NFL power rankings roundup: Jalen Hurts’ Week 2 heroics give Eagles a boost heading into Monday Night Football

Turf temperatures in Nashville reached 157 degrees on Sunday, but the Eagles offense still took some time to heat up in a 24-20 win over the Titans in Week 2.

Regardless of the offense’s inevitable growing pains under Sean Mannion, and despite throwing two interceptions on Sunday, Jalen Hurts again was the hero the Eagles needed.

Even after eking out a win for the second week in a row, the Eagles have begun to rise in national media NFL rankings. Here’s where the Eagles stand in several power rankings ahead of Week 3:

ESPN: Sixth

ESPN has the Eagles in the same spot as last week, in sixth, with the opinion that Hurts “is carrying this team.”

While their expectation was that Hurts and the passing offense would need time to adjust to Mannion’s scheme, Tim McManus writes that the opposite has proven to be true. Instead, it’s the running game and offensive line that have struggled, while the defense hasn’t been as dominant as expected. But Hurts remains reliable.

“Hurts led the team to a Week 1 win with three touchdowns and another victory Sunday via a go-ahead touchdown drive in the closing seconds,” McManus wrote. “He is tied for second in touchdown passes (five) and ahead of schedule in this new scheme.”

Bleacher Report: Fifth

Bleacher Report has the Eagles fifth — their highest ranking among national outlets — after slotting in at seventh ahead of Week 2. The Eagles’ ability to find a way to win and the emergence of DeVonta Smith as their top receiver played a role in why Brent Sobleski placed the Birds in B/R’s top five.

“When Jalen Hurts needed a play, the quarterback looked toward Smith,” Sobleski said. “The wide receiver delivered with four receptions during Philadelphia’s final offensive possession. Smith’s performance became even more important after Saquon Barkley was limited during the contest due a shoulder stinger.”

The Athletic: Ninth

The Eagles also saw slight movement with their ranking from Josh Kendall and Chad Graff at The Athletic, moving up from 11th to ninth with a “spotlight” on rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon for his play across the first two weeks.

“The first-round wide receiver has played 83 snaps through two games and has five touches for a total of 4 yards,” Kendall and Graff wrote. “If this team wasn’t eking out wins, Philly fans would be all over Lemon.”

Sports Illustrated: Ninth

After ranking 12th last week, the Birds moved up to ninth in Conor Orr’s Week 3 ranking.

Orr gave Hurts credit for proving many pundits, including Orr, wrong with the way he led the Eagles with a nine-play, 65-yard, game-winning touchdown drive.

“Hurts showed incredible resilience and a command of the field in the waning seconds of Sunday’s gritty win over the Titans,” Orr wrote. “It was nowhere near pretty, but after losing Saquon Barkley to a stinger in the opening moments of the game, it was important to avoid a perilous loss against an inferior opponent.”

NFL.com: 10th

The Eagles cracked the top 10 at NFL.com after moving up one spot from last week. Nick Shook wrote that even when the Titans gave the Eagles “everything they could handle,” Philly’s “championship culture” helped them survive the scare.

“Outside of a couple of interceptions (one ugly, the other unfortunate), Jalen Hurts was excellent as a playmaker, propelling an offense that needed him and DeVonta Smith to carry the squad to a road win,” Shook said.