NFL Power Rankings: What experts are saying about Philadelphia Eagles

Your Week 5 NFL Power Rankings are popping up all over the place, and here’s the good news! The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t dropped out of the top 25.

Here’s the bad news. The Eagles haven’t climbed out of the bottom tier of the top 25 either.

Most news outlets have Philly squarely at 25th place in the league after a 1-3 start to the 2021 season. Last Sunday marked their third straight loss, but things could be worse. Head coach Nick Sirianni could be a ‘distraction‘ right now. Sheesh! At least the Birds don’t have those types of problems.

Despite giving up over 40 points for the second week in a row, the Eagles’ last game was against the Super Bowl contending Kansas City Chiefs. That was going to be a tough game no matter what the result wound up being.

Still, even after that, NFL analysts across the web have mostly optimistic outlooks for the Eagles (and a few comical takes), and if they say Philly is getting better, it must be true, right?

Take a look at their opinions and decide for yourselves. Here’s what’s being said about the Birds as we sift through a few power rankings.

Nate Davis of USA Today ranked the Eagles right after the Chicago Bears (ouch) in 25th place but had some faint praise for a certain wide receiver on the team:

"Rookie WR DeVonta Smith is showing some signs of life, catching seven balls for 122 yards Sunday after totaling 11 for 115 in the first three weeks."

Nick Wojton of Touchdown Wire also had Philly at 25th but ahead of the Bears (ha!). He attributes most of Week 4’s loss to the Eagles “shooting themselves in the foot,” but he did mention Jalen Hurts rather vaguely:

"Philly QB Jalen Hurts did show some signs."

More NFL Power Rankings rank the Eagles 25th in the league ahead of Week 5.

It’s hard to get past that comment on Hurts. He’s showing signs of…what? Talent? Fatigue? Frustration that he still might not be considered the go-to Eagles QB in 2021 even though he again posted some enormous numbers on Sunday?

Tim McManus of ESPN ranked Philly 25th and chose to focus on the Eagles’ curious usage of Miles Sanders so far. Sanders is the No. 1 RB on the depth chart and, somehow, only has 37 carries through four games and nine rushes over the course of the past two weeks. The “dynamic 1-2 punch” of Sanders and Hurts may not be so dynamic after all.

We’re only including the next news outlet because their comments will likely elicit a small chuckle.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the Eagles ranked the same as everybody else, but he points this out:

"Nick Sirianni apparently is adding one highlighter to his hat for each game they lose."

Very keen observation, and definitely something to keep tabs on as the season progresses.

Dan Hanzus of NFL and Bleacher Report both have the Eagles at — you guessed it — 25th in the league in their NFL Power Rankings, dropping just a few places from where he had them last week. Both lament Philly’s self-inflicted unforced errors that ultimately lost them the game.

The Eagles had three touchdowns nullified by penalties, and they instead had to resort to scoring field goals. Looking ahead, Sirianni and company could easily go 1-6 as they’ll face the Carolina Panthers next, before meeting Tom Brady and the Heartbreakers (aka the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and then a mean and gritty Las Vegas Raiders team.

What would a miracle look like for the beaten-up Birds? If all goes well, Philly can hopefully nab a couple of lucky wins. Then, more fans will renew their faith in Hurts, and maybe, just maybe, Sirianni will lose one of those damn highlighters from his visor.