Philadelphia Eagles

After another huge game against a division rival, Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts is now the betting favorite to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award.

DraftKings lists Hurts at minus-115 to win the award ($115 bet to win $100), putting him ahead of Patrick Mahomes.

• Jalen Hurts (-115)
• Patrick Mahomes (+150)
• Joe Burrow (+750)
• Tua Tagovailoa (+2000)
• Josh Allen (+2000)

Peter King of NBC Sports has a similar list on his MVP watch:

1. Jalen Hurts
2. Patrick Mahomes
3. Joe Burrow
4. Josh Allen
5. Justin Jefferson

Hurts threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another during the Eagles' 48-22 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, helping the team improve to 12-1 on the season. Philadelphia now has the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL, while Hurts personally has 22 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and just three interceptions.

With his numbers on the best team in football, it's hard to justify anyone else for MVP at this stage.

Mahomes still has a chance to overtake him late in the season after helping the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos to get to 10-3 on the year. The quarterback leads the NFL with 4,160 passing yards and 33 touchdowns despite losing top receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason.

On the other hand, Mahomes threw three interceptions on Sunday and has 11 picks on the year. He also struggled to generate much offense in last week's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The are four weeks left in the regular season for Mahomes or someone like Joe Burrow to take over as the MVP favorite, but Hurts is the clear top option through Week 14.

It wasn't a stretch entering Week 14 to call the Philadelphia Eagles the best team in the NFC East. Or the best team in the NFC. Or the best team in the NFL. After all, the Eagles opened the season with eight straight wins—the best start in franchise history. At 11-1 heading into this week's matchup with the New York Giants, the Eagles were in the driver's seat for the top seed in the NFC.

However, in recent weeks, whispers of doubt started to creep around the Eagles. There was the double-digit loss to Washington in Week 10. A listless comeback win over a bad Colts team the following the week. A win over the Packers the week after that in which Philly allowed 33 points. Maybe the Eagles were mortal, after all.

Then again, maybe not.

Sunday's blowout victory over the G-Men marked the second successive week in which the Eagles trounced a team with a winning record. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense did whatever they pleased. The Philadelphia defense shut the Giants down until the game was out of hand.

And as the Eagles head into the final month of the regular season, the NFC is their conference. Everyone else is just living in it.

Earlier this week, Bleacher Report's own Brad Gagnon wrote that these next few weeks are critical for the Eagles. It is a chance to make a statement that the NFC East belongs to them—or squander their lead in the division.

"Philly was outplayed in back-to-back ugly performances against the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts in November," Gagnon wrote. "It has rebounded in the win column but is about to launch a three-game road trip that includes matchups with the tough New York Giants and tougher Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles could blow their two-game lead in the NFC East, especially if they lose in Dallas on Christmas Eve."

Maybe the Eagles read Gagnon's column, because they spent most of Sunday's game demonstrating quite clearly how not wide open their division is.

The engine that has been driving the Eagles all season long is quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is one of the leading candidates to be named the NFL's MVP. As Zach Berman wrote for The Athletic, after coaching Hurts collegiately at Alabama, Giants head coach Brian Daboll said he fully expected to have his hands full with the third-year signal-caller.

"I think one word that defines Jalen is 'consistency,'" Daboll said. "He's always hungry. He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around, and he was young at that particular time. But he had leadership. He had toughness. He was all day football. He knew how to relate to everyone in his unit. I would just say the mental toughness that he has—and his ability just to focus on the next thing, not worry about what happened last game, the last play—comes from a football family. And he really means a lot to me."

Hurts didn't disappoint.

As has been the case so many times this season, Hurts did just about whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. On the ground, he picked up 77 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Through the air, he threw for 217 yards and two scores on 21-of-31 passing with a passer rating of 109.2.

Not bad for a quarterback who supposedly can't throw the ball. And after another stellar effort, Hurts told reporters he hasn't forgotten the skeptics who doubted his viability as a passer.

"I carry my scars everywhere I go. I don't forget," Hurts said.

It's a continuation of a tear that Hurts has been on dating back to the game against Green Bay.

Jalen Hurts in the last three games:

1007 total yards
9 TDs, 0 turnovers pic.twitter.com/EWUunroDrG

— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) December 11, 2022

As great as Hurts has been, he has benefited from all the talent around him. Leading into Sunday's game, Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale admitted to reporters that his team would be hard-pressed to slow down wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has been outstanding since joining the Eagles in a trade during the 2022 draft.

"He is a…it's like they got T.O. [Terrell Owens] back there playing again," Martindale said. "He is a problem. We went against him when he was with Tennessee. He is a big, physical receiver, that you have to fight every play. I told [Giants defensive backs coach] Jerome Henderson if he was a defensive player, he'd be an outside 'backer. That's how physical he plays at wide receiver."

Sure enough, Brown caught four passes for 70 yards and a score, becoming the first Eagles wideout since Jeremy Maclin in 2014 to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. DeVonta Smith added five receptions for 64 yards and a score. Running back Miles Sanders exploded for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, becoming the first Eagles running back since that same 2014 season to surpass 1,000 yards.

It's not just a matter of an offense full of firepower and an MVP-caliber quarterback. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus ranks the Eagles' offensive line as the best in the NFL. The Eagles defense is allowing less than 300 yards per game and just 19.1 points per contest. The team leads the league in takeaways, sacks and turnover differential, too.

The Eagles are loaded. There are no glaring weaknesses—something that cannot be said about many of the NFC's other contenders.

The Dallas Cowboys are essentially "Eagles Lite." Dallas is a good team (Sunday's ugly win over the hapless Texans notwithstanding), but its offense isn't as explosive nor its defense as stifling as Philly's. After losing to the Lions in Detroit, the Minnesota Vikings (who the Eagles pummeled in Week 2) have allowed 400-plus yards in five straight games. The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Buccaneers on Sunday, but the Niners are still on their third-string quarterback and lost top wideout Deebo Samuel on Sunday.

The Seahawks, Giants and Commanders are all nice stories, but the odds of any of those teams going into Philly and winning a playoff game are slim to none.

Does this mean Eagles fans should start pricing airfare to Arizona in February? No, that's not how the NFL works. All it takes is one bad game, one injury to a key player to derail a season.

But what it does mean is that 14 weeks into the 2022 NFL season, the Eagles are head and shoulders better than any other team in the NFC. Maybe in the NFL. We can try all day to poke holes in their seemingly impenetrable armor, but after watching them steamroll the Giants, a compelling case can be made that the only team with a real shot of preventing the Eagles from representing the NFC in Super Bowl LVII is the Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown insisted he wasn't trolling former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson, even though it wasn't a stretch to make that connection.

Brown, who scored two touchdowns in Sunday's win over his former team, tweeted a link to a shirt on his website and captioned it "Swole Batman AKA The Terminator."

The terminator part drew attention since the Titans announced Tuesday that they fired Robinson shortly after the loss to Brown's Eagles. However, the wide receiver explained he was not making fun of the situation and provided more context:

"I will never kick another man while he’s down," Brown said in a now-deleted tweet. "The shirts was made few days ago. My eye has been red for two weeks now. That’s not who I am."

The Titans' firing of Robinson was something of a surprise. He just signed a contract extension in February, and Tennessee is in first place in the AFC South at 7-5.

Considering the 4-8-1 Indianapolis Colts are in second place in the division, it is basically a foregone conclusion that the Titans will host a home playoff game.

Albert Breer of The MMQB reported some people inside the building with the Titans were "floored" by the decision, although NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted the team's "brass wasn't happy with the direction of the roster" and "decided to make a change."

There were hits and misses throughout Robinson's tenure, which is often the case for general managers. However, the timing of the firing was impossible to ignore given how dominant Brown was during Sunday's win. He had eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns even though the Eagles pulled their starters early in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee traded Brown this offseason for the Nos. 18 and 101 overall picks in the 2022 NFL draft.

"I just didn't appreciate how it all went down, and they just kind of blamed me for it," Brown told Pelissero in August (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com). "I'm man enough to say that, however people may take it. But I have no bad blood with Tennessee. I'm moving forward."

It seems as if Brown has had the last laugh since the Eagles are 11-1 and he has 61 catches for 950 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games. But he made it clear he wasn't the one doing the laughing at Robinson on Tuesday.

Philadelphia Eagles veteran edge-rusher Robert Quinn is heading to injured reserve and will undergo a knee scope this week, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Quinn reportedly twisted his knee during practice last week and now is set to miss a minimum of four games.

It's a tough point in the schedule to lose Quinn, with matchups against the New York Giants (twice), Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints remaining this season. Those three NFC East showdowns in particular will be important as the Eagles (11-1) look to claim a division crown and the top overall seed in the playoffs.

It's also another blow to the team's pass-rushing depth after Derek Barnett was lost for the season in Week 1 due to an ACL tear.

Quinn, 32, was traded for midseason to help alleviate that loss, though in five games with the Eagles he's only managed two tackles, two quarterback hits and no sacks. He also had just one sack in seven games with the Chicago Bears this season.

He hasn't resembled the player who had 18.5 sacks in 2021.

The Eagles should still be able to generate a pass rush without him, with players like Haason Reddick (nine sacks), Javon Hargrave (eight sacks), Josh Sweat (6.5 sacks), Brandon Graham (5.5 sacks) and Fletcher Cox (five sacks) all healthy. But they do get thin at defensive end pretty quickly after Sweat and Graham, with Reddick playing more of a hybrid role.

That could mean a free-agent pickup at the position, though at this point of the season the pickings may be slim.

The defense in general has had to battle through injuries this season, with rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis returning this past week after a stint on the sidelines and defensive backs Avonte Maddox and C.J. Gardner-Johnson currently injured.

That hasn't slowed the defense down, however, a unit holding opponents to just 296.4 yards per game, second in the NFL. The Eagles are also eighth in points allowed per game (18.8), first in takeaways (23) and second in sacks (42).

Much of the praise surrounding the Eagles has been about a dangerous offense, led by star quarterback Jalen Hurts. But the defense is balling out too, and the loss of Quinn—while not ideal—isn't going to slow that unit down.

There are still five weeks left in the NFL regular season, but three teams have a chance to clinch a playoff berth in their next game.

The Minnesota Vikings can clinch the NFC North with a win or tie against the Detroit Lions. The Kansas City Chiefs can wrap up the AFC West with a win and a Los Angeles Chargers loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Philadelphia Eagles can clinch a playoff berth with a win or with losses by the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks:

Official @NFL Week 14 playoff scenarios: https://t.co/Gw4aHCNDJ9 pic.twitter.com/Ou1Mn15GhH

— NFL345 (@NFL345) December 6, 2022

No teams have clinched a postseason berth at this point. The Houston Texans and Chicago Bears are the only teams that have been eliminated from contention.

The Eagles have been the best team in the NFL all season, but they still have heat in the division race with the Dallas Cowboys sitting at 9-3. The NFC East rivals will play at AT&T Stadium on Christmas Eve in a game that could decide the No. 1 seed.

Philadelphia has made the postseason four times in the past five years. It hasn't won a playoff game since Jan. 16, 2019.

Even though they don't do it in dominant fashion, the Vikings keep winning games. Their plus-10 point differential through 12 games is the worst in NFL history by a team that started 10-2.

The Vikings' two losses were against the Eagles and Cowboys by a combined 54 points. They have a stiff test on Sunday against a Lions team that has won four of their last five games and has scored at least 25 points in four straight games.

Minnesota hasn't won the NFC North since 2017 when it advanced to the NFC Championship Game.

The Chiefs will play the Denver Broncos on Sunday. This is the first meeting of the season between these two teams. Kansas City has won 13 consecutive games against the Broncos dating back to 2015.

Coming into this season, there were some doubts about the Chiefs' ability to keep playing at the same level they had been at the previous four years with Tyreek Hill traded to the Miami Dolphins.

The rest of the division looked like it got better with players like Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders), Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos), J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack (Los Angeles Chargers) joining the AFC West.

Instead, the Chiefs have looked the same with the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes is arguably the MVP front-runner with a league-leading 3,808 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.

Kansas City owns the NFL's longest streak with six consecutive division titles. It will take a historic collapse over the final five weeks for that streak to end.

The NFC South was under the spotlight during Monday Night Football, which wasn't exactly ideal for NFL fans.

After all, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered play with a 5-6 record and would remain in first place with a win or a loss against the Saints. Tampa Bay ended up winning 17-16 in dramatic fashion with two Tom Brady touchdown passes in the last three minutes, but that mere fact underscores just how poorly the entire division has played this year.

By comparison, every team in the NFC East is above .500 and in position to challenge for the playoffs.

Here is a look at the standings and tiebreaker scenarios following the Buccaneers' win:

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NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles, 11-1

2. Minnesota Vikings, 10-2

3. San Francisco 49ers, 8-4

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-6

5. Dallas Cowboys, 9-3

6. New York Giants, 7-4-1

7. Seattle Seahawks, 7-5

8. Washington Commanders, 7-5-1

9. Detroit Lions, 5-7

10. Atlanta Falcons, 5-8 (wins tiebreaker over GB because of strength of victory)

11. Green Bay Packers, 5-8

12. Arizona Cardinals, 4-8 (wins tiebreaker over CAR because of head-to-head victory)

13. Carolina Panthers, 4-8

14. New Orleans Saints, 4-9

15. Los Angeles Rams, 3-9

16. Chicago Bears, 3-10 (eliminated)

---

AFC

1. Buffalo Bills, 9-3 (wins tiebreaker over KC because of head-to-head victory)

2. Kansas City Chiefs, 9-3

3. Baltimore Ravens, 8-4 (wins tiebreaker over CIN because of head-to-head victory)

4. Tennessee Titans, 7-5

5. Cincinnati Bengals, 8-4 (wins tiebreaker over MIA because of head-to-head victory)

6. Miami Dolphins, 8-4

7. New York Jets, 7-5

8. New England Patriots, 6-6 (wins tiebreaker over LAC because of win percentage against AFC)

9. Los Angeles Chargers, 6-6

10. Las Vegas Raiders, 5-7 (wins tiebreaker over CLE because of win percentage against AFC)

11. Cleveland Browns, 5-7 (wins tiebreaker over PIT because of head-to-head victory)

12. Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-7

13. Indianapolis Colts, 4-8-1

14. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-8

15. Denver Broncos, 3-9

16. Houston Texans, 1-10-1 (eliminated)

---

There are a handful of matchups to watch in Week 14, starting with the AFC East showdown between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

While Buffalo is in first place in the division and conference following three straight wins, the Jets got the better of Josh Allen and Co. during their Week 9 matchup in New York and are hanging on to a playoff spot heading into the rematch.

Things may go differently this time, as it is in Buffalo, and the Bills are playing with plenty of momentum. Mike White figures to be the quarterback for the Jets as well instead of the since-benched Zach Wilson.

Elsewhere in the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins will travel to face the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with plenty of playoff implications.

Miami is still within striking distance of a Buffalo team it already defeated once and plays again in Week 15, but it is also just two games ahead of the Chargers in the race for a wild-card spot. A loss to the Chargers would mean the Dolphins would hit the road to face the Bills with two consecutive defeats and suddenly in danger of falling out of playoff position.

They finish with division matchups against the New England Patriots and Jets, so any cushion they can build will help before the stretch run.

This is also a showdown between Tua Tagovailoa, who was the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft, and Justin Herbert, who was the No. 6 overall pick of that draft. Herbert is an established star, but Tagovailoa is playing the best football of his career and could make some noise in the playoffs with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

His former teammate at Alabama, Jalen Hurts, will also be in a featured game in Week 14 when the Philadelphia Eagles hit the road to face the New York Giants.

Philadelphia has the inside track on the No. 1 seed and the first-round bye in the NFC, while the Giants are trending in the wrong direction with a 1-3-1 record in the last five games. With the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders right behind them in the standings, they cannot afford to drop many more if they are going to get a wild-card spot.

Unfortunately for Daniel Jones and Co., that is much easier said than done against the dominant Eagles.

A.J. Brown got his revenge against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday as the wide receiver led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 35-10 Week 13 victory.

The Titans traded Brown to the Eagles in April, but they certainly missed him in this one as he tallied eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

The 2020 Pro Bowler helped put the game away early in the second half with an impressive touchdown catch:

A.J. BROWN. 😤

(via @nfl)pic.twitter.com/a49iywvpEf

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 4, 2022

Fans knew what the game meant to the 25-year-old facing the team that drafted him:

AJ BROWN WITH ANOTHER BIG TIME CATCH!!! The Titans gotta be sick letting this man go.

— Darnell Smith (@Darnell_Smith95) December 4, 2022

Methinks AJ Brown is showing his old team they should have paid him. #Titans

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 4, 2022

The AJ Brown revenge game is 🔥

— Adam Lefkoe (@AdamLefkoe) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown been thinking about this one for a while.

— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown cheat code revenge game.

— Joe Osborne (@JTFOz) December 4, 2022

Hey Titans? Wish you still had this guy? That was an INSANE catch by AJ Brown for a TD. Defender was on him like glue!

— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown so far today…. pic.twitter.com/F2UAmxY2u8

— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 4, 2022

The Titans couldn't pay and can't cover AJ Brown. #TENvsPHI

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 4, 2022

Those watching the game continue to heap praise on the wideout, who also had a long touchdown in the first half.

1st one incomplete...No problem. #ProBowlVote @1kalwaysopen_ #TENvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3xk1oK8JXF

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 4, 2022

Both scores showed off his incredible skill set:

Just throw it to AJ Brown on every single play. They can't cover him.

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is a perpetual problem out here.

— Jay Scott Smith (@JayScottSmith) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown on that TD pic.twitter.com/NTQY96BRlW

— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is a bully. That’s big boy football.

— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) December 4, 2022

Aj Brown abusing these boys

— Walk (@BWalk28) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is RIDICULOUS. Was not open. Didn't matter. Jalen Hurts gave him a chance. And he turned it into a touchdown.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is ridiculous. Especially against his former team. And quite a perfect throw by Jalen Hurts. Eagles headed for 11-1.

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is unreal. You can't cover him--and even if you do, you'll still lose. Not from this world. #FlyEaglesFly

— Ducis Rodgers (@duciswild) December 4, 2022

AJ Brown is absolutely terrifying.

— Travis Yost (@travisyost) December 4, 2022

Jalen Hurts had an impressive game himself, throwing three touchdowns to go with one rushing score. Brown was still the story of the day as he showed the Titans exactly what they were missing.

It helped the Eagles improve to 11-1 on the season, while Tennessee is 7-5 after a second straight loss.

The Titans could still be happy with the trade after landing receiver Treylon Burks in the first round of the draft. The rookie left with an injury, but not before scoring his first career touchdown with an incredible effort.

Holding on through the hit 💪 @TreylonBurks

📺: Watch #TENvsPHI on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/YDGMgUYx93

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 4, 2022

Holy Crap. Titans WR Treylon Burks just made an INSANE catch in the end zone and got totally crushed by two Eagles defenders, which drew a flag.

He's down in the end zone getting medical attention.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 4, 2022

That's quite a catch by Treylon Burks. He went up and grabbed that pass, got rocked but somehow held on. He's down on the field now. That's a big time play!

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 4, 2022

Incredible touchdown catch by Treylon Burks. But he's down. Took a massive shot from the Eagles DB helping in the end zone.

— Ben Arthur 🇬🇭 (@benyarthur) December 4, 2022

Just an incredible catch in the end zone by rookie Treylon Burks. He knew contact was coming, and Burks still came down with the completion. Marcus Epps with the big tackle. Epps is penalized for unnecessary roughness.

— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 4, 2022

Unbelievable catch by Treylon Burks for the #Titans TD

Hope he’s alright after ejection worthy hit from Epps

— RC Maxfield (@RCMB323) December 4, 2022

The Eagles are still happy with Brown, but the deal could end up becoming a win-win for the two organizations.

It's hard to find fault with anything the Philadelphia Eagles have done amid building a 10-1 record this season, but at least one executive from an NFC team has questions about their ability to maximize A.J. Brown with their current quarterback.

Speaking to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the anonymous executive questioned Jalen Hurts as a franchise quarterback who is capable of taking advantage of everything Brown can do.

"I don't really believe in Jalen Hurts like some others do—are you getting a full return on Brown considering the quarterback they have?" the NFC executive said. "That's a legitimate question."

There's no arguing the addition of Brown has opened up elements of the passing game that were missing for Hurts in 2021. The fourth-year wide receiver leads the team 831 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Hurts has made huge strides as a quarterback from 2021 to 2022. He has increased his completion percentage by six points (61.3 to 67.3), rating by more than 18 points (87.2 to 105.6) and QBR by almost 20 points (48.5 to 68.2). His 17 touchdown passes in 11 games are one more than he had in 15 starts last season.

There has been a shift in how Hurts is succeeding recently. He's only thrown for 343 yards in the past two games, but has made up for it with 243 yards on 33 carries. His 157 yards on the ground against the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 were the most by a quarterback in Eagles history.

Hurts only had 26 rushing attempts in the previous four games before Week 11. The 24-year-old may never be regarded as one of the best pocket passers in the NFL, but the results this season have inspired confidence he can be a high-level starter for a long time.

Having a true No. 1 receiver like Brown has elevated Hurts' game. Not every elite wideout gets the opportunity to play with an elite quarterback, but if the pieces fit to make the team successful, no one is going to bat an eye.