For most of this season, the Philadelphia Eagles have been there. They weren’t bad. But they weren’t great either.

The last few weeks could have changed the situation. The Eagles have won their last two games, both away, by a combined score of 65-20. Their opponents were the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals, a bad team and maybe another bad team, but one of the signs of a good team is eliminating bad opponents. For two weeks, the Eagles have been doing this.

The Eagles are suddenly 5-2, and if it hadn’t been for one of the greatest Hail Mary plays of all timethey would hold first place in the NFC East. And the lukewarm start to the season can be explained by injuries. AJ Brown missed three games. The Eagles are 4-0 with him and 1-2 without him. He makes a difference and the Eagles look like a new team with his return. They also had other injuries.

Over the last two games, the defense has looked better, perhaps because it is more comfortable with new coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme, and Jalen Hurts has also been more effective. THE Eagles win 37-17 against the Bengals was under the radar, likely because neither team had lived up to expectations to start the season. In Philadelphia’s case, that could change.

Here are the power rankings for Week 9 of the NFL season: