Sometimes labels can be deceiving or fail to tell the full story.
The 2020 Eagles deserve to be labeled a poor team.
When the offense plays well, the defense falters. When the defense comes to play, the offense loses a game. The head coach is trying to find his way. The defensive coordinator's plan has been badly exposed in two games already. The depth chart is running out of practice squad miracles. There's too many injuries to count. The quarterback is one of the lowest rated passers in the NFL.
But here's what else the Eagles are right now, and any other characterization is cowardly: The 2020 NFC East favorites.
That reality set in a little before 7 p.m. during Sunday's slate of games when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a horrific ankle injury. Prescott is done for the season, and perhaps forever in Dallas. The best quarterback in the division, on pace for historic passing totals, is gone.
The sting of watching Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger go 13-for-13 on third down vs. the Eagles isn't washed away with the reality of this division, but it's impossible to ignore the truth of the 2020 NFC East.
Dallas still has loads of talent, and a competent veteran backup in Andy Dalton. We saw what the former Bengals signal caller did by leading the Cowboys to a comeback win vs. the Giants. But this is also the same player benched last year in Cincinnati and without a winning record as a starter since 2015. There's a reason quarterback-needy teams like the Colts, Bears and Patriots didn't pursue Dalton as a potential starter during the offseason. He's not that guy any longer.
The Giants fought in Dallas, and nearly stole a road game as an underdog for the second straight week. But second-year quarterback Daniel Jones is a turnover machine and the defense has barely a handful of players you've ever heard of. The 0-5 Giants are done, even in a division currently led by Dalton.
Washington (smartly) benched Dwayne Haskins only to watch its offense barely crack 100 total yards with Kyle Allen and Alex Smith. Ron Rivera is a good coach, but this roster is among the NFL's worst. You can't win in the NFL without a functioning offense, and Washington currently doesn't have anything close to a functioning unit on that side of the ball.
We'll spend all week (understandably) ripping Jim Schwartz, wondering why Nate Gerry is on the roster and questioning Doug Pederson's decision to kick a 57-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Frustration isn't likely going away with the reigning NFL MVP on tap in Week 6.
Yet, the big picture is there, staring us all back in the face.
The Eagles (once again) have the best quarterback in the division. Carson Wentz had his most impressive game of the season on Sunday, making solid throw after solid throw vs. a top-five defense. There's no reason for Wentz to be outplayed by Dalton, Jones or whatever Washington puts out there the rest of the season. Wentz doesn't have to be a top-15 quarterback to win a second consecutive division title. He just needs to be available and make the throws in Pederson's offense.
The depth on this team is better than we thought, led by a young offensive line that's holding its own and another wide receiver emerging into must-play status. I don't know how good Travis Fulgham will be, but I do know that a young wide receiver group of Fulgham-Greg Ward-Jalen Reagor-John Hightower is what I want to see the rest of the way.
I'm not going to say good things about the defense right now, but few teams have Ben Roethlisberger and that many pass-catching weapons. The defense will fix its issues, just like it did after Sean McVay and Jared Goff torched it in Week 2. There's too much defensive line talent here for what we saw on Sunday to snowball all season.
Are the Eagles huge home dogs next week? Yes. Is a 1-4-1 record likely? Probably. But with Prescott out and bad teams residing in New York and Washington, it doesn't really matter. The Eagles have no excuse not to find their way into five or six more wins and the 2020 NFC East crown.
