November 19, 2024

Eagles power ranking roundup: Week 12

Six wins in a row have the Eagles once again rising in the national media power rankings.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Bill Streicher/Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni

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 11 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.

NFL.com: 4th

It's time to start thinking of the Eagles as championship contenders again. Thursday's 26-18 win over the Commanders felt more resounding than the score indicated, with some kicking issues on Philadelphia's end keeping Washington in the game. Most importantly, the win staked the Eagles to a bigger lead in the NFC East and kept them one game behind the Lions in the race for the NFC's top seed. We've learned to accept their slow offensive starts; in nearly every game since the Week 5 bye, they've slow-cooked their way to a roiling boil by the final whistle. Defensively, they're also vastly improved. The Eagles mauled the Commanders on both lines of scrimmage. That's a sign of a playoff-ready squad. Philly looks like a different -- and far more dangerous -- team than last year's Eagles, whose 10-1 start was revealed to be fool's gold.

#JimmySays: "Slow cooked their way to a roiling boil." I like that. A lot of Eagles wins this season fit that. But also, you can see some indications that the offense could be starting faster. They had an 11-play drive to start against the Commanders, but Jake Elliott missed a 44-yard field goal attempt, for example. You don't want to miss the field goal, obviously, but it was a 5:05 drive that should've resulted in points.

ESPN: 4th

Preseason hot seat: Coach Nick Sirianni
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
A 2-2 start and some questionable in-game decision-making did nothing to cool Sirianni's seat on the heels of a 1-6 collapse down the stretch last season. But the Eagles have since rattled off six straight wins to establish themselves as NFC contenders. The fuse is always short in Philadelphia, and particularly so with this head coach. There's little to complain about right now, however, with the Eagles boasting a top-10 scoring offense (25.7 points per game) and a top-10 defense (allowing 17.9 PPG) and with the team vibing under Sirianni.

#JimmySays: The vibes do indeed seem good in the locker room and on the field, and Sirianni deserves some credit for that.

USA Today: 3rd

If anyone but the Lions are going to be kings of the NFC jungle, it might be these increasingly tough birds – who, remarkably, have five winning streaks of at least five games over the past three seasons. They'll likely continue leaning on their best player, RB Saquon Barkley (the first Philly back in a decade with with at least 100 total yards in eight games) as this show hits a tough road that next winds through LA (Rams) and Baltimore.

#JimmySays: When the schedule came out in May, this two-game road stretch against the Rams and Ravens looked like it would be the toughest test of the season. That remains true. The Eagles do have the advantage of coming off a mini-bye.

Barkley is on pace for 1933 rushing yards, by the way, which would more than double his 962 rushing yards with the Giants a year ago.

Yahoo: 4th

The biggest difference in the Eagles this season, aside from Saquon Barkley, might be their linebackers. Zack Baun is having a tremendous breakout. Nakobe Dean has improved tremendously. They’ve transformed Philly’s defense.

#JimmySays: One could also make the argument that going from James Bradberry and a revolving door at slot corner to Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean is every bit as big an upgrade, maybe more so.