Eagle Scout: Eagles are suddenly in the NFC race

With their 31-17 victory over the Falcons last Sunday, the Eagles made themselves part of the conversation regarding the top teams in the NFC.

The Titans are 4-2 and in a three-way tie for the AFC South lead with Indianapolis and Houston, the Eagles' Game 8 and Game 12 foes. Tennessee has won two straight and owns victories over two other NFC East teams - the New York Giants and Dallas.

Here is a look at the teams:

Not many NFL teams can say they have a competent quarterback - approximately half seems a fair estimate - but the Eagles can boast two.

When either Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick has finished games he has started, the Eagles are 4-0. They're 0-2 when either has suffered a first-half injury. Vick is still ailing from the rib-cartilage damage he endured three weeks ago and will fill one of two backup roles. So Kolb gets his third straight start.

He's been excellent in his last two, completing 73.3 percent of his passes and compiling a 118.3 passer rating. The key to his success has been having enough time in the pocket to make his reads and throws.

The offensive line, shaky through the early portion of the season, seems to have settled down. The unit has allowed just one sack in two of the last three games. Kolb will be without playmaker DeSean Jackson to throw to, but he has the emerging Jeremy Maclin (a career-high seven catches for 159 yards last week) and the increasingly dependable LeSean McCoy (48 touches the last two weeks) to hand the ball to.

Defensive end Trent Cole leads a defense that has been inconsistent but strung together its best four-quarter effort last week. The unrelenting Cole has a team-high five sacks.

The Eagles' linebackers have been shaky for most of the season, but they turned in their best outing of the year last Sunday. Still, opposing offenses have targeted weak-side linebacker Ernie Sims with misdirection plays and challenged middle linebacker Stewart Bradley to stay with the tight end.

The linebackers also have not been steady run-stoppers, which is one reason the Eagles rank 22d in run defense. There has been some improvement over the last two weeks in that department, but much of the credit goes to defensive tackle Antonio Dixon, who has been an upgrade filling in for the injured Brodrick Bunkley (elbow).

Despite the offensive line's improvement, there is still a lot to worry about, primarily at left tackle. King Dunlap did yeoman's work as a fill-in for Jason Peters against Atlanta, but he had considerable help and could leak like a runny faucet at any moment.

Running back Chris Johnson is as good as they come. He hasn't been as electrifying as he was last season, when he became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards. His yards per carry is down (4.3 from 5.6), but he has still rushed for more than 110 yards in four of six games this year.

Johnson, who averages 23.1 totes a game, runs behind one of the sounder offensive lines. Tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart are stalwarts. The run-heavy Titans average a third-best 27.1 points per game.

Tennessee's defense ranks in the middle of the pack, but it leads the league in sacks with 24 and inside the red zone, allowing just six touchdowns out of 26 possessions inside the 20. The unit is second only to Baltimore on third down, surrendering first downs just 28.9 percent of the time.

Vince Young (ankle/knee) is a game-time decision, but all signs point to the multifaceted quarterback's being ready to start. If he is less than 100 percent, it could limit his mobility.

Young is a more accurate passer (61.4 percent) than he once was, but the Titans can't win on his arm alone. Tennessee's receivers - Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, and Justin Gage - aren't going to instill fear in many secondaries.

The offense has also committed 10 turnovers, seven of them fumbles.