Parramatta have produced their most convincing performance of the NRL season in a 30-4 win over undermanned Canterbury-Bankstown.
Earlier, the Raiders edged past St George-Illawarra to pile more pressure on head coach Anthony Griffin.
While the Eels were superb in Sunday's contest at Western Sydney Stadium, the Bulldogs' were plunged into an even bigger injury crisis.
In the 12th minute of Sunday's game, winger Jacob Kiraz injured the medial cruciate ligament in his right knee when his legs became twisted in a tackle and is set for time on the sidelines.
The winger is enjoying a breakout season and led the Dally M Medal leaderboard after three rounds and he will be a significant loss to a Bulldogs side already missing their other first-choice winger, Josh Addo-Carr.
Kiraz's substitution forced the Bulldogs to reshuffle their backline.
Jayden Okunbor shifted from the left wing to the right, rookie centre Paul Alamoti replaced Okunbor on the left and bench forward Jackson Topine came on at left centre.
Only minutes after Kiraz went down, centre Jake Averillo injured his kneecap in a tackle from Eels winger Maika Sivo but hobbled on through obvious discomfort.
The Bulldogs forged on but before long, the Eels began exploiting the makeshift edges, scoring three tries down the flanks in six minutes to open up a 16-0 lead at half time.
Parramatta were never again as clinical, but the buffer proved decisive.
The Eels' forward pack leader Junior Paulo made a solid return from suspension but it was his front-row partner Reagan Campbell-Gillard who was the most troublesome for Canterbury.
The depleted Bulldogs began dreaming of a comeback in the second half when Matt Burton sent a grubberkick along the ground for Alamoti, who scored his first NRL try.
But Campbell-Gillard shut the door on the Bulldogs when he barged through three defenders for a try under the posts. He finished with a game-high 198 metres.
Maika Sivo iced the win with his second try in the final minutes, ensuring he will finish round seven with nine tries for the season, leaving him on top of the try-scoring charts.
Eels coach Brad Arthur challenged Dylan Brown to step up this week and the five-eighth heeded the call with two forced dropouts in the first half.
Canterbury recruit Reed Mahoney had an disappointing first game against his old club, dropping the ball from dummy-half in the lead-up to what could have been a Matt Burton try and conceding a penalty for a late hit on Mitch Moses.
The victory is a much-needed shot in the arm for last year's runners-up, who had made a habit of losing close games on their way to 2-4 start to the season.
Canterbury, meanwhile, have lost their past two games by a combined total of 60 points and things won't get any easier given they face Cronulla next week.
Raiders close out win over Dragons
Pressure is continuing to mount on under-fire St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin after the Dragons suffered a 20-14 NRL loss to Canberra.
Days before a crucial board meeting that will shape Griffin's future at the club, the Dragons took a 4-0 lead to half-time but were unable to stop the Raiders in the second half.
It was far from pretty from the Raiders but a crucial victory nonetheless, winning consecutive games for the first time this season and moving to 3-4 to keep touch with the pack in the race for the top eight.
The Dragons' fourth loss in five outings couldn't have come at a worse time for Griffin, immediate results looking crucial with his future likely to be decided in the next month.
A tackle-busting effort from Canberra centre Matt Timoko gave the Raiders the lead on 64 minutes, before Hudson Young sealed the deal with a remarkable length-of-the-field try after a one-on-one strip five minutes from full-time.
Tautau Moga cut the margin back for 20-14 two minutes from time after picking off a poor Jack Wighton pass and returning it 70m but the Dragons couldn't break through for an equalising try despite attacking deep in Raiders' territory.
The Dragons absorbed early pressure and then camped themselves on the Raiders line, dominating territory through the first half yet failing to find any creativity to crack their way through for a try.
But their effort couldn't be questioned, digging deep defensively to not concede despite the Raiders forcing three consecutive line dropouts before winger Moga finally crossed soon after half-time.
After a dour first half, the Raiders came to life early in the second with Seb Kris crossing via a slick pass from halfback Jamal Fogarty, although they were forced to play 10 minutes without winger Nick Cotric after he was sin-binned for a cynical tackle.
The Dragons immediately exploited that gaping hole, Mat Feagai scoring on his wing to level the score at 8-8, before they went ahead via penalty goal.
It was a forgettable return to action for Cotric, re-aggravating a hamstring injury he suffered in the lead-up to round three and had sidelined him since.
Fogarty continued some of his best form in green, pin-point kicking including two forced dropouts adding to his slick assist, while makeshift fullback Kris ran for a team-high 165m.
Dragons forward Jack De Belin was put on report for a tipping tackle that flipped Raider hooker Tom Starling onto his neck.
