Eagles power ranking roundup: Week 12

Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.

Here's where people around the country have the Eagles ranked after Week 11 of the regular season. Oh, and here's our version of these sellout rankings, too.

NFL.com: 3rd

The Lions might have hurt themselves with their own over-aggressiveness, but the Eagles certainly had a lot to do with that. Philadelphia's relentless pressure has been the new calling card of a defense that has reached another plateau since the bye. That's now two straight games in prime time where the Eagles have held a playoff-contending opponent to single-digit points. The trade acquisition of Jaelan Phillips looks like a gem of a pickup, with the edge rusher making his impact felt in both games since his arrival in Philly. Watching the Eagles swat Jared Goff's passes left and right made you think that, for a team to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions, it must be strong in the trenches. Sure, the Eagles' offensive lulls are hard to ignore, but they do control the lines of scrimmage in most games. Doubt them at your own risk.

#JimmySays: The D-line has certainly controlled the line of scrimmage lately. The O-line hasn't dominated this season like it did last season.

ESPN: 2nd

Who's under the most pressure: Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo

The offense has been a disappointment. The Eagles rank 25th in total yards (300.1 per game), 28th in passing (184.9) and 29th in third-down conversion rate (33.87%). They're averaging 115 rushing yards per game (17th in NFL), compared to 179 in 2024 (second). They are, however, the best red zone offense (75% conversion rate) and have a league-low four giveaways. That, paired with a defense that has played lights out as of late, has been enough to keep Philly atop the NFC. But the offense has not yet reached its potential, and it falls on the first-year playcaller to help remedy that.

#JimmySays: On the one hand, I think some of the Patullo criticism is a little mistargeted. For example, he’s getting blamed for things like the conservative third-and-long give-up calls, when Nick Sirianni is pretty obviously pulling the strings on those types of decisions. That's just one example. Sirianni wants to play conservatively. I doubt Patullo does, at least to the degree that they do.

The players also rarely catch the primary blame. Jalen Hurts wasn't good Sunday night. A.J. Brown very clearly isn’t the same guy he was his first three seasons in Philly. Saquon Barkley is probably feeling the effects of a super-heavy workload last season. The offensive line isn’t playing to its standard, etc. And yet, Patullo gets the brunt of the heat, largely because he's the new component in the offense this year, which makes him the easiest target. Fans have no emotional connection with Patullo, like they do with players that they have seen do great things on the sport's biggest stage.

On the other hand, Patullo pretty clearly isn't the answer. The Eagles need an adult offensive scheme designer and play caller who has enough clout to tell Sirianni to get the eff out of the way and let him go score points, instead of this ultra conservative approach that feels like it'll inevitably bite them in the ass.

In my opinion, there’s going to be opportunity to significantly upgrade at offensive coordinator from the outside, but it ain’t happening during this season. It's just a matter of whether or not Jeffrey Lurie sees what we're all seeing offensively, and shakes things up next offseason.

USA Today: 5th

A replenished defense has held two high-octane offenses to single-digit points in successive weeks − which is even better news with injured RT Lane Johnson set to miss a chunk of time with a Lisfranc injury for an already sputtering offense.

#JimmySays: The Cowboys' offense will be another good challenge for the defense this Sunday.

Yahoo: 1st

Lane Johnson’s injury will knock him out 4-6 weeks and everyone by now knows the Eagles aren’t nearly as good without their All-Pro right tackle. Still, the Eagles are becoming masterful at overcoming adversity. Their defense is finally hitting its stride, too.

#JimmySays: The trade for Fred Johnson has already paid major dividends this season. He's been fantastic in relief of Lane. However, it's worth noting that this will be the first game that he will start, and opposing defenses will be looking specifically at Fred for ways to exploit him, whereas they likely weren't in advance of other games he has played in this season.

The Athletic: 1st

A suggestion: Be more interesting

Thank goodness for A.J. Brown. The wide receiver’s weekly passive-aggressive complaints about his role in the offense are the only things making this team worth watching anymore. Jalen Hurts completed 14 passes for 135 yards Sunday night. The sublime Saquon Barkley averaged 3.2 yards per carry and is 14th in the league in rushing (662 yards). Yet the Eagles and their smothering defense are marching joylessly back toward the Super Bowl.

#JimmySays: The Eagles frustrate their own fans, despite winning. I'm sure it has to be infuriating for fans who don't like the Eagles as they stumble through games every week and win anyway.

CBS: 3rd

The offense still isn't great, but they are winning games. The defense has really stepped up the past two weeks.

#JimmySays: CBS is bringing the five-alarm fire analysis this week, lol. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Average power ranking of the six media outlets above

  1. Week 1: 1.0
  2. Week 2: 1.2 📉
  3. Week 3: 1.7 📉
  4. Week 4: 1.2 📈
  5. Week 5: 1.2 😐
  6. Week 6: 2.7 📉
  7. Week 7: 7.5 📉
  8. Week 8: 6.2 📈
  9. Week 9: 5.7 📈
  10. Week 10: 3.2 📈
  11. Week 11: 2.7 📈
  12. Week 12: 2.5 📈

MORE: NFC Hierarchy/Obituary, Week 12

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