Week 7 Power Rankings: Can Eagles reclaim top spot over Buffalo?

The Eagles handled business and took care of the Dallas Cowboys on the primetime stage 26-17, moving to 6-0 on the year.

Following last year’s demoralizing loss to Dallas on Monday Night Football, Hurts used that as fuel to secure his first career victory over Philly’s most hated rival.

“You’d be naive to think I hadn’t remembered that,” Hurts said of last year. “I try to find value with all my experiences. That was a valuable experience for me.”

As the Eagles head into the bye week still unbeaten, here are the latest Power Rankings ahead of Week 7.

NFL.com

Last week: 2

This week: 2

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.

ESPN

Last week: 3

This week: 2

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.

The Athletic

Last week: 2

This week: 2

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.

Just as scary for the rest of the conference, Philadelphia has yet to put together a full game. How’s this for a weird split? The Eagles have been outscored 78-49 in quarters one, three and four this season, but have outscored opponents 112-27 in the second quarter.

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CBS Sports

Last week: 1

This week: 1

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.

Bleacher Report

Last week: 1

This week: 1

After racing out to a 20-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night before holding on to win 26-17, the Philadelphia Eagles are the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team. But as impressive as the Eagles have been this year, head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters the team is only just scratching the surface of what they are truly capable of.

The idea of these Eagles improving markedly should terrify the rest of the NFC because Philly is awfully good. Playing against one of the league’s better defenses, the Eagles gained just 268 total yards. But with the offense struggling a bit, the defense stepped up, picking off Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush three times.

After passing this NFC East test, the Eagles have a real chance at posting the franchise’s best-ever start to a season. If the Eagles can get past the cross-state Steelers Sunday, they will tie the 2004 team for that mark. Get past Pittsburgh, and the only thing standing between these Eagles and history is the one-win Texans.

ProFootballTalk

Last week: 1

This week: 1

It’s hard to find that first potential “L” for the best team in the league.

USA Today

Last week: 1

This week: 2

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.

Sporting News

Last week: 1

This week: 1

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.

Darius Slay allowed a 2.8 passer rating when targeted last night. Show me a corner playing better than him this year. pic.twitter.com/zb5GqYOEUK

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) October 17, 2022

Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff | Getty Images