5 Reasons Why the Philadelphia Eagles Can Win the NFC East

Don't look now, but the Philadelphia Eagles are in first place in the NFC East. 

Granted, that NFC East is an embattled mess where four teams have combined for three wins. But the 1-2-1 Eagles showed some serious signs of life in Week 4, going to San Francisco and picking up a gutty win over the 49ers, improving in some notable areas in the process. 

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens gave the Washington Football Team a lesson in just how far off it really is, and the Dallas Cowboys coughed up 49 points in a loss to the Cleveland Browns. 

Given the circumstances and some of the emerging signs of life from Carson Wentz and the Eagles, here's why it's time to start buying them as the eventual NFC East champion.

At some point, the Eagles' skill-position corps will start getting healthy again.

Against the 49ers on Sunday, Carson Wentz didn't have wideouts DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery or Jalen Reagor on the field. His leading receiver in the 25-20 win was Travis Fulgham, who caught two passes for 57 yards and a score after being called up from the practice squad Saturday. Greg Ward had four catches for 38 yards on a team-high seven targets.

In late September, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Reuben Frank reported Jeffery would return "fairly soon," specifically highlighting the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers as a "realistic goal." Jackson missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, but NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark reported it wasn't "too serious." And Reagor is on IR with a thumb injury, but the Eagles hope to have him back after their Week 9 bye, per Clark.

While the nagging issues could mean all three never see the field together, even getting one or two of them back would be a massive upgrade that opens up both the running game and offense as a whole. 

The Eagles' offensive line has also been ravaged by injuries, as Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard are out for the year and Jason Peters went on IR with a toe injury last week. Lane Johnson also was in and out of Sunday's victory with an ankle injury that's head coach Doug Pederson said is "gonna linger."

Establishing consistency among the available linemen should also result in an uptick of offensive production as the coaching staff adjusts.

At times, Wentz has looked like a mechanical mess. He's been off-target, too, and after needing double-digit games in each of the last three seasons to reach the seven-interception mark, he's needed only four this season to throw seven picks. 

However, Wentz finally started to look like he was settling down in San Francisco, finishing 18-of-28 for 193 yards with one touchdown and interception. It might not sound impressive, but it was enough to put the Eagles atop the laughably bad NFC East for now. 

Wentz has also started to take things into his own hands more. Over the last two weeks, he's rushed for 102 yards and two scores. 

With no preseason and an injury-ravaged receiving corps and offensive line, Wentz's slow start shouldn't come as a surprise. Writing him off now when there are actual quarterback controversies elsewhere in the division (hi, Washington) is premature. 

Doug Pederson took some well-deserved heat after a Week 3 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. 

With a chance to attempt a long, game-winning field goal late in overtime, Pederson opted to punt it instead, essentially playing for the tie. He quickly admitted that was a miscue on his part. 

Pederson was far more aggressive in Week 4. He went for and converted a two-point conversion early in the win that gave his team an 8-0 lead. That played a role later in the game when the differential encouraged the 49ers to go for a two-point try of their own, only to fail. 

And he was just getting started. Pederson called for a pair of fourth-down attempts in the second half, converting both. The latter came in the fourth quarter, and four plays later, Wentz ended up throwing a big touchdown strike that gave the Eagles the lead.

Sometimes it's easy to forget Pederson is the architect of the "Philly Special" from the Eagles' Super Bowl run and one of the more aggressive coaches in the league. He's also dealing with the same personnel issues hurting his quarterback. He'll likely adjust in time as well, which already seems to be happening. 

Entering the season, the Eagles had one of the easiest on-paper schedules of any team in the NFL. And before play started, the Week 2 game against the Los Angeles Rams and the Week 4 trip to San Francisco looked like two of their tougher games on the schedule. 

That isn't to say the Eagles don't have tough games left. They have to play Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New Orleans, Seattle and Green Bay, among others. But five more games against the NFC East and matchups against the likes of Cleveland and Arizona make for a manageable slate. 

Add in a timely Week 9 bye that can serve as a rest and adjustment point, plus closing the season at home against Washington, and the Eagles may be poised to hit their stride at just the right time. 

The NFC East is 3-12-1. But if one team can take advantage of that, it may be the Eagles. 

Washington caught the Eagles off guard in Week 1, but it has since lost three in a row by at least 14 points. Meanwhile, head coach Ron Rivera is already hinting at a possible quarterback controversy.

The New York Giants are one of only a handful of 0-4 teams, and they lost star running back Saquon Barkley for the year because fo a torn ACL. They also have a minus-49 point differential, second to only the New York Jets (minus-66).

Then there are the 1-3 Dallas Cowboys, who spent a ton of money this offseason to retain core players for a Super Bowl push. If not for an epic collapse from the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, they would also be winless. Sunday's 49-38 loss to the Cleveland Browns raised even more concerns about the Dallas defense moving forward, as Dak Prescott's historic production hasn't been enough to overcome it.

The Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks each have more wins than the entire NFC East combined. That doesn't mean the Eagles can hit cruise control and not continue to improve, but they're sitting in first and should keep trending up while the rest of the division looks lost.