By Eliot Shorr-Parks | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

At 5-1, the Eagles are without question the best team in the NFC East, and very well might be the best team in the entire conference.

That doesn't, however, mean they are a finished product.

With seven days until their next game, here is a look at what this Eagles' team has been elite at so far -- and what they need to work on.

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Jeremy Brevard | AP PHOTO

THINGS AT WHICH THEY ARE ELITE

The Eagles have won five of their six games for a reason. Here is why they are elite at, and should be able to do against almost any team.

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CLOCK MANAGEMENT

The Eagles' best trait, and the one that will help them secure the division title, is their ability to control the clock.

The Eagles are currently first in the NFL in time of possession this season, holding the ball an average of 34 minutes and 22 seconds each game. They are holding the ball, on average, a full minute more than the team in second place, the Kansas City Chiefs.

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The one minute, 19 second difference between the Eagles and the second place team, the Chiefs, is the largest difference between any two teams in the NFL.

The team's ability to hold onto the ball has been crucial, as they were able to put their win against the Los Angeles Chargers away with clock-and-game killing six-minute, 44-second drive at the end of the game.

Even against the Carolina Panthers, the Eagles only lost the time of possession battle by two minutes and 52 seconds, despite the fact the Panthers ran 19 more plays.

Going forward, the Eagles' ability to hold onto the ball is going to be huge as they try to put away games against the playoff-caliber opponents they will face down the stretch.

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EAGLES 2018 NFL MOCK DRAFT

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TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

The Eagles have done a magnificent job of taking care of the ball, committing only seven turnovers in six games.

Wentz, who has already attempted 207 passes, has thrown only three interceptions, and two of those were the result of the ball being tipped at the line of scrimmage -- meaning only one of the other 205 passes were thrown into harm's way.

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Their running backs have been equally good taking care of the ball, as LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement have fumbled the ball exactly zero times in 124 carries this season.

The Eagles' ability to take care of the ball was huge against the Carolina Panthers, as a game that was otherwise very even was ultimately decided by Panthers turning the ball over three times, and the Eagles' turning it over just once.

Overall, the Eagles are +4 in the turnover department, tied for fifth in the NFL.

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FORCING TURNOVERS

The Eagles' turnover differential isn't just the result of the offense taking care of the ball -- the defense has done an excellent job forcing turnovers as well.

In six games this season the Eagles' defense has forced 11 turnovers, an average of nearly two turnovers per game.

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If you include the 12 turnovers this team forced in the preseason, the Eagles have taken the ball away from the opposing offense 33 times in 10 games -- a sign that this team has the mentality and ability to consistently take away the ball.

What has been most surprising about the Eagles' ability to create turnovers is that six have come from interceptions, a sign that this secondary might not be as terrible as many thought it would be during the preseason.

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ARE EAGLES THE BEST TEAM IN NFC EAST?

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SPECIAL TEAMS

As has been the case since special teams coach Dave Fipp took over the unit in 2013, the Eagles once again have one of the best special teams units in the NFL.

Through six games, the Eagles are third in the NFL in punt return average, and are top 10 in both opponent punt return average and opponent kick return average. The only unit on the Eagles' special teams that has struggled in their kick return unit, but even they are 11th in the NFL in average yards per return.

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What has really made this special teams unit special, however, is how they replaced kicker Caleb Strugis.

Replacing a kicker is never easy, but the Eagles hit a home run with kicker Jake Elliott, who has made his last eight field goals. Of those eight field goals, six have come from beyond 40 yards, and one was a game-winning 61-yard field goal against the Giants.

Fipp's ability to keep his unit playing at a high level, and to turn Elliott from a practice-squad player to a Pro Bowl candidate, is a big reason this team is 5-1.

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QUARTERBACK PRESSURE

Coming into the season, the Eagles' defensive line was expected to dominant and be the best unit on the team. Six games in, mission accomplished.

The Eagles are currently fourth in the NFL in quarterback hits, and eighth in sacks, hitting or sacking the quarterback a combined 55 times in six games. The players leading the way for the Eagles are defensive end Brandon Graham (four sacks) and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (2.5 sacks).

The production the Eagles have gotten all over the line, however, has been impressive. Each of the Eagles' four starters on the defensive line has at least one sack, and the backups have combined for four sacks as well.

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The pass rush has been so good that teams have had to completely alter their game plan for it, such as in Week 3, when the Giants had no chance to even attempt down-the-field passes due to how quick they expected to pass rush to come.

In a season where the Eagles needed their defensive line to help carry them to wins, that is exactly what has been happening.

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STOCK UP, STOCK DOWN FROM EAGLES' BIG WIN OVER PANTHERS

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TACKLING

With a lack of speed at outside cornerback, the Eagles' game plan most weeks seems to have been to let the receivers have the underneath route, and then from there, hope their cornerbacks can get the job done breaking them down for a short gain.

So far, that plan has worked.

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Outside cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas have done a great job minimizing damage after completions. In fact, outside of 35-yard touchdown run by Chargers' running back Austin Ekeler in Week 4, the entire Eagles' team has done a good job making plays when they are there to be made, and not allowing small gains to be turned into big ones.

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QUARTERBACK PLAY

The Eagles needed quarterback Carson Wentz to take a step forward this season. So far, so good.

Wentz is a legitimate MVP candidate this season, throwing 1,584 yards and 13 touchdowns -- to just three interceptions -- in six games.

How good has Wentz been?

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Through six games, Wentz is top five in nearly every major quarterback stat, including attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, touchdown percentage, third-down percentage,, red-zone yards, red-zone completion percentage and red-zone touchdowns.

Throw in the fact that Wentz has stepped up when it has mattered most -- especially last Thursday against the Carolina Panthers -- and the Eagles are getting elite play from the quarterback position.

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WENTZ REPORT CARD FROM EAGLES' WIN

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THIRD DOWN

Last Thursday night, arguably the two best third-down teams in the NFL faced off when the Eagles took on the Carolina Panthers.

The Eagles' won the matchup on third down, and it was a big reason they won the game -- something that has been the case nearly every week this season.

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The Eagles currently have the best third-down offense in the NFL, converting an average of 50.57% of their third-down attempts this season. Their defense has been almost as good, as they are currently fourth in the NFL, allowing opposing defenses to convert just 32.88% of third-down attempts against them.

Most times in the NFL, the teams that win on third down end up winning the game, and the Eagles are 5-1 because of how well they have played on the crucial down.

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THINGS AT WHICH THEY NEED WORK

As the coaching staff and players will tell you, the Eagles have yet to play a perfect game -- and there are areas they definitely need to improve on going forward.

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RUNNING THE BALL

The stats will tell you the Eagles are a legitimate running team. The eye test tells you they have work to do.

The Eagles are currently fourth in the NFL rushing the ball, averaging 132.5 yards per game this season. They are 11th in the league in yards-per-attempt, averaging 4.4 yards.

The issue with those stats, however, is that of the 795 yards the Eagles have on the ground this season, 133 have come from Wentz, and 407 of those yards came against the Giants and Chargers, two of the worst teams against the run in the NFL.

In the other four games, against good-to-average run defenses, the Eagles' running backs have combined for 225 yards.

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The team's issue running the ball was highlighted against the Panthers last Thursday, when they had just four yards on four carries over the last quarter-and-a-half, a stretch when they needed to be able to run the ball to put the game away.

The Eagles have proven they can run the ball against bad teams, but if they are going to win in December and the playoffs, they will need to show they can run the ball when it matters -- and they haven't been able to do that yet.

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GETTING WENTZ, JEFFERY ON THE SAME PAGE

Signed to be the team's No. 1 receiver for $9.5 million, Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery has not been able to get much going with Wentz.

Through six games, Jeffery has 24 catches for 317 yards and two touchdowns, and isn't leading the team in any statistical category. He is 17th in the NFL in receiving yards and 25th in the NFL in receptions.

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The blame for his slow start isn't only his fault, however, as Wentz and Jeffery just don't seem to be on the same page. Wentz is completing just 50% of his passes thrown Jeffery's way, Wentz's lowest percentage on the team targeting any starting player.

The Eagles have been able to move the ball without production from Jeffery, but their offense will go to the next level if the receiver can get on the same page as Wentz.

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PENALTIES

Fans will blame the refs, but the reality is that this team has committed a number of dumb, pointless penalties this season, and they are starting to add up.

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The Eagles are currently second in the NFL in penalties against, with 45 penalties accepted against them this season. The 453 yards those penalties have resulted in are the most in the NFL, and the 51 total flags thrown their way are fourth in the NFL.

If the Eagles are going to win big games late in the season -- and in the playoffs -- they are going to have to cut down the penalties.

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WATCH: EAGLES' DEFENSE STEPS UP IN BIG WIN

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PODCAST: CARSON WENTZ IS THE REAL DEAL

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WHERE TO REACH ME

Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.