October 08, 2019

Eagles power ranking roundup: Week 6

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

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 after the fourth week of the 2019 regular season:

ESPN: 9th

Surprise fantasy player: Zach Ertz, TE
Coming off a record-breaking season in which he had 116 catches and eight touchdowns, Ertz has had a quieter start to his 2019 campaign. His first touchdown came on Sunday against the Jets. Among tight ends, he ranks fourth in catches (29) and fifth in yards (312). Expect his production to pick up in the coming weeks, especially once field-stretcher DeSean Jackson returns from injury.

#JimmySays: Ertz had the misfortune of being the player teams looked to take away when Jackson and Alshon Jeffery were out. If you can buy low on him, I think that's a smart play.

Also, Dallas is ahead of the Eagles here. Why?

Yahoo: 8th

I’m not going to dissect their win over the Jets too much. I suppose it could have been better but they led 14-0 before anyone had even gotten through their first order of crab fries at the Linc. Everyone knew the Jets could play for three weeks straight and not score 14 points. After the last two weeks, this looks like your eventual NFC East champion.

#JimmySays: Ugh, I hope Philly isn't known outside of Philly for crab fries, which really only exist prominently at one of the most overrated restaurant chains ever.

USA Today: 7th

They've earned share of first place atop NFC East, but it could be tough to keep with next three on road at Minnesota, Dallas and Buffalo.

#JimmySays: I think we all know that the Vikings and Cowboys are a couple of playoff-contending teams that will be difficult to beat on the road. The tricky one in this bunch is Buffalo. What are they? They're 4-1, and they have a great defense, buuuuut... Josh Allen. It's not easy playing three straight road games, and I believe that will be a tough one as well.

CBS: 8th

They seem to be getting things right after a slow start. They just have to get through all the injuries to get where they will eventually be as a team.

#JimmySays: CBS never fails to deliver on the "why even bother" blurb about each team.

SportingNews: 8th

The Eagles' offense faded to the background for the first time this season as the defense delivered its overdue statement with 10 sacks and two touchdowns of its own against the lowly Jets. That was the most 2017 the Eagles have looked in 2019.

#JimmySays: In fairness, any team would look like a Super Bowl contender against that Jets team that was here last week.

b/r: 8th

There are no gimme games in the NFL—unless you're playing the New York Jets with Luke Falk at quarterback.
The Eagles pulverized a pitiful Jets team in Week 5 without really trying. This was a game where the Eagles racked up 31 points despite having fewer than 300 yards of total offense. Carson Wentz had just 17 completions. The Eagles had just 84 rushing yards and averaged fewer than three yards a carry.
As efforts go, it certainly wasn't Philly's best—but it was more than enough against the Jets.

#JimmySays: Dallas has their "gimme game" against the Jets on Sunday. Interestingly, they're only 8.5-point favorites. I guess they figure Sam Darnold will play. He'll help, but that Jets team needs a hell of a lot more than Darnold to make them look semi-respectable.

The Athletic: 7th

Ten sacks. TEN SACKS. Did we mention that the Eagles recorded 10 sacks against the Jets on Sunday? Oh, and the Eagles’ defense also intercepted two Luke Falk passes and forced a fumble in one of most dominant defensive performances of the season. Combine that with a Cowboys loss, and this made for a very good Sunday for Philadelphia.

#JimmySays: Obviously, that performance on Sunday was more about how bad the Jets are offensively than it was about anything the Eagles were doing. During the game, I remember trying to think of an offense who looked this inept against an Eagles defense. I came up with the Niners game in 2017 when C.J. Beathard started. Maybe the Bears that same season? But even those teams wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Jets were on Sunday.