There are a few matchups throughout the NFL season that just feel like statement games. The Buffalo Bills’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of weeks ago was that type of game, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ tilt with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday was surely another. However, when the two titans of the NFC and AFC collided last Sunday, it was all too clear who the better team was: Philly.
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ESPN pundit Mike Greenberg was impressed by what he saw from the Eagles in Week 13. Despite trailing the Ravens until the end of the second half, once the Eagles took the lead, the Ravens didn’t stand a chance.
For that performance, and for how the team has played this season, Greenberg called the Eagles not only the top team in the NFL but the best team in football through 13 weeks. Greenberg sure seemed confident in his stance, despite the fact that the Eagles are 10-2 and there are still a couple of one-loss teams remaining this season: The Chiefs and the Detroit Lions.
“I’m ready to sit here and say, watching the rest of the league right this minute, I think they’re [the Eagles] the best team in the NFL.”
The Eagles won 24-19 in a game that was not nearly as close as the scoreboard would have you think. Greeny loved the upset so much that he even raised his hand to admit he was wrong (a rare occurrence) and profess that Philly is, in fact, “100 percent legit.”
“I’m raising my hand to admit, I waited too long to buy into the Eagles. They are 100 percent legit. I have been looking at their schedule, I have been looking at their coach, I have been looking at all the wrong things when I’ve been questioning just how good they are.”
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Fellow analyst Damien Woody picked up the baton from Greenberg, continuing to shower the Eagles with praise. Woody, a former Pro Bowl NFL offensive lineman, believes that Philly’s success this year is due to the talent they have on both the offensive and defensive lines. Anyone who knows anything about football knows that the trenches are where you build a winner.
They have controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball all year. Philly is No. 1 in rushing yards per game in the NFL, at over 188, and they’re second in yards per rush, at 5.1. They haven’t been elite when it comes to protecting the passer, but they haven’t been a liability either.
On defense, they’re allowing the 7th-fewest rush yards per game (104.8) while also recording the 6th-most sacks (36). However, does their strength in the trenches make them better than the Chiefs and Lions, both of whom are 11-1?
The Chiefs have been a paper tiger all year, as they’ve won just two games by more than one-digit score. They will be tough in January, but Greenberg specified that he believes the Eagles are the best team right now.
That’s an important distinction because the Lions are clearly the best and most complete team in the NFL. However, if we’re talking about the best team at this current moment, it’s got to be the Eagles. The way they shut down the Ravens’ high-flying offense while running roughshod over Baltimore’s No. 1 rushing defense—and on the road no less—was very impressive.
Meanwhile, the Lions were lucky to escape with their first Thanksgiving victory in seven seasons. A late-game blunder from Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus (who was fired the next day) and QB Caleb Williams allowed the Lions to take home the victory despite the fact that they were arguably outplayed on the day.
