Eagles land in third tier in recent NFL Power Ranking (behind Dallas)

It’s called the NFL’s ‘Money Division’ for a reason. The NFC East is home to four of the game’s most popular professional franchises: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Washington Commanders.

If you haven’t noticed, regardless of how they’re doing, when two of these teams play one another, their games are highlighted for national viewing or for a primetime showcase more often than not.

Philly was the last of that bunch to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but they’ve been known to field some great teams over the past four decades, appearing in three Super Bowls since 1980 and winning 14 division titles.

Their rivals have ten Super Bowls between them. New York leads the way since 1980 with four. As a whole, these teams haven’t consistently been the factors that they’re used to being though as long stretches of apathy led to the ‘NFC Least’ nickname. There also hasn’t been a repeat champion in the division since Philly dominated by taking the crown in four straight years from 2001 to 2004.

We could be approaching an upswing though. It’s highly likely that the NFC East could send two teams, Dallas and Philadelphia, to the postseason at the close of the 2022-2023 regular season. It’s a thought that isn’t lost on anyone.

The Eagles and Cowboys land in Pro Football Focus’ third tier in a recent NFL Power Ranking.

It’s never too early to share theories on how we believe things will play out during any National Football League season. Most of us have already pulled out the Eagles’ schedule and determined, in our minds, where the wins and losses are. We’ve also discussed and identified the potential eight division winners.

Recently, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus pieced an NFL Power Ranking together. All 32 teams were filtered into five tiers: the true contenders, this could be the year, they have their eyes on the playoffs, stuck in limbo, and rebuilding.

Philly lands as his 13th-ranked team in the ‘eyes on the playoffs’ tier, one spot behind Dallas. The Washington Commanders and New York Giants are ‘stuck in limbo’ if you’re interested. Here’s what Monson said about the Birds.

"I’m not sure any franchise had a better offseason than the Eagles when all is considered. Trading for A.J. Brown gives them the No. 1 receiver they have been searching for, and it also allows DeVonta Smith to concentrate on doing what he does well as the No. 2. Adding Haason Reddick and Jordan Davis reinforces a defensive front that was eroding from its peak, and grabbing James Bradberry late in the day is a really shrewd signing that could make a real difference. Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean could also prove to be one of the biggest steals of the draft if he’s the same player in the NFL that he was in college."

Conventional thinking would lead most to the same idea, that the Eagles and Cowboys will both win 11 games or more. If the regular season were to begin today, Philadelphia would probably be favored in all 17 games minus their games versus Dallas, the Green Bay Packers, the Tennessee Titans, and, maybe, their game versus the New Orleans Saints.

Philly and Dallas will battle it out for divisional superiority all season long. Dallas, if the regular season were to begin today, would, more than likely, be favored in all of their games minus the ones played versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Los Angeles Rams, the Green Bay Packers, and the Tennessee Titans.

Naturally, things will change between now and four to five months from now. Let’s hope one of those things is Philly winds up finding themselves as the NFC East’s top-ranked team by season’s end.