NFL Power Rankings Week One: What the National Media is saying about the Philadelphia Eagles
Tomorrow, NFL Opening Night will kickoff with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles will take the field for their week one matchup against the Detroit Lions.
Look, if you’ve been reading The Liberty Line, we’re pretty clear on how we view the national media and hell, even most of the local media. They hate us. We hate them. We also do not care what they think about our sports teams and in this case, the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, let’s get a vibe check via the NFL Week One Power Rankings from the national media outlets. Do Power Rankings even matter? Absolutely not.
Few things I know for sure:
- Power Rankings are dumb.
- Worrying about playoff seeding is dumb.
- We never see a loss on the schedule.
With that being said, let’s take a look at where we stand in the media spotlight.
NFL Power Rankings Week One: What They’re Saying About The Philadelphia Eagles
Can anyone put a dent in the offensive line? Eagles GM Howie Roseman has built a deep and promising roster that should put quarterback Jalen Hurts in the best possible position to thrive in Year 3. But Roseman outdid himself up front, where the starting five of LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Jason Kelce, RG Isaac Seumalo and RT Lane Johnson stand above any blocking group in football. Mailata has been the greatest revelation of all, a product of the International Pathway Program who went from spot starter to one of the most dominant blockers in the game seemingly overnight.
My Thoughts: Thanks, NFL.com. Very nice statement about our offensive line and Jalen Hurts being in great position heading into his third year in the NFL. Why the hell are we ranked 14th overall then?
The Eagles have done a great job building a roster around Jalen Hurts, and he’s been given everything he needs to succeed in Year 3.
My Thoughts: Hope this person didn’t get paid for writing Sports Illustrated Power Rankings. This is simply a lack of effort.
The good news: On offense, the Eagles return everyone from the 11th-ranked unit by DVOA while plopping A.J. Brown on top. On defense, they improved on paper at every level. The second-easiest schedule in the league makes them suddenly a very popular sleeper Super Bowl contender.
The bad news: Eagles fans are on edge because of the dynamic Jason Kelce described perfectly: “In this city, it feels like every year the media thinks we’re really good, we end up being s—-y. And every year the media thinks we’re going to be s—-y, we end up being really good.”
Nugget to remember: After the Eagles’ midseason trade of Zach Ertz in 2021, Dallas Goedert ranked sixth in the league among all players in receiving yards per route run (2.7). If that efficiency stays near the same level while the Eagles tilt back toward throwing the ball more than they did down the stretch, he’ll cement himself among the league’s best at the position. Brown, by the way, ranked at the top of that list.
My Thoughts: No one is on edge. Jason Kelce is talking to the media. Not Eagles fans. Some self-awareness should help. Hype or no hype. We don’t care. We’ll find out who this team is soon enough.
Philadelphia is gaining significant momentum as a much-improved postseason contender this season. The Sunday after the 2022 draft, during which they traded for star wideout A.J. Brown and added monster Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, the Eagles were +275 to win the NFC East. They’re now +150 as money has been poured on their division crown futures, and for good reason.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts improved significantly from Year 1 to Year 2 under then-first-year head coach Nick Sirianni in 2021, and expectations should be for Hurts to continue to develop as his chemistry with Brown and receiver DeVonta Smith grows.
My Thoughts: Not bad, but I hate Bill Simmons and the Ringer. I’ll never forgive them for the constant and honestly, blatant slander of Joel Embiid during last year’s MVP campaign. This is just Boston propaganda at it’s finest.
Where adding impact players are concerned, there isn’t a team in the league that was busier in the offseason than the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles traded for star wide receiver A.J. Brown and veteran safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, signed edge-rusher Haason Reddick in free agency, and drafted a pair of accomplished defenders from Georgia’s national champions in defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean.
All those moves have ramped up the pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts to take the next step as a passer and lead the team on a deep playoff run. There are those who feel that Hurts isn’t up to that task, but he told reporters that he has tuned out all the outside noise swirling around the team.
“I don’t hear it,” Hurts said. “I know there are a ton of different things that are said. I don’t hear ’em. I don’t listen. I don’t look for it. I just come here, I come to work, and I do my job. I strive to grow in doing my job every day. I do me.”
My Thoughts: Now we’re talking. Everyone should know that the Eagles will either succeed or disappoint based on the performance of Jalen Hurts this year. For some reason, you can’t even talk about it anymore without getting slandered immediately on social media. Credit to Bleacher Report for addressing the issue.
General manager Howie Roseman has had a tremendous offseason. The trade for defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson gives the Eagles an answer to one of the few questions on the roster. The more you look at the Eagles, the more you see a team that could be a surprise NFC champion.
My Thoughts: Did our guy Mark Drumheller write this because I absolutely love it. CJ Gardner-Johnson is a perfect fit for the Eagles defense and certainly addressed one of the view holes left on this roster.
Yes, this might seem high. But the roster is loaded and I believe Jalen Hurts will take a big step forward this season. They are the team to beat in the NFC East.
My Thoughts: Well, here’s another Jalen Hurts believer. No further comment at this time.
