Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Is this the NFC's best team?

Have the Philadelphia Eagles established themselves as the best team in the NFC?

If you’re football fan, you’ve heard the news. Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in week six and could miss the remainder of the NFL season. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the best case scenario is that Rodgers could be out for eight weeks. That would place him back in the lineup somewhere around December. That leads to an interesting question. Are the 5-1 Philadelphia Eagles the best team in the NFC?

It’s not an unrealistic idea. You only need look at the other teams in the conference. Let’s take a look at the possible case for Philly.

The rest of the NFC:

Green Bay Packers:

Let’s go back to Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers. They’ll now be led by Brett Hundley. Sure, he looked bad in relief, but everyone needs to hold off for a second. Green Bay’s coaches and organization seem to love this kid. Let’s give him a full week of preparation and some game film and see where he is then.

Minnesota Vikings:

The Vikings seem to be the only team in the NFL where quarterback is an afterthought. This team is built to win by running the ball and playing defense. They played Philadelphia a season ago, and the Eagles came out on the winning side. As of now, Philly appears to have the better squad from top to bottom, and they’re definitely better at signal caller.

Detroit Lions:

Nah dude.

Atlanta Falcons:

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No lead seems safe with this team. They led the San Francisco 49ers by double digits in the NFC Championship Game once and lost. In week six of this season, the led an AFC East team by double digits at halftime in a dome, and they fell apart. That kind of sounds like a game they played in February doesn’t it?

Atlanta’s going in the wrong direction.

Carolina Panthers:

They play great defense. They have an above-average quarterback, but they just lost at home to this Eagles team after giving it their best shot. You have to give the edge to Philly if they play again and the Eagles are at full strength right?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

This team’s flaws have been exposed over and over again, and now their quarterback, Jameis Winston has injured his throwing shoulder. Not good.

Los Angeles Rams:

Let’s make this clear. The Los Angeles Rams are good, and they’re for real. Is it also fair to say they’re a year or two away? Todd Gurley can be limited if you have the personnel in the front seven. The Eagles have that. These two teams meet in week 14, and believe it or not, that game could have serious playoff implications.

Seattle Seahawks:

Is it us, or does this team seem like they never got over Russell Wilson throwing that interception in the Super Bowl? From the outside looking in, it just looks like there’s some resentment from a defense who’s tired of bailing out an offense that doesn’t produce consistently and goes through long scoring droughts.

This clearly isn’t the Seahawks team of several years ago. Then again, even in average years, they’ve always given the Eagles trouble.

Dallas Cowboys:

Year two of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott is now, all of a sudden, Dak’s show to run alone for an extended period of time. The team that may have caught some of the league by surprise a season ago is now the hunted. At this point of the 2017 season, Dallas seems to have taken a step backwards. Keep in mind, in recent history, the Eagles have typically had the Cowboys’ number.

Next: 5 Areas where Eagles must improve to remain contenders

Conclusion:

The Eagles may or not be the best team in the NFC. You can make the argument for both sides, but one thing is certain. The NFC is as wide open as it’s ever been, and Philly should be in contention late into the season. Four of their next five games come in the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field.

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Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Is this the NFC’s best team?

By Geoffrey Knox | Oct 16, 2017