Eagles Week 7 Power Ranking Roundup- No Longer Undefeated
After several ugly wins, the Eagles finally got an ugly loss. And it was about as ugly as it gets. 4 turnovers, just 14 points, and lots of injuries. They…
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – OCTOBER 15: D’Andre Swift #0 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with Jason Kelce #62 during the first half in the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 15, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)After several ugly wins, the Eagles finally got an ugly loss. And it was about as ugly as it gets. 4 turnovers, just 14 points, and lots of injuries. They are still 5-1, at the top of the NFC East, and tied at the top of the NFC. But a loss like that makes you rethink things, and there are no questions heading into week 7. Are the Eagles as good as we thought? Is Jalen Hurts regressing? Are they too injured to compete at the highest level?
Some of those are a bit of an overreaction. Yes, the offense was terrible against the Jets. But they are still 2nd in yards per game, and 7th in points per game. The offense had a few very good weeks in a row before the debacle in week 6. The loss of Lane Johnson took a heavy toll in that game, but it seems the ankle injury is not that serious. And the defense, despite almost the entire secondary and parts of the D-Line being hurt, actually played pretty well. They held the Jets under 300 yards and didn't allow a TD until the Jets started at the 8-yard line and they let Breece Hall score.
There are clearly things that need to be fixed. And maybe this team has more issues than they did last year. But last year was an anomaly with how many things went right for the Eagles. A stepback was to be expected, but they can still be Super Bowl winners even if they are not the same team.
But has the National media lost faith in them? Will one loss have the writers who aren't in Philly hitting the panic button? Let's find out what they think.
Here is a roundup of where the Eagles fell in the week 7 power rankings around the NFL:
ESPN- 4 (Previously 2)
“Only one member of the starting secondary, James Bradberry, was on the field for the finish of Sunday's game against the Jets, and the offense took a massive hit when right tackle Lane Johnson exited with a right ankle injury. It's possible Philly's health will improve as the playoffs near, but it's going to be a bumpier ride.”
Health is absolutely the biggest concern for the Eagles. It seems like they avoided disaster with Lane Johnson. But the secondary is very banged up, and heading into a gauntlet with some dangerous offenses.
The Athletic- 4 (Previously 2)
“On the plus side, A.J. Brown became the fifth player since 2000 to have 125-plus receiving yards in four consecutive games Sunday. His 672 receiving yards are the third most through Week 6 in the last five years in the league.”
AJ Brown has been fantastic. I am a little concerned that there has yet to be a week where both he and Devonta Smith look great, but I feel like they can figure that out. Brown is 2nd in receiving yards now and is playing at an even higher level than he did last year.
NFL Network- 5 (Previously 2)
“They had the ball late with the chance to seal a win, but Jalen Hurts threw his third interception of the game on what was just an awful mistake, setting up the decisive touchdown for New York. You can argue that the Eagles should have run the ball there, hanging on to a 14-12 lead inside the two-minute warning, with the Jets out of timeouts. But you can't argue Hurts made a good decision on that pick.”
The first two interceptions I have a hard time blaming on Hurts. But yeah, that 3rd one is a brutal mistake. He cannot make that mistake there. It literally cost them the game. I thought he was playing somewhat well in the game before that. But a large amount of the blame for the loss falls on him now.
CBS Sports- 5 (Previously 2)
"The Eagles offense hasn't looked great all season, but it wasn't good in the loss to the Jets. Jalen Hurts just hasn't been as good as we expected."
Again, 2nd in yards per game, and 7th in points. The offense was awful this week, but if the Eagles offense hasn’t looked great, who besides the Dolphins have? Lots of teams have the same issue. Cowboys, Bills, and Niners all got shut down a bit the last two weeks too. The eagles offense needs to be better. But despite the flaws, they are still one of the best offenses in the league.
USA Today- 4 (Previously 2)
“Time to find something out about a team that largely tightroped its way to 5-0. But Philly couldn't hang in the Jets' mosh pit, and next must try and keep pace with Miami's track team. Maybe breaking out the Kelly Green for "Sunday Night Football" will have the desired effect, though.”
It is Kelly Green Week. So we have that to look forward to. It will be a tough game though. Dolphins is going to be a very interesting matchup. They are far and away the best offense in the league, but we have seen a couple of teams, including the Bills contain them. The Eagles badly need some of their secondary to get healthy before the game though.
Yahoo Sports- 4 (Previously 2)
“It was a little odd to see the Eagles run 22 times and throw it 45 in a game they led until the final two minutes. The Jets aren't easy to run on, but they might be even better against the pass. It was just a bad day for the Eagles.”
Yeah, they got away from the run too much. I get it was a banged-up secondary, and you thought you could take advantage. But this team went 14-3 last year mostly by building up leads and then running out the clock. And there was too much throwing and too many stopped clocks in the second half.
Pro Football Network- 5 (Previously 3)
“The Jets’ defense has found a way to make the best in the game look average this year. Jalen Hurts tied a career-high with three INTs against New York. Philadelphia’s lack of dominance has been concerning. Although they’re eighth in offensive EPA, they’re only 17th defensively, and the passing attack has yet to find its groove.”
I would argue the passing game found its groove in weeks 3 for 5, then lost it in week 6. Weird how they make excuses for other teams who have a bad week, but this somehow says something about the Eagles. In the 49ers part of the Power Rankings, they said the Browns did not figure out Purdy, but the runner-up MVP does not get the same amount of leash? Purdy gets the pass with no CMC, but Hurts had no Lane. It's just weird how there seems to be a double standard.
Pro Football Talk- 5 (Previously 2)
“Are they truly among the NFC’s elite this year?”
I don’t know Mike, you placed them at 5, with only two NFC teams above them. So it seems like you put them among the elite teams. I have complained about it before, but it amazes me that I put more effort into writing a Round Up of the Power Rankings than Mike Florio does into writing his Power Rankings.
