Week 15 Eagles Power Rankings Roundup: A Little Stumble
After having several fairly easy wins in a row, the Eagles finally had an ugly week. They won, but they had some problems with the Panthers, and it has led to a tiny bit of panic setting in. But has it changed how people think about them around the league? Here is the Week 15 Eagles Power Rankings Roundup.
Week 15 Eagles Power Rankings
ESPN- 3 (Previously 4)
“The Eagles had one of the worst defenses in the league in 2023 and have done a complete 180 under new coordinator Vic Fangio. Philadelphia allows the fewest yards per game (284.2) and is tied for second in points per game (18) compared with 30th last season (25.2).“
So you beat the Ravens convincingly, you go down 1 spot, but barely beat the Panthers, and you jump a spot? 3 or 2 is probably where they should have been all along, but the line graph for where ESPN has the Eagles every week is just odd.
NFL.com- 2 (Previously 3)
“Jalen Hurts has left some meat on the bone. He held onto the ball too long against the Panthers, missed some downfield chances, checked down too often, and was guilty of some bad decisions. A.J. Brown also only had four targets, which is criminal. Philly is a Super Bowl-caliber team, but the latest showing certainly wasn’t its best.”
Yea AJ Brown not being utilized enough has to change. Get him involved early with designed plays in the 1st quarter. Maybe then the 1st quarter woes will go away. We have seen quite enough targets for Johnny Wilson or Jahan Dotson on the first drive of the game.
CBS Sports- 3 (Previously 4)
“It wasn’t pretty against the Panthers, but good teams have games like that. The good news is they still found a way to win it.”
I think last year’s onslaught of ugly wins has soured us too much on the whole concept of ugly wins. If you win ugly every week it is bad. But they have not had many ugly wins this year. The wins over the Commanders, Rams, and Ravens were not ugly.
Sometimes teams win ugly. The Lions did it vs the Bears on Thanksgiving. You won’t look great every single week. They struggled, and they survived, as long as it is not a trend, don’t worry about it.
USA Today- 2 (Previously 2)
“QB Jalen Hurts is two wins shy of the third 11-game winning streak (playoffs excluded) of his career. But rather than the focus being on such success, he’s at the center of another potential meltdown as internal complaints about Philly’s struggling passing game are surfacing despite the team’s loaded win column.“
I maintain the problem is just the lack of attempts. They have swung too far toward the run game. They need to keep things more balanced and take more risks in the passing game. Hurts has a great deep ball, and you have 2 great WRs, let it rip downfield the bit. They have thrown just 4 passes further than 20 yards in the last 4 games.
Related: Jalen Hurts Needs To Take More Risks Throwing The Ball
Sports Illustrated- 6 (Previously 2)
“The moment a team trades for, drafts, or signs a great wide receiver, there must be a Batman villain-type countdown clock to when the bomb of discontent explodes.”
Dropping a team 4 sports because they won is insane. The Chiefs have won that way all season long, and they moved up 2 spots this week. Oh no, a WR wants more targets. Now he is like every single star WR in the league, sound the alarm bells.
If you react this wildly to one ugly game, you don’t have opinions, you have reactions. Connor Orr sounding the alarm bells in his Power Rankings just makes him sound silly.
Yahoo Sports- 2 (Previously 2)
“Apparently there’s some panic over the Eagles getting just 108 passing yards in a win on Sunday vs. the Panthers. Jalen Hurts is averaging barely over 200 yards per game. Apparently, when Philly is on a nine-game winning streak, you have to find something to worry about.”
Saying the Eagles need to be better in the pass game is reasonable. Acting like the sky is falling because they had 1 ugly game in a 9 game-winning streak is not reasonable. Thank you to Frank Schwab from Yahoo Sports for keeping things in perspective.
They literally just beat the Ravens, and did so pretty easily. That should have ended all doubts anyone has if this team is the real deal or not.