13-2 EAGLES GET NO RESPECT! ONLY NO. 7 IN NFL POWER RANKINGS!

By Michael Donovan

Once again the national media is dumping on the Eagles.

To wit, the latest NFL power rankings, according to USA Today:

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	CHANGE	HI/LOW	NOTES
1	New England Patriots	12-3		1 / 12	Ground game has quietly exceeded 190 yards in three of past five games, a nice fallback given Tom Brady has six INTs over same stretch.
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	12-3		1 / 14	Le’Veon Bell is first player in three years to get 400-plus touches in a season. Hopefully plenty left in tank as he seeks long-term deal.
3	Minnesota Vikings	12-3		3 / 19	As long as S Harrison Smith receives deserved recognition as an all-pro, we can slough off his ridiculous exclusion from Pro Bowl.
4	Los Angeles Rams	11-4		4 / 28	If MVPs are defined as players who step up in clutch, then consider Todd Gurley’s 456 total yards, six TDs last two weeks as L.A. clinched division.
5	New Orleans Saints	11-4		5 / 26	Congrats to Drew Brees, who bypassed 70,000 yards Sunday. He’s probably six regular-season games away from overtaking Peyton Manning (71,940).
6	Carolina Panthers	11-4		2 / 20	Is Julius Peppers really 37 years old? With his 11th sack of season Sunday and two fumble recoveries, he dominated Father Time once again.
7	EAGLES	13-2	1	1 / 24	They may have (barely) locked up NFC’s home field Monday night, but Philly hardly looked like a team ready to thrive in January’s elements.
8	Jacksonville Jaguars	10-5	1	7 / 26	Sunday gave us regression from Blake Bortles, a putrid defensive showing and sideline infighting. Maybe they’re not ready to make playoff noise.
9	Baltimore Ravens	9-6	1	9 / 28	S Eric Weddle’s whitened Santa Claus beard was cool, unfortunately he played a little too much like Santa Claus, dropping an easy INT.
10	Kansas City Chiefs	9-6	1	1 / 19	With 450 yards from scrimmage and four TDs in last three games, Kareem Hunt has peeled himself off rookie wall and revitalized surging team.
11	Atlanta Falcons	9-6	2	2 / 14	With one game to go, Matt Ryan has exactly half as many TD passes (19) as he had in 2016 and hasn’t thrown more than two in a game this year.
12	Seattle Seahawks	9-6		3 / 15	Can anyone explain why Earl Thomas suddenly seems so unhappy to be part of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history?
13	Los Angeles Chargers	8-7		11 / 31	Good to see Melvin Gordon finally notch a 1,000-yard season after injuries left him hung on 997 yards in the final weeks of 2016.
14	Tennessee Titans	8-7	3	7 / 23	What happened to their vaunted run game? Losers of four of past six, Tennessee has only hit century mark on ground once in that span.
15	Dallas Cowboys	8-7	1	5 / 24	Another difference between Dak Prescott’s rookie year and 2017 – he had five fourth-quarter comebacks in 2016 but not one this season.
16	Buffalo Bills	8-7		3 / 28	Desperately trying to break playoff hex, they hardly look ready for step up. Buffalo is 2-5 this year against teams still in postseason picture.
17	Detroit Lions	8-7	2	2 / 23	Detroit clearly has significant issues on both sides of ball. But no excuse to lose to a cratering Bengals club with playoffs still in reach.
18	Washington Redskins	7-8	1	6 / 25	They have nearly a dozen starters on injured reserve. Using that prism, case to be made this is Jay Gruden’s finest coaching performance.
19	San Francisco 49ers	5-10	2	19 / 31	As impressive as stats and 4-0 record are, Jimmy Garoppolo’s poise and offensive command in totally new environment should also excite Niner Nation.
20	Oakland Raiders	6-9		3 / 22	Who would have thought two months ago that Oakland might be the Bay Area team with more quarterback questions entering 2018?
21	Green Bay Packers	7-8	3	2 / 26	Brett Hundley is almost Aaron Rodgers on road (8 TD, 3 INT, 97.6 QB rating) and just about DeShone Kizer at Lambeau (0 TD, 7 INT, 50.6 QB rating).
22	Arizona Cardinals	7-8		11 / 29	For a guy who resisted moving to the slot a few years ago, Larry Fitzgerald might start there in our all-time lineup (with Rice, Moss outside).
23	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4-11		8 / 28	On verge of eating his first W in nearly three months, then seeing it slip away, we can understand why Jameis Winston lost his mind Sunday.
24	Miami Dolphins	6-9		11 / 30	No team has run the ball fewer times in 2017 than Miami. Adam Gase must find some balance in 2018 as Ryan Tannehill works his way back.
25	Chicago Bears	5-10	2	19 / 30	Over last three weeks, opponents averaging mere 260 yards against Chicago’s defense – perhaps primary reason this team could roar in 2018.
26	Cincinnati Bengals	6-9	4	19 / 31	After sleepwalking through previous two games, give them credit for providing Marvin Lewis with a victorious send-off in his final home game.
27	Denver Broncos	5-10	2	4 / 30	Nothing summed up this season better than Brock Osweiler screaming on the sideline at teammates who couldn’t have been more disinterested.
28	New York Jets	5-10	2	17 / 32	A team positioned to be a player in free agency in 2018 will add $11 million more in cap space once it’s able to finally fire DL Muhammad Wilkerson.
29	Indianapolis Colts	3-12	1	23 / 30	Though it never really felt like this team had a chance in 2017, Indianapolis almost always played hard and made it interesting. Props, Coach P.
30	Houston Texans	4-11	1	11 / 30	In a season riddled with disappointment, Houston got a feel-good story Monday as cancer survivor David Quessenberry finally got onto field.
31	New York Giants	2-13		10 / 31	The latest scar from this forgettable/unforgettable season – Sunday’s shutout loss at Arizona marked first time franchise has lost 13 games.
32	Cleveland Browns	0-15		27 / 32	When they last drafted No. 1 overall in consecutive years, they picked Tim Couch and Courtney Brown. Let’s hope it turns out better this time.