November 07, 2017
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.
Here's where people around the country have the Birds ranked:
Carson Wentz leads the NFL in touchdown passes (23) and is the primary reason the Eagles jumped from 15th heading into the season to first in our midseason edition. Thanks to the great start, Philadelphia is the FPI favorite to win the Super Bowl (20.8 percent chance).
#JimmySays: I'm curious. If there were a five-sided dice that controlled the future, would you roll it right now with the Eagles having a one-in-five chance of winning the Super Bowl, or would you let it play out however it plays out?
The first quarter of Sunday's blowout of the Broncos told you all you needed to know about these Eagles. Carson Wentz led them on three scoring drives in three possessions. The third was set up by a mid-tier free-agent acquisition who has proven himself to be another contributor, if not star, for Doug Pederson's team: Patrick Robinson, whose interception of Brock Osweiler in Denver territory made that scoring march rather short. It was paid off by another unheralded player in running back Corey Clement. The dot on the previous Eagles possession was provided by kicker Jake Elliott, who has been absolutely huge for Philly this season. Can't imagine anyone would argue with this ranking.
#JimmySays: But air yards, I mean interceptable passes, I mean only 199 yards. Is that the new one this week?
They put up 51 points without Zach Ertz, who has been their most reliable receiver. Against a Broncos defense that is still among the best in the NFL. They’re deep on offense, especially with Alshon Jeffery heating up and Jay Ajayi in the mix. The Eagles have a bye week and then a fun Sunday night matchup at Dallas on Nov. 19. Win that and they’re running downhill to a division title.
#JimmySays: Win that, and it's over.
The schedule is about to get a lot tougher the next month. We will know a lot more about them come December.
#JimmySays: The Eagles have beaten good teams and blown out bad ones. They're not really that hard of an evaluation at this point. They're just a really freaking good team.
Today's first history lesson - the previous four times Philly started a season 8-1, they advanced to the NFL title game / Super Bowl.
There is no reason to doubt any longer that this is the NFL’s best team. It’s not an early-season illusion. It’s past the halfway point of their season, and the Eagles are the league’s most complete team. The offense hasn’t missed a step since losing left tackle Jason Peters. Newly added RB Jay Ajayi made an immediate contribution Sunday. The progress made by QB Carson Wentz and Coach Doug Pederson in their second year together is the key to all of this.
#JimmySays: The Washington Post had the Eagles second last week to the Patriots, which was dumb. It should be, and is, a clean sweep of the Eagles in the top spot this time around.
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