November 14, 2023

Eagles power ranking roundup: Week 11

A look at major outlets' rankings of the Eagles this week.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports

Mike Lombardi (not pictured) was embarrassingly wrong about another Eagles head coaching hire.

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 Eagles ranked after Week 10. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.

NFL.com: 1st

Jalen Hurts admitted that the Week 10 bye came at the right time, and you hope he and his left knee got some proper rest. The Eagles' next five games could be as tough a stretch as any that a contender will face this season. They're at Kansas City in Week 11, followed by two challenging contests at home (vs. Buffalo and San Francisco), and then road games at Dallas and Seattle. Philadelphia is 8-1, but it will be surprising if the team doesn't drop at least one game in that gauntlet. A 3-2 mark would be very respectable. The beleaguered pass defense will get a serious test during this next month; we should find out if this is the team's Achilles' heel, or if it's something the Eagles can overcome with their pass rush and/or an offense that was starting to cook before the break.

#JimmySays: Spoiler: This episode of the power ranking roundup is almost exclusively about the Eagles' getting healthy on their bye week and their difficult schedule ahead.

ESPN: 1st

Biggest remaining game: Week 14 at Dallas
The Eagles hold a two-game lead on the Cowboys but play a trio of contenders in the Chiefs, Bills and 49ers -- who have 18 combined wins this season -- before their trip to Dallas. The Cowboys have a friendlier slate with the Panthers, Commanders and Seahawks -- 11 combined wins -- up next. The division race could be tight when the NFC East rivals square off again on Dec. 10. -- Tim McManus

#JimmySays: As Tim notes, the Eagles are currently in the midst of the hard part of their schedule while the Cowboys have their easy part of their schedule, but it flips after Week 15. The last three weeks of the season the Eagles have the Cardinals and the Giants x2, while the Cowboys have the Dolphins (away), Lions, and Commanders (away).

In fact, the Eagles' opponents the rest of the season have a combined record under 0.500.

• At Chiefs (7-2)
• Bills (5-5)
• 49ers (6-3)
• At Cowboys (6-3)
• At Seahawks (6-3)
• Giants (2-8)
• Cardinals (2-8)
• At Giants (2-8)

TOTAL: 36-40 (0.474)

The Athletic: 1st

Coach status: Safe
Since going 9-8 in 2021, Nick Sirianni is 22-4 as the Eagles’ coach. He took Philadelphia to the Super Bowl last season and is beloved in the city for his fiery personality on top of it. It’s hard to imagine a better marriage of city and coach than what the Eagles have at the moment, just like it’s hard to imagine Sirianni not being in Philadelphia for a long time.

#JimmySays: Back in January of 2021, appearing on Boston-area WEEI's Ordway, Merloni & Fauria show, Mike Lombardi had this to say about Sirianni:

"I think it’s the Eagles’ mistake. They hired a guy who has never called plays. Never called plays. The Eagles are like a nostalgic tour band. They want to go and they want to hire someone who has reached that [2017 Super Bowl] season, and they can't get Frank Reich, so they'll take a coach who has been with Frank Reich. I think this is going to be a hard event."

When asked a question about then-Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy during his radio interview, Lombardi came right back to the Eagles' hiring of Sirianni, arguing that he was vastly inferior to another Eagles head coaching candidate, Josh McDaniels, who was hired by the Raiders and fired after only lasting 25 games.

"There's no way Josh McDaniels in a room and Nick Sirianni is in the same room, and they're talking football, and you're gonna pick Nick over Josh. There's just no way. Like, it's just no way. It's not even close. I know Josh so well that his level is far exceeding most people, so you can't really predict what happens in that room."

Audio here:

Lol.

USA Today: 1st

Hope you're rested, fellas – especially you, Jalen Hurts (knee). Philadelphia kicks off a five-game obstacle course against some of the league's elite teams Monday night with a Super Bowl 57 rematch at Kansas City. And with TE Dallas Goedert dealing with a broken forearm, a fifth-ranked offense is down one significant element. Seems like a lot of negativity here, but this is a team with 8-1 starts in consecutive seasons and one well-equipped to persevere now that its inevitable regular-season test has arrived.

#JimmySays: Goedert is indeed a key piece, but it's also worth noting that when the Eagles were without him for five games last year they averaged 33 points per game.

Yahoo: 1st

The Eagles take back the top spot but it might not last too long. Their next five games are at Chiefs, vs. Bills, vs. 49ers, at Cowboys, at Seahawks. On the other hand, if they win four or five of those games there will be little doubt over who's the best team in the NFL.

#JimmySays: If they win four of those five games they're almost certainly going to have the 1 seed in the NFC.