Week 7 NFL power rankings roundup: Eagles land behind Bills after win over Cowboys

It’s kind of silly to talk playoff seeding after six weeks, but things are getting late early for the rest of the NFC in the race for the No. 1 seed. Aside from the Eagles, there are only three teams in the conference with a winning record, and Philadelphia has already beaten two of them (Dallas and Minnesota).

After they rest up this week — well-timed considering the concussion suffered by star right tackle Lane Johnson — the Eagles’ next three opponents are the Steelers, Texans and Commanders, all games in which they’re likely to be favored by more than a touchdown. The Athletic’s Austin Mock now projects them to have a 70.8 percent chance of winning the NFC East and a 63.4 percent chance of earning the No. 1 seed.

Everybody wants to be known as a “fourth-quarter team,” but there’s something to be said for stealing the soul from your opponent in the second quarter, too. From the NFL Media Research Department: The Eagles have scored 112 second-quarter points in 2022, the most points in any quarter in NFL history through a team’s first six games. Football’s lone undefeated team, Philly will come out of its Week 7 bye facing a favorable schedule, with three straight games against teams owning two or fewer wins through Week 6. The road to 9-0 is clear for Nick Sirianni’s rowdy gang of spirit-swiping marauders.

2. Eagles (1): Slotting the league’s only undefeated team as 1A would be a copout, but Philadelphia is well beyond legit. Another second-quarter blitzkrieg neutralized Dallas’ vaunted defense Sunday night, and the Eagles – they’re on bye in Week 7 – appear to have at least a fairly smooth runway to 9-0. Beautifully balanced in every phase, the Allen factor is the biggest consideration differentiating Philly from Buffalo, as great as QB Jalen Hurts has been.

1. Eagles (6-0; No. 1): It’s hard to find that first potential “L” for the best team in the league.

I thought quarterback Jalen Hurts would improve in his second full season as the starter, but I wasn’t expecting him to be in the early MVP conversation. His strides in the passing game have been particularly notable. He ranks ninth in completion percentage through six games (66.8%) compared to 26th last year (61.3%). He is third in yards per attempt (8.23) and has only committed two turnovers while dropping back 221 times and running it 77 times. Hurts is a primary reason the Eagles are undefeated. — Tim McManus

The Eagles were up against it on Sunday Night Football, down a key offensive lineman and almost completely unable to sneak their tight end out into the route tree due to protection issues. Yet, they stiff-armed a formidable division rival and remained the best record in football. While the AFC has some answers for this Eagles team, who in the NFC is going to stand up to the Eagles?

The Eagles rolled out of the gate against the Cowboys with more of their efficient, explosive and balanced offense. They backed it up with sharp pass defense from Darius “Big Play” Slay and others to bring Cooper Rush crashing down to earth. But they still need to work finishing games as well as they start them to stay undefeated.

The Eagles remain the league’s only undefeated team after defeating the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. After Dallas got a stop on the Eagles’ first offensive drive of the game, it was all over. The Eagles scored on the next four drives before halftime.

And when Dallas looked like they may actually somehow come back in this game, Philadelphia turned it back on, scored another touchdown, and put the game away 26-17. Like they have all season, the Eagles dominated the second quarter and rode the rest of the game to a win.

One area they have to fix is their run defense. They are giving up 5.0 yards per rush, which isn’t a good thing when you are trying to win a division — and even more.