NFL Power Rankings: Philadelphia Eagles Still Ahead of Dallas Cowboys?
What was billed as one of the biggest games of the season turned into one-way traffic as the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys 33-13 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
The loss moved the Eagles out of first place in the NFC East and and marked the second straight week they were blown out by one of the NFC's elite, as they lost at home to the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 3, 42-19. Despite back-to-back one-sided losses, Philadelphia only dropped one spot to No. 3 in Sports Illustrated's power rankings.
The Eagles (10-3) are one spot ahead of Dallas (10-3), who is No. 4.
"Yes, still, momentarily, I like the Eagles a little bit better than the Cowboys, even though Dallas's victory on Sunday night was decisive," SI writes. "I can't quite pinpoint why, and there is a clear sense that Jalen Hurts isn't seeing the field as well as he did last year. But if this is Philadelphia at its worst, they are still an incredibly dangerous team. The Eagles went through a similar period of attrition a season ago, with almost everyone, to a person, at the Super Bowl crediting the two-game losing streak before and after Christmas to a long playoff run."
A.J. Brown had nine catches for 94 yards against the Cowboys
USA Today Sports
The attrition of the season has clearly taken its toll on Philadelphia in its last two games. The Eagles wrapped up a brutal five-game stretch where they faced the Dallas Cowboys twice, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills and the 49ers.
Going 3-2 in five games against bonafide Super Bowl contenders is nothing to scoff at, even if things got out of hand in Philadelphia's two losses. The schedule also eases for them in their final four games with the Seattle Seahawks (6-7), who are on a four-game losing streak, the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) and the New York Giants (5-8) twice.
Philadelphia went through a similar stretch late last season when they lost back-to-back games to the Cowboys and New Orleans Saints last December. The Eagles eventually righted the ship to finish as the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, and then they rolled through the NFC to the Super Bowl.
With four games left and none of the Eagles' final three opponents being over .500, they'll have a chance to right the ship again and work its way back to the No. 1 seed. If the Eagles win out, they'll win the NFC East, and their path is much easier compared to the Cowboys who have to play the Bills (7-6), Miami Dolphins (9-4) and Detroit Lions (9-4) in their next three games.
San Francisco, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, faces the top team in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens (10-3), on Dec. 25.
If the Eagles can take advantage of an easier schedule compared to the 49ers and Cowboys, they could find their way atop the conference again. One could argue that no team needs a week off more than them, and if the Eagles can right the ship again, they could be poised for another Super Bowl run.
Philadelphia will look to snap its two-game skid on Monday Night Football when they face the Seahawks at 8:15 p.m. ET at Lumen Field.
