Avonte Maddox Will Make His Return Against The Cardinals

When Avonte Maddox tore his pec in week 2 against the Vikings, the assumption was that his season was over. But we got a pleasant surprise last week when they designated him to return from the IR. He was a full participant in practice all week. It was not enough for him to play against the Giants, but it was a great sign that he was close to returning. But now he is ready. The Eagles have announced he will play against the Cardinals.

It is great news considering how badly they have missed him. The Eagles have tried a handful of different guys in the slot since he got hurt. First, it was Mario Goodrich. He got beat up badly in that week 2 Viking game, before getting cut. They tried moving James Bradberry inside, but that didn't work. Eventually, they brought Bradley Roby in. But he got hurt and hasn't played all that great since he came back. Eli Ricks has looked good in limited snaps, but anytime he was asked to play more snaps he started to struggle. And they even tried moving Sydney Brown from Safety to the slot, and that didn't work.

But now they can finally get some stability there. Avonte Maddox has been as solid as it gets in the slot. He struggled a few years ago when they asked him to move outside. But in the slot, he has been fantastic for them. And stopping the pass has been perhaps the Eagles' biggest issue this season.

Darius Slay will be back soon too. And at least in the last two games, Kelee Ringo has played very well on the outside. So maybe the trio of Slay, Ringo, and Maddox will eventually put a stop to the Eagles' issues at Corner. With them being near the bottom of the league in passing yards allowed, it can't get any worse. And the middle of the field has been perhaps the biggest area of weakness for them. Now Maddox should go a long way to fixing that problem.

It had been nearly a month since the Eagles last won a Football game. The last time they got a W was November 26th. That was followed by three straight weeks of losing, often in embarrassing fashion. But on Christmas Day, they finally broke the losing streak. It wasn't pretty, and a handful of mental mistakes nearly marred it. But they beat the Giants 33-25, and head into week 17 atop the NFC East once again.

The good news for them is that some of their rivals have also been sputtering. The Cowboys have lost two straight games. First, the Bills kicked their asses, and then the Dolphins beat them 22-20. The Lions lost to the Bears and the Packers during that same period of time. And while the 49ers had been sailing, they finally crashed when the Ravens came to town to blow them out. So despite the Eagles' many issues, they can still claim the 2-seed if they win these final two games. And if the 49ers lose one of these games, they can take the 1 seed as well.

Still, you would not know that looking at the state of Eagles fans, or even the team itself. It feels like there is a dark cloud over that entire team. There have been leaks coming out from the locker room pointing fingers at other people. One source questioned Hurts' ability as a leader. The team changed defensive coordinators. These are not things that happen to an 11-4 team. These are the actions of a 7-8 team.

But despite all of that, they are in a good spot. And while the defense might be lacking talent in some places on defense, their offense is talented enough to be among the NFL's elite. This team could still be a Super Bowl team if they get their act together. Does the National Media agree with that? Let's see what they had to say about the Eagles heading into week 17.

I am not too worried about Carter's dip, yet. It is not unusual for a rookie to fall off at some point in the season. He didn't invent the term rookie wall. And it feels like it is even more common for defensive linemen. The Eagles do need him to pick it up though. With how weak this defense is in the secondary and at linebacker, they need to get a consistent pass rush. And without him, they are not getting one.

ESPN Power Rankings

That is more than fair. And this is not the same as when they were getting ugly wins over the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Bills. We have yet to see this team reach their potential. And there are only two weeks left in the season. We saw what happened when they played the 49ers and Cowboys recently. And if they don't get their act together there may be a sequel to those results in the playoffs. The sloppiness has to end. You can't do stuff like this below play, and still win big games.

NFL.com Power Rankings

This offense has the talent to be elite. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith are an elite combo at WR. Goedert is a great TE. The O-line is among the best in the league. And Hurts is a top 5 QB. Why isn't it working? Hard to tell. But the potential to turn it around is there.

The Athletic's Power Rankings

Has Jalen Hurts had a turnover problem this season? Yes. Does he need to make better choices? Yes. But you can't look at that pick 6 in the Giants game, and blame Hurts. His receiver slipped. If Goedert stays on his feet, it is an easy completion. It goes as an interception on his stat sheet, but it was not his fault. And it is kind of embarrassing that Sports Illustrated's writer would use that play to make some type of misguided point about Jalen Hurts. Did you even watch the game?

Sports Illustrated's Power Rankings

I think the nature of the game won't lead to many fans relaxing. It was a blowout in every aspect but the final score. For 57 of the 60 minutes the Eagles dominated. But the several mistakes they made are what people are going to remember. Still, what we did see was this offense move at will on a team. Something we have not seen for a while. So that at least gave me some reason for hope. It also helps to see many of the teams they will face fall on their faces this past week.

USA Today Power Rankings

Yeah, they haven't looked right pretty much all season. Maybe something clicks into place once they get into the playoffs. But at this point, they probably are who they have looked like all season long. Will that be enough? It was enough to beat the Cowboys once and beat the Chiefs, Bills, and Dolphins. So it could be. But they are not the well-oiled machine they were last season. And they have major issues defending the pass.

CBS Sports Power Rankings