The Philadelphia Eagles were sitting pretty in the NFL power rankings going into Week 3. Eagles fans like myself were happy that they were a top 5 team - at least due to their 2-0 record if nothing else. But after Week 3, we learned just how misleading power rankings and records can be in the NFL, now that Philadelphia is decidedly not a top 5 squad.
The new rankings more likely have the Eagles on the edge of the top 10 instead of the top 5 - if only by default there as well. Of course, after the 27-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 23, Philadelphia doesn't feel like a team in the NFL's upper echelon. Yet a win over the New York Giants on Sept. 30 can help fix that.
But for now, the Eagles are in limbo like pretty much every other NFL team. After all, this is the kind of start where a case can be made for two 1-2 clubs to be in the top 5. Given that the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers were victimized by replacement refs in prime time this week, and since they are the Patriots and Packers, their place in the top 10 is still secure - despite their actual records.
With the Packers and Patriots' defeats and with the San Francisco 49ers getting upset, the top of the NFL power rankings looks pretty odd. Yet it is the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons that have to be put at No. 1 and No. 2 for the moment. While everyone else is stumbling in one way or another, the Texans and Falcons are making an early case that this could finally be their year.
The Cardinals also rose to the top with their shellacking of the Eagles, although they are still the least regarded of the three unbeaten teams left. That is a better place to be than the New Orleans Saints, at least, who are now just the best of the two winless teams left. In between, however, everything is total chaos.
All the Eagles need is a few good wins in the coming weeks to rise above the chaos again. Yet a few more performances like the one against the Cardinals will make their old high ranking an even more distant memory.
Teams like the Packers and Patriots can survive bad early records - since they have Super Bowl titles and have outside circumstances to blame for their losses. But the Eagles aren't quite in that rarified air, as Philadelphia well knows.
Here is the latest best effort to make sense out of the NFL power rankings after Week 3.
1. Houston Texans: 3-0
2. Atlanta Falcons: 3-0
3. Baltimore Ravens: 2-1
4. San Francisco 49ers: 2-1
5. Arizona Cardinals: 3-0
6. New England Patriots: 1-2
7. Green Bay Packers: 1-2
8. Dallas Cowboys: 2-1
9. New York Giants: 2-1
10. Philadelphia Eagles: 2-1
11. Cincinnati Bengals: 2-1
12. Chicago Bears: 2-1
13. Pittsburgh Steelers: 1-2
14. Seattle Seahawks: 2-1
15. San Diego Chargers: 2-1
16. Denver Broncos: 1-2
17. Detroit Lions: 1-2
18. Minnesota Vikings: 2-1
19. New York Jets: 2-1
20. Buffalo Bills: 2-1
21. Washington Redskins: 1-2
22. Tennessee Titans: 1-2
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1-2
24. Carolina Panthers: 1-2
25. Oakland Raiders: 1-2
26. Kansas City Chiefs: 1-2
27. Miami Dolphins: 1-2
28. St. Louis Rams: 1-2
29. Jacksonville Jaguars: 1-2
30. Indianapolis Colts: 1-2
31. New Orleans Saints: 0-3
32. Cleveland Browns: 0-3
Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.
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