October 23, 2024
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 7 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.
It was another slow start offensively, but Saquon Barkley wasn’t about to be a no-show in his return to New York on Sunday. He took over for an offense that was otherwise limited and inflicted some damage against his former team. The Eagles’ pass rush also took batting practice on Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, racking up eight sacks and holding them to a net 43 passing yards. The Giants’ long gain on the day was 14 yards; Barkley alone had three runs longer than that. And for good measure, Jalen Hurts salvaged a tough afternoon with arguably his best throw of the season on his 41-yard TD connection with A.J. Brown. There were blocking issues early, as Jordan Mailata missed the game, Mekhi Becton left early with an injury and Cam Jurgens had his hands full with Dexter Lawrence, but the Eagles found a way to work through them.
#JimmySays: I kinda like "batting practice" as a way to describe a high-sack game. I also didn't realize the Giants' long gain of the day was 14 yards, but that sounds about right.
Young riser: DB Cooper DeJean
His rookie season got off to a slow start because of a hamstring injury he sustained this summer, but he has been a difference-maker since becoming the starting nickel corner in Week 6. DeJean, 21, has posted 10 tackles, half a sack and two quarterback pressures in two games, helping to solidify a unit that has yielded nine points total in that span. He also has taken over as punt returner for injured Britain Covey and is averaging 11 yards per return.
#JimmySays: Small sample size disclaimer, but early indications are that the Eagles hit on their first two picks of the 2024 draft.
Among the many things that went well in Saquon Barkley's first visit to the Giants, he clocked 21.93 mph on his 55-yard run Sunday – fastest this year by a running back, per Next Gen Stats.
#JimmySays: I used to love when MPH stats were used at Senior Bowl practices. It was almost always kick returners who had the highest MPH readings, because, they were putting it into full gear on their return reps, especially with no fear of getting jacked up in practice. And then you'd have people citing that those guys had the best MPH as if they were definitively the fastest guys on the field, only to run like a 4.52 at the Combine. So I guess what I'm saying here is that I don't love MPH as a comparative stat because it's limited to guys getting into the open field and being able to put it into fourth gear.
It's probably just easier to note that Barkley has had several opportunities to turn on the jets, which is a great thing, and yeah, he looks fast.
Maybe it was just the Giants being awful, but this was finally a game in which the Eagles looked like a contender. The talent has always been there but the results haven’t. The defense in particular looked like it is starting to warm up to coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme, allowing just 119 yards and collecting eight sacks.
#JimmySays: The Giants are indeed awful, but I've also seen most of their games this season and nobody has beaten them as badly as the Eagles did on Sunday.
That Eagles team we saw against the Giants is the team we expected to see. They put to rest for a week all the talks that head coach Nick Sirianni is in trouble.
#JimmySays: Sirianni indeed needed a win like that in the worst way.
It helps to play the Browns and the Giants in back-to-back weeks. At some point, they’ll need to beat someone better than that.
#JimmySays: Are the Packers better than the Browns and Giants?
On a side note, I received a message that there were complaints among some of our rational, always polite and kind commenters here that the Eagles were higher than the Buccaneers in the Hierarchy, on the premise that the Buccaneers smoked the Eagles earlier this season. I checked it out and learned that this also makes me a "homer," lol. But sure, I'll defend the Eagles' placement over the Bucs.
• First of all, the Bucs blew out the Commanders, too. Should the Commanders be behind the Bucs? Should the Eagles be ahead of the Packers because they beat them? Should the Bucs stay ahead of the Eagles for the entirety of the season if they lose all the rest of their games, and the Eagles win all the rest of theirs? Should the Panthers be in the top 5 because they beat the Raiders, who beat the Ravens?
• I actually like this Bucs team, but, I mean, they lost Chris Godwin for the season and Mike Evans for a month, and they don't really have anyone else at receiver. They've also never been able to run the ball well, so it's not like they can suddenly shift their offensive identity on the fly. Baker Mayfield is going to have to keep throwing, except now to guys like Sterling Shepard, Jalen McMillan, and Trey Palmer.
• The average of the Eagles' spots in the 6 power rankings above this week is 10.3. The Bucs' is 11.8, so it's hardly a local "homer" view that the Eagles appear better positioned at this present point in time. Oh and the betting market ratings have the Eagles 7 spots ahead of the Bucs, for what it's worth. The Bucs are 20th there.
Pace yourselves, guys and girls.
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