2023 NFL Power Rankings: Philadelphia Eagles

Fantasy surprise: TE Dallas Goedert

Goedert had just 88 receiving yards and no touchdowns through the first four weeks. He was looking like a bust until he broke out against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, racking up 117 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Working alongside A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, a steady stream of targets can be hard to come by, but Sunday's performance reinforced that Goedert is a playmaker who should be utilized, particularly in the red zone. -- Tim McManus

The Eagles are a delightfully imperfect team at a perfect 5-0 after beating the Rams. It's not always remarkably pretty, at least not by the standard set by the 2022 Eagles, but that's starting to not matter much. You can rue the lack of red-zone execution or whatever issue du jour might come up on any game day if you want. When Nick Sirianni has proven he'll take almost any worthy chance presented to him, it can compensate for a lot. What kind of a team takes the ball 32 seconds before halftime at its own 25-yard line expecting to score -- and then does, on a "Brotherly shove," as the game clock expires? The same team that calls QB draw on third-and-9, fully knowing it will go for it on fourth down if needed. The schedule toughens considerably, though, so the execution can't remain lukewarm forever.

They won a tough road game against the Rams to remain undefeated. The defense came up big in that one as they remain the class of the NFC East.

They're 5-0 in successive seasons for the first time. Next up, the Jets — a team Philadelphia has never lost to in 12 previous meetings. Feels safe to slot the reigning NFC champs at 6-0 and look ahead to their Week 7 date with Miami.

After coming within four points of a Super Bowl, the Eagles added two of the most productive new guys in the offseason. Defensive lineman Jalen Carter, the No. 9 pick, is tied for seventh in the league with 23 QB pressures. D'Andre Swift, acquired in an offseason trade from Detroit, has 361 rushing yards in the last three weeks. Save the arguments about whether the Tush Push is a football play. Dominating the lines of scrimmage is the essence of football, and that's what Philly is doing.

The Eagles and 49ers don't play their NFC Championship Game rematch until Dec. 3, so there's plenty of time for Philly to get a statement win of its own. It remains fair to say the Eagles still aren't playing their best football — and that's still a scary thought, considering they're 5-0 and have won in a variety of different ways. Jalen Hurts looks like he is once again starting to hit his stride. He's flying under the radar, but A.J. Brown is currently on pace to shatter his production from a year ago.

At some point we probably need to ease up on nitpicking the Eagles for a 5-0 start. They're not blowing everyone out but they're also one of two undefeated teams left. They're 2-2-1 against the spread so they haven't been terrible in playing up to expectations in that market. The Eagles might not be the 2007 Patriots, but you'd think they're much worse than 5-0 given some of the rhetoric. They're fine.

They've had a very easy start to the season, even if they've been trying to make it more difficult.

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