The more cynical among us won’t want to admit it. After the Eagles’ 51-23 trouncing of the Denver Broncos, they’re likely fumbling to find a narrative that will obscure the truth our eyes are telling us.

Carson Wentz is too young for this stage. He’s not ready yet to take the step to the next level.

Doug Pederson is too inexperienced. He’ll be outcoached when the team reaches the playoffs.

The schedule is too tough down the stretch. The Cowboys will catch the Eagles and win the division, or the Eagles won’t win enough games to secure homefield advantage in the playoffs.

Even if the Eagles win the NFC, they aren’t as good as the Patriots.

I actually agree with this last contention. At this point in the season, the Eagles aren’t as good as the Patriots. They’re better.

In fact, the Eagles are Super Bowl contenders. They might even be the favorites to win the Lombardi Trophy.

It’s a sentiment that we all need to stop fighting and start embracing. I know such optimism is anathema in this town, but it’s time to shed the pessimism we wear as a protective shield and come to terms with reality.

Sure, there are going to be speed bumps and moments of doubt. Maybe the Eagles will lose in Dallas after the bye week, or suffer a frustrating loss at home against the rebuilding Chicago Bears. Perhaps the two-game West Coast swing will get the better of the Birds, arming the doubters with the ammunition they need to reinforce their tired negativity.

Don’t buy it. This team is for real.

My moment of clarity happened before kickoff. I was watching the ESPN pregame show, and word had just filtered into the studio that Zach Ertz would be inactive.

Samantha Ponder tossed it over to Louis Riddick, an Eagles’ front office alumnus and one of the better analysts on the network. Riddick noted the impact of Ertz’s absence, and declared the matchup a toss-up as a result.

It was a fair observation. It couldn’t have been more shortsighted.

Didn’t Riddick know the Eagles have Trey Burton and Brent Celek on the roster? Although Burton has been buried on the Eagles’ depth chart for most of his professional career, the reserve tight end has demonstrated his athletic ability in his limited opportunities. As for Celek, he has a lengthy resume. He was the go-to option for years before Ertz arrived and supplanted him. Ertz’s limited (nonexistent?) blocking skills have also forced Celek into more of a blocking tight end role.

Sure enough, the Eagles did not miss a beat. Burton and Celek combined for 5 catches, 80 yards, and a touchdown.

The Birds’ depth has been the story of their season thus far. Earlier in the year, they overcame the multi-game absence of defensive line linchpin Fletcher Cox. The secondary has been humming along while primary corner Ronald Darby recovers from a dislocated ankle and promising draft pick Sidney Jones continues to mend his Achilles injury. When future Hall of Fame tackle Jason Peters was lost for the season with a torn ACL and MCL, Halapoulivaati Vaitai stepped in and has held his own managing the most important responsibility on the offensive line: protecting Wentz’s blind side. Mychal Kendricks’ renaissance has softened the blow incurred by the season-ending injury of middle linebacker Jordan Hicks.

The “next man up” phrase that is so ubiquitous in the sports vernacular has risen to the level of cliché because it’s essential to an organization’s welfare. Players get hurt. You can’t always depend on the franchise stars to be available. The back-ups and role players need to be able to deliver when their number is called.

Thus far, the Eagles have thrived because the contributions have come from everywhere. Take another look at Jay Ajayi’s 46-yard touchdown scamper at the end of the first half:

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/927258654826311680

Ajayi will get his name in the paper, but the cavalcade of blockers who cleared the path toward the end zone deserve the lion’s share of the credit. The oft-criticized Jason Kelce demonstrated once again why he is one of the best pulling centers in the NFL, while Brandon Brooks and Stefen Wisniewski sealed off defenders who potentially stood in Ajayi’s way. This tweet from Bill Barnwell tells the whole story:

https://twitter.com/billbarnwell/status/927260029174067200

As a team, the Eagles rushed for nearly 200 yards on one of the NFL’s best defenses. The line imposed its will on the vaunted Broncos front seven. Aside from a strip sack of Foles, which was conceded by reserve lineman Isaac Seumalo and resulted in a touchdown, the Denver defense looked toothless.

I know Dallas’ offensive line draws a lot of praise in national media circles, and deservedly so, but make no mistake: the best offensive line in football plays in Philadelphia.

Are there question marks? Of course. For one, we should all be concerned about the Eagles’ guard-heavy depth along the offensive line. If Vaitai or Johnson is injured, the team’s fortunes could reverse in a hurry. The situation at linebacker is also worrisome. Kendricks’ injury history clouds the Eagles’ prospects at the position, although an extended absence from anyone in the linebacking corps would be debilitating.

But these are issues to ponder on another day. Right now, the Eagles are executing in all three phases. They have a bona fide MVP candidate piloting the offense; five running backs who can produce; a receiving corps that features the resurgent Nelson Agholor and the emerging Alshon Jeffery; a tight end group that might be the deepest in the league; the aforementioned elite offensive line; a defense that consistently stops the run and is powered by a ferocious pass rush; a rookie kicker who has made the most 50+ yard field goals in franchise history (including that incredible game-winning 61-yarder that put the nail in the coffin on the Giants’ season); and a special teams unit that rests in the capable hands of coordinator Dave Fipp.

So, while it’s admittedly silly to crown Philadelphia the Super Bowl champs nine weeks into the season, it’s not too early to stock up on Eagles-themed winter gear.

I hear it gets cold in Minneapolis in early February.