Week 2 NFL power rankings roundup: Eagles get mixed reaction to opening win
Here's how the Eagles' victory over the Commanders impacted their standing in the national media's rankings going into Week 2 against the Titans.
In the record books it was a win, but for national media outlets, the Eagles’ 24-22 victory over the Commanders on Sunday has garnered mixed responses.
Those varied opinions are reflected in the NFL power rankings ahead of Week 2 when the Eagles take on the Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. Sunday in Nashville. Here’s where the Eagles stand in the power rankings of several national media outlets.
ESPN: Sixth
The Eagles moved down from fifth to sixth in ESPN’s power rankings.
ESPN’s Tim McManus credited Dontayvion Wicks for the role he played with two catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
“His 64-yard catch-and-run in the first half marked the longest reception of his career, providing a much-needed spark to the Eagles’ new-look offense,” McManus wrote.
CBS Sports: Seventh
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports moved the Eagles up six spots from 13.
“It wasn’t pretty against the Commanders, but there were good signs,” Prisco wrote. “Saquon Barkley averaged 5.5 per rush and Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes.”
» READ MORE: What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 2 vs. the Titans
The Athletic: 11th
Hurts’ three touchdown passes matched a career high in a season opener and helped move the Eagles up one spot..
“The final box score isn’t going to instill a ton of faith that the Eagles’ offense has suddenly morphed back into one of the league’s best,” Chad Graff and Josh Kendall wrote. “But Hurts made enough big plays when his team needed him, connecting on a deep ball and improvising with his legs on a third-and-18 conversion to offer hope as Philadelphia settles into this new offensive scheme under Sean Mannion.”
Sports Illustrated: 12th
For Conor Orr at Sports Illustrated, Sunday’s game exposed more issues in the offense, and he moved the Eagles down one spot from 11. What Orr called “The Sean Mannion experience” included the Eagles punting on their first two drives of the game, and their first three drives in the second half. But for Orr, the biggest problem was the run game.
“Jalen Hurts was able to use his legs and smooth out the choppiness but the run game was of utmost concern: most of Saquon Barkley’s yards came after first contact and most came on one play. He was hit behind the line at a pretty high rate,” Orr wrote.
» READ MORE: Drew Kendall’s job replacing Landon Dickerson on Eagles O-line would be to ‘make sure we don’t skip a beat’
NFL.com: 11th
The Eagles took a decent hit in the NFL.com rankings, moving from fifth to 11th. While many outlets focused on Mannion’s offense, Nick Shook gave credit to Vic Fangio’s defense.
“The Eagles didn’t start the season like a well-oiled machine, but they were able to rely on their defense for a good portion of Sunday’s opener and received some timely contributions from Jalen Hurts and the offense to outlast the Commanders,“ Shook wrote. ”Philadelphia can be proud of starting 1-0, but the Eagles likely understand they’ll need to be better over the long haul to achieve their goals.”
Bleacher Report: Seventh
While most were complimentary of Hurts’ performance on Sunday, the B/R NFL staff wasn’t letting the quarterback off the hook that easily for some of the “rust” he and other starters might have been showing in their first game.
“Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes but completed just 56% of his passes. The offense averaged 6 yards per play but converted less than half their third-down tries. The Philly pass rush was all but invisible, recording just one sack and two QB hits,” the staff wrote. “The Eagles have their sights set on SoFi Stadium and Super Bowl LXI, and if they are going to make a deep playoff run they need to tighten things up on both sides on the ball.”
The Eagles eked out a season-opening win over the Washington Commanders thanks, in large part, to Jalen Hurts channeling the elements of his game that make him so dangerous. But when it comes to other areas of the offense, concerns from last year still linger. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy assess Hurts’ performance, Sean Mannion’s debut as offensive coordinator, and warning signs on the offensive line Listen here.
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