Welcome to Week 4, where the Philadelphia Eagles are arguably the best team in the NFL.
After their undefeated start and crushing victory over the Washington Commanders, the Eagles have soared to the top of numerous national NFL power rankings lists, pushing ahead of preseason darlings like the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers.
Not only has Jalen Hurts proven he can play in this league, the second-year starter is the highest-rated quarterback heading into Week 4, according to Pro Football Focus, earning an 88.2 out of 99. ESPN has Hurts ranked as the sixth-best quarterback in the league, according to the network’s Total QBR rating, well ahead of future Hall of Famers Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. (Here’s how ESPN calculates its Total QBR).
» READ MORE: Eagles stats: Lane Johnson is a stalwart; Jalen Hurts is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded passer
“Hurts has taken a significant leap in his second full season as the starter and in all probability will be part of the Eagles’ long-term plans this offseason,” wrote Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane. “It’s likely Hurts will have setbacks. But the Eagles will have many more reasons for investing in the 24-year-old than they would in looking elsewhere for an answer, even if their two 2023 first-round draft picks allow them to move up for a quarterback.”
Even former critics have come around, including NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, who didn’t even consider Hurts to be among the top 40 quarterbacks in the league prior to the 2021 season, an omission he has since admitted was a mistake.
On NBC’s Football Night in America Sunday, Simms said Hurts is “playing like one of the best quarterbacks in football,” describing him as a “beautiful down-the-field thrower” who has an added “ability to run.”
“Eagles are flying high right now,” Simms said. “Fly, Eagles, fly.”
Here’s how national outlets ranked the Eagles heading into Week 4′s matchup at Lincoln Financial Field against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which features former Birds coach Doug Pederson’s return to Philadelphia:
ESPN (Eagles ranked No. 3 | Last week’s rank: 8)
Jalen Hurts is one of the early favorites to be league MVP. His production on the ground remains strong — he ranks second among quarterbacks in rushing yards (167) and first in rushing touchdowns (3) — but it’s his improvement as a passer that has put the NFC on notice. Hurts is completing 67.3% of his passes, compared with his career average of 60%. He ranks third in passing yards (916) and is sixth in QBR (74.8). His standout play is the No. 1 reason the Eagles are 3-0.
NFL.com (Eagles ranked No. 1 | Last week’s rank: 3)
Philadelphia’s a big green wrecking machine right now. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense have been showing out since the season opener in Detroit, but now Nick Sirianni’s defense has announced its arrival with a dominant nine-sack performance against the Commanders and old friend Carson Wentz. What’s the most pressing “problem” for the undefeated Iggles? DeVonta Smith was so dominant on Sunday (156 yards in the first half alone), it calls into question whether A.J. Brown is the team’s true No. 1 receiver. “By the eyes, he might be a little slight, but he plays like a big boy,” Hurts said of Smith. “He’s a guy, when his number’s called, I know he’ll answer the phone.”
NBC Sports (Eagles ranked No. 2 | Last week’s rank: 4)
The only difference between the Dolphins and Eagles? The Dolphins have beaten two great teams.
CBS Sports (Eagles ranked No. 1 | Last week’s rank: 3)
Jalen Hurts has carried this team to a 3-0 start. His ability to run and pass makes it a real challenge to defend this offense. The Jaguars defense will be a challenge this week.
The Athletic (Eagles ranked No. 2 | Last week’s rank: 3)
After beating Carson Wentz and sacking him nine times, the Eagles prepare to face Doug Pederson, the Super Bowl-winning head coach who still has a statue outside the stadium. After that, they travel to Arizona for a game against Zach Ertz, who caught the winning touchdown pass in that Super Bowl. The season is starting to feel like a weird test in which they have to prove themselves worthy of Super Bowl aspirations by defeating a long list of ghosts of 2017. In addition to Wentz, they’ve already vanquished the Halapoulivaati Vaitai-Nate Sudfeld duo in Detroit and Jordan Hicks on the Vikings. Still left on the schedule are Dallas (Jason Peters), Houston (Kamu Grugier-Hill), Indianapolis (Rodney McLeod and Frank Reich), Green Bay (Rasul Douglas) and Tennessee (Jim Schwartz). Maybe that means we’re due for an Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl rematch to pair Jalen Mills and Nelson Agholor against their former team.
Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts is coming off a 22-of-35 performance for 340 yards and three touchdowns, which somehow felt meh. Hurts ranks fourth in EPA per dropback among all quarterbacks and is the biggest reason why the Eagles’ ceiling has fans dreaming of a Super Bowl trip — the Eagles are listed as +350 to win the NFC, the lowest odds in the conference ahead of the Packers (+400) and Bucs (+400). But the defense has held its own, too. Sunday’s sack deluge skews the numbers a bit, but the Eagles top the league in EPA per play when rushing only four. Now if only they could figure out how to score in the second half.
USA Today (Eagles ranked No. 1 | Last week’s rank: 3)
During the offseason, they upgraded a playoff-caliber roster while concurrently creating an environment to test Jalen Hurts and determine whether or not he’s a franchise quarterback. So far, appears he’s precisely that — and Philadelphia has played like the class of the NFC, improving to 3-0 on the heels of two dominant performances and seemingly setting up to make a run at a No. 1 postseason seed.
The Ringer (Eagles ranked No. 7 | Last week’s rank: 7)
There’s nothing positive I can say about the Eagles that Philly faithful aren’t already screaming at the top of their lungs. Jalen Hurts is a legitimate MVP candidate, the A.J. Brown-DeVonta Smith receiver combination is ascending to the top of the NFL, the offensive line is a top-three unit in the league — you name it, the Eagles have it. Hell, even their defense has bounced back in impressive fashion after allowing 35 points to Detroit in Week 1. Over the last two weeks, the Eagles rank first in yards per play allowed (3.8) and second in total points allowed (15).
» READ MORE: A Jalen Hurts contract extension from the Eagles is more a question of when than if after his significant leap
