NFL standings ordered by points per game: Eagles land among pro football's top five

Despite complaints of a slow start, the Eagles are among the NFL's top scoring teams.

We overcomplicate and overanalyze things sometimes, but football is a simple game. Sure, schemes can be complex, but certain aspects of the game we love will always exist. The Philadelphia Eagles use the rushing attack to set up play action. Screens are used to counter the blitz (or, at least they should be). In terms of roster building, the best an most successful teams win most often when they operate under the following blueprint:

Find your franchise quarterback. Find five offensive linemen to protect him. Then, find defensive stars, particularly interior linemen and edge rushers to make the other team's quarterback uncomfortable.

Oh, and there's one more thing. Score more points than the other team more often than not. The Birds haven't peaked yet this season (and, we wouldn't want them to this early), but they're among pro football's top teams when we rank them by average points scored per game.

Here's the ranking in its entirety.

The cellar

32. New York Giants - 11.5
31. Cincinnati Bengals - 12.3
30. New England Patriots - 13.8
25. NY Jets - 15.5
25. New Orleans Saints - 15.5
25. Pittsburgh Steelers - 15.5
25. Atlanta Falcons - 15.5

The Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons are the surprises here. Never discount the importance of great quarterback play (or having a great quarterback who is healthy).

Here's how the rest of our ranking shook out.