3 Eagles judgment errors that elevated the Ravens while stifling Philadelphia
- The Eagles are no longer elite
- The Ravens are suddenly elite.
- Philly may have helped Baltimore get there.
![Dennard Wilson, Philadelphia Eagles Dennard Wilson, Philadelphia Eagles](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7427,h_4177,x_0,y_769/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/57/01hk31hf34jcnmrn0sc3.jpg)
Sometimes, NFL parity works in your favorite team's favor. Sometimes, you wind up with the 2023 Eagles.
Part of what makes the NFL and every Philadelphia Eagles season so great (and so interesting) is pro football's obsession with parity. The salary cap keeps the wealthier teams from simply buying all of the top talent. The teams with the worst records select earlier in the next NFL Draft unless they trade their picks away. Free agency can help the needy squads enjoy a facelift overnight.
Just look at some of what has happened since February. You'll see positive results from so many franchises as evidence of the NFL's efforts to ensure 'every team has a chance'.
Philadelphia was last year's NFC representative in Super Bowl LVII. The Baltimore Ravens finished their regular season with a mark of 10-7, good for a second-place finish in the AFC North. This year, they have seemingly traded places. It's the Ravens who look more dominant.
The Eagles have been replaced at the top of the NFL's food chain by the Ravens, and Philly can only blame themselves.
The Ravens are the cream of the NFL's crop now and the favorites to represent the AFC in the next Super Bowl. It feels like Philly will be lucky to win a playoff game. Still, these teams, in many ways, are similar. Hech Baltimore's head coach is a former Eagles assistant.
The Eagles and Ravens both are home to great quarterback play. There are stars all over the roster. Both are among pro football's class and well-run organizations.
It would seem the Ravens don't need Philly's help to field a winner, but in some ways, Philly assisted them anyway.
Certainly, any alley-oop passes thrown by the Eagles front office in Baltimore's direction are tossed unintentionally, but we can't get three off our minds. Every Ravens win and every Eagles loss grabs our attention. Maybe we're just jealous of what Baltimore is building, or maybe we're on to something.