NFL Power Rankings: Washington moves up after a huge primetime win over the Eagles

The Washington Commanders took down the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in their house on Monday Night Football. This was their 4th win in the last five games, and a statement game for a lot of people. They dominated the time of possession, and ground it out with the run game. Their defense also won the turnover battle which was critical to stopping the Eagles offense, and killing their chances at a comeback. Last week the defense held the 8-1 Vikings to their second-lowest score of the season, and they did the same thing to the Eagles this week.

The win obviously moved them up in this week’s rankings, and their average rose by over three spots. They’re peaking at #14 this week, and a bitter Walter Football gave them their lowest ranking at #23. This could get even better next week if they take care of business against the 1-7-1 Texans in Houston. They opened the week as 3 point favorites, but as Ron Rivera said last night, they have not arrived yet.

High: 14

Low: 23

Average: 17.4

#14

Athlon Sports(Fischer)

Riverboat Ron’s trip up to Philly underscored just how tough the NFC East is this season (and likely got the head coach a case or two of the good stuff from the ‘72 Dolphins in the process). One thing is certain: this is Taylor Heinicke’s team and he’s not letting go of it anytime soon. Last Week: 18

#15

The 33rd Team(Domowitch)

Good news: The Commanders, who came into Monday night’s game ranked 26th in the NFL in third-down efficiency, converted 12 of 21 third downs against the Eagles.

Bad news: Their defense has just five sacks in the last four games, including only one against the Eagles. Last Week: 18

Yahoo Sports(Schwab)

A shocking win over the Eagles will help Washington’s chances of making the playoffs in a watered-down NFC. Are you ready for all four NFC East teams to be in the playoffs? It could happen. Last Week: 22

Sporting News(Iyer)

The Commanders shocked everyone by beating the Eagles in Philadelphia to close Week 10, getting them back to .500 on the season with Taylor Heinicke, the running game and defense all providing big sparks. Instead of seeing the door slammed on their playoff hopes, they have a glimmer of wild-card hope. Last Week: 18

The Score

Washington stunned the Eagles to take down the last remaining undefeated team in the league Monday night. The Commanders will look to get above .500 in Week 11 for the first time since Week 1 when they face the Texans. Last Week: 19

#16

Sportsnaut(Johnson)

We have to give the Washington Commanders credit. Despite all of the drama behind the scenes, they are now 5-5 and just a half game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC. Washington handed the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season Monday night, shaking things up in a big way in the process. This squad has won four of five since it looked to be dead in the water. Credit to head coach Ron Rivera. Last Week: 21

ProFootballTalk

Carson Wentz once lost his job based on how he played in Philly. He’s losing it now based on how his backup played there. Last Week: 18

New York Post(Dunleavy)

Last Week: 19

#17

ESPN

Who was on the hot seat in preseason: QB Carson Wentz

Temperature of seat right now: Hot

He’s somewhere between lukewarm and hot but given his past few seasons, and the scrutiny he faces, Wentz’s seat always trends toward hot. He has missed the past four games while on injured reserve. Wentz started off strong, with seven touchdown passes in the first two games, but in the next four games he threw three touchdown passes and the offense scored a combined 47 points. The issues don’t all stem from Wentz — he’s a byproduct of shaky pass protection while also learning a new offense. But his contract is not guaranteed beyond this season, so even though Washington gave up multiple draft picks for him, Wentz will have to play well and show improvement once he returns. — John Keim Last Week: 18

NFL.com(Hanzus)

There won’t be many moments this season as unintentionally funny as Taylor Heinicke celebrating Brandon Graham’s late-hit penalty in the final minutes like he’d just successfully executed the helicopter dive in Super Bowl XXXII. Still, one controversial penalty shouldn’t obscure an incredible prime-time performance by the Commanders, who knocked off the previously undefeated Eagles and put themselves right in the thick of the NFC playoff race. Washington’s ball-control offense was remarkable, possessing the football for over 40 minutes of game time despite averaging just 4.1 yards per play. Huge turnovers made the difference, none bigger than Darrick Forrest’s fumble recovery after a 50-yard gain by receiver Quez Watkins midway through the fourth quarter. The Commanders had a marvelous time ruining everything. Last Week: 25

CBS Sports(Prisco)

At 5-5, they are alive in the playoff chase. That was an impressive road victory Monday night against the Eagles. Last Week: 18

Bleacher Report

The Washington Commanders just might be kind of good. Maybe.

On Monday night, the Commanders did something that no other team has done this season: defeat the Philadelphia Eagles. In Philadelphia, no less.

The way Washington did it is where the “maybe” comes in.

The Commanders piled up 152 rushing yards. But it took 49 carries to get there. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw for 211 yards with an interception and a passer rating of just 66.9.

But while the offense might not have played the cleanest of games, the defense was lights-out. Playing an offense that had been firing on all cylinders, Washington held Philadelphia to just 264 yards. The Commanders forced four turnovers, allowed just 18 first downs and held the Eagles to 94 rushing yards.

With Washington set to visit the one-win Texans and then host the beatable Falcons, there’s a chance it will climb two games above .500. The following game against the Giants in Week 13 could be pivotal.

With real stakes now on the line, Washington has a tricky decision to make. Should it give the reins back to Carson Wentz once he’s healthy or stick with Heinicke? Last Week: 19

Fox Sports(Helman)

Ultimately, it’s the Commanders coaches who will choose who starts between Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz. But having just watched Heinicke take Washington into Philadelphia and take down the unbeaten Eagles, improving his record on the season to 3-1, it doesn’t feel like a difficult choice. This team has had a different energy since Heinicke took over as the signal-caller. Last Week: 22

Fansided(Baxter)

The Commanders looked to bounce back from a tough home loss to the Vikings. They traveled to Philadelphia looking to avoid a fourth straight loss to the Eagles. But Ron Rivera’s club came up with a big effort in all aspects, especially when it came to dominating the Birds’ defense.

Washington had 49 running plays for 152 yards and stifled the NFC East leaders with numerous big plays as Rivera’s team handed the Eagles their first loss of 2022. Last Week: 19

Fansided(Verderame)

Washington is on the edge of the playoff picture, getting an enormous win on Monday night. Last Week: 19

WynnBet(Fann)

There’s just zero chance Ron Rivera can justify turning back to Carson Wentz. This is Taylor Heinicke’s show now. Last Week: 21

#18

The Athletic(Wulf)

How would George Washington feel about his namesake team joyously celebrating a successful surrender?

Credit to the Commanders for fully committing to their run-heavy game plan in the first half of their 32-21 win over the Eagles. They ended up holding the ball for 40:24, the second-most lopsided time of possession in a game this season behind the Bills’ Week 3 loss in Miami. There were also two cosmic winks from the football gods we should have seen coming. It makes total sense in retrospect that star-crossed Carson Wentz would be doomed to watch his backup lead an upset win in his first return trip to face his former team, thereby relegating him to the bench. And it had to be former Eagles seventh-round pick Casey Toohill who stamped the win with a meaningless last-second touchdown and celebratory Griddy. Some things are destined to come full circle. Last Week: 21

The Ringer(Gayle)

The Commanders ranked 29th on this list after the team’s first six games of the season. Starting quarterback Carson Wentz was an unmitigated disaster before undergoing finger surgery, and the team was just 2-4 going into Week 7. Enter everyone’s favorite underdog, Taylor Heinicke, who is 3-1 as the starter since taking over with wins over Green Bay, Indianapolis, and now, Philadelphia. Heinicke was coy in his response to questions about being named the permanent starter with Wentz expected to be cleared to play next week, but the choice for Ron Rivera should be obvious: This is Heinicke’s team, and the Commanders are better because of it. Last Week: 24

USA Today(Davis)

They improved to 3-1 under QB Taylor Heinicke after Monday’s upset of the previously unbeaten Eagles and are just a half-game out of the NFC’s final playoff spot. Washington’s lineup will certainly improve with the return of DE Chase Young, but maybe not so much with QB Carson Wentz. Last Week: 23

Pro Football Network(Miller)

The organization used Brian Robinson’s horrific shooting to side skirt responsibility for their own actions, something the players were frustrated by. Washington’s defense has steadily improved so far throughout the season, but the Washington offense must find something more than their 27th-ranked EPA performance thus far.

Congratulations are in order for the Washington offense against Philadelphia. They didn’t move the ball with much explosiveness aside from Terry McLaurin’s big 41-yard reception. Rather, they simply walked the ball down the field methodically. Time of possession is an overrated statistic, but keeping overall possessions down by running the ball and converting 12 third downs is a nice way to avoid regression against a better football team.

They probably don’t have the requisite QB play to be legitimate contenders in the NFC, but they could fight for the seventh playoff spot in a down NFC. Last Week: 18

NFL Spin Zone(Gurzi)

The Washington Commanders could be for sale and if another owner replaces Dan Snyder, they should fix their awful name. Of course, that’s not as important as correcting the terrible leadership that he’s offered for years but they really dropped the ball with Commanders.

Anyway, back to the field. The Commanders take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday and it will be a huge opportunity for them. Should they win, they would improve to 5-5 and put themselves in the race in the NFC East. Sure, they would still have a lot of ground to cover but knocking off the last undefeated team would give them a ton of confidence. Last Week: 19

NumberFire

Last Week: 24

#19

Oddshark

Last Week: 19

#22

Clutch Points(Johrendt)

Teams like the Commanders are easy to doubt, especially when their seasons have more ups and downs than a roller coaster. But their stunning MNF performance and win over the Eagles shows that this team may have more fight in them than originally thought. Fighting an uphill battle with no real postseason aspirations to be realized, the Commanders were at least able to have some fun and ruin yet another undefeated streak. Last Week: 24

#23

Walter Football

The Redskins had a nice revenge victory over the Eagles, but it’s not like they got Philadelphia at its best. This result will be misleading for ESPN viewers who only look at team records. Last Week: 23

The Lines

The Commanders dominated possession and rushed for 152 yards at 3.1 YPC while converting 12 of 21 first downs in a stunning win at Philadelphia Monday night. At 5-5, Washington is trailing the 49ers by 0.5 games for the final NFC Wild Card spot and the Commanders (-3) are favored in Houston next week. Last Week: 27