With yet another win over an opponent with a winning record, a category they lead the league in, the Philadelphia Eagles have solidified themselves as a top five team in the NFL. Last week, we noted that power rankers were failing to recognize the significance of the fact that the Eagles had beaten multiple teams with winning records by ranking the Giants, who had an identical record to the Eagles and had only won win against a winning opponent, ahead of them in most polls. The Eagles 27-17 victory over the Giants, who lost yet another game to a quality opponent, clearly erased the notion that the Eagles should be behind the Giants.
Most power ranks are still ranking the Atlanta Falcons, who were beaten soundly in Philadelphia when the teams played head to head, ahead of the Eagles mostly because they have one extra win. I understand the motivation there, but what are the point of power rankings if you’re just going to rank exclusively by number of wins? That’s what we have standings for after all.
Although there’s some shuffling as to where they’re ranked, there’s a pretty good consensus among national power ranks as to the who the top four teams in the NFL are right now. The Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, New York Jets, & Philadelphia Eagles.
CBS Sports has the Eagles at #4
The improvement of the offensive line has been a major difference for this team the past month. They need to be better this week at Chicago.
Yahoo! Sports also has Philly at #4
Philly was an Eli Manning slide away from blowing the lead at home during a game in which they should have had a 28-3 lead at the half. They remain at the four spot in these NFL power rankings.
Fanhouse, who loved the Eagles last week, loves them again with a #2 ranking
Sunday night's Eagles-Giants matchup seemed like it might decide the NFC favorite for the Super Bowl, and Philadelphia came out on top, despite a very ugly third quarter. This team hinges on Michael Vick staying healthy; if he does, the Eagles could hoist their first championship trophy