than anyone else so far.

If you were told before the season that the Eagles would go into the bye week 8-1, everyone would be over the moon. Yet here we are, 8 weeks in, with the Eagles 8-1, and there is some trepidation. The secondary has been struggling, and people aren't happy with the playcalling from Brian Johnson. And there are fair reasons to be upset about those two things. But heading into week 10, they are the only 8-1 team.

Are the Eagles flawed? Sure. But what team isn't flawed this season? The 49ers? They are on a 3-game losing streak and Brock Purdy is getting exposed of late. The Cowboys? They also have 3 losses and the Eagles just beat them. The Chiefs? Outside of Travis Kelce, they have no reliable weapons and it has led to their offense being almost pedestrian. The Bills? They lost their 4th game of the season this past week. The Lions and Seahawks got crushed by the Ravens. And those Ravens may be the closest thing to perfect so far this year, but even they have 2 bad losses through week 9.

So yes, the Eagles have issues, but so does every team. Look around and every winning team could complain about ugly wins. The important thing is the Eagles have the most ugly wins and just one ugly loss.

So why do we get so worried about the Eagles' flaws and ignore that every team is flawed? It's natural because we watch the Eagles every week so we notice it more. We aren't seeing the Chiefs and 49ers as much to pick up on those flaws. But they are there. And so even with the flaws the Eagles have, we can still call them the best team in the league.

Brown has a real case for MVP. They won't give him it, but he should at least be mentioned. He is arguably the best player on what is inarguably the best team in the league so far. Tyreek Hill is the only WR with greater production, but clearly, it hasn’t helped his team quite as much.

ESPN Power Rankings

This is something we don’t talk about enough. They keep finding ways to win games. Last year the Eagles did not get tested very much. This year they have been tested every week, and keep passing that test. Being able to pull out close wins is a skill. And at least so far, they are better at it than anyone else.

NFL Network Power Rankings

Putting the Ravens over the Eagles is fair enough. I don't agree with it, but I can see the argument. The Ravens have looked better the last couple of weeks. Based solely on recent play, the Ravens are the closest thing to perfect we have in the NFL. Their defense is shutting teams down, and their offense is crushing teams. But go back to that Steelers game, or the Colts game, and they have issues too. Still, they are a fantastic team.

The Athletic's Power Rankings

Huirts is clearly hurt. But he is also playing some of the best Football of his career. He isn't running, but he is money-throwing the ball out of the pocket. If he is going to throw the ball this well, with a 70% completion rate and multiple TDs every week, do they need him to be running the ball like he did last year? If anything this is a reason to be excited for the future. It's proof he is way more than just a running QB.

CBS Sports Power Rankings

The good thing about this tough schedule coming up, is the Eagles have put themselves in a position to weather it. They can afford to drop a game or 2, and still stay at the top of the NFC. And other than the Lions their competitors have equally and sometimes harder schedules going forward. The 49ers, Cowboys, and Seahawks actually have a harder schedule based on winning %.

USA Today Power Rankings

Thanks for your input, Florio. The typical great insight. Should we expect more from the guy who put this tweet out though?

Pro Football Talk's Power Rankings 

The pass defense is absolutlery an issue. One the return of Bradley Roby will hopefully fix, at least a little bit. Once Roby got out there the Secondary looked great and shut down the Rams, who were second in the league in passing yards at that point. The injuries have forced players like Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown into positions where they are asked to cover guys one-on-one. Not a recipe for success. Stability at the Slot would also help those guys. Brown is out of position at the Nickel Corner. Has he been good? No. But it's also unfair not to expect him to step into an unnatural position and cover guys like Cee Dee Lamb.

Bleacher Reports Power Rankings

This hits the crux of why the Eagles are where they are. Good lines on both sides of the ball will take you are long way. And the Eagles have an elite group on both lines. The Eagles are top 5 in run block win rate, pass block win rate, run stop win rate, and pass rush win rate. And they are the only team that can say that. Just that alone is going to make you a Super Bowl contender. Add in a top 5 QB and elite skill players, and the Eagles look like the best team in the league despite other issues.

Sports Illustrated Power Rankings