The 8-4 Seattle Seahawks control their own destiny in the NFC West now that the Arizona Cardinals have fallen to 9-3 with a game at CenturyLink Field in the horizon. The Seahawks could ruffle the feathers of a few other birds in the NFC on Sunday when they travel east to take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
Both teams are coming off victories on Thanksgiving day, with the Seahawks dominating the 49ers in San Francisco, while the Eagles did much the same to the Cowboys in Dallas. Both teams are flying high coming into Sunday’s match-up, with the Eagles in the #3 seed in the NFC, leading the NFC East by one game and the tiebreaker over the Cowboys.
Here is a preview of what to expect when each club has the ball this Sunday:
When the Seahawks are on offense
Seattle remains the number one rushing team in the NFL this season, averaging slightly under 170 yards per game on the ground. The two-headed monster of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson continues to give defenses fits. Lynch is on the cusp of another 1,000 yard season with 956 yards entering the weekend. Wilson seems to have a chance at breaking 1,000 yards on the season as well, sitting at 679 rushing yards with four games to go in the regular season.
The passing game remains the biggest question for the Seahawks, averaging 192.4 yards per game and ranked 29th in the NFL. The good news for Russell Wilson is that the Eagles have a weak secondary, giving up 258.6 yards per game (26th in the league). The Eagles defense also gives up 107.7 yards per game on the ground, leaving plenty of opportunity for the Seahawks to eat the clock and leave Chip Kelly’s offense on the sideline.
Advantage: Seahawks
When the Eagles are on offense
If you didn’t believe in Chip Kelly’s system heading into this season, you must by now. Kelly has seemingly turned around Mark Sanchez’s career. The former Jet QB is putting up as good of numbers as his predecessor, Nick Foles, if not better. Sanchez is completing 63% of his passes and has an 89.3 QB Rating - Foles had an 81.3 QB Rating before injuring his shoulder.
The Eagles have two explosive players in the lineup with RB LeSean McCoy and WR Jeremy Maclin both already over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving, respectively, on the season. With complementary players like RB Darren Sproles, WR Jordan Matthews, and others, the Eagles’ high octane offense is going to try and run down the Seahawks defense.
Since MLB Bobby Wagner has returned to the lineup, the Seattle’s defense has looked more and more like last year’s champions. The Seahawks haven’t given up a touchdown since their Week 11 loss in Kansas City, having held the Cardinals and 49ers to three points apiece the past two weekends. While the loss of Brandon Mebane was significant, the addition of Bobby Wagner and the seemingly improving health of several other starters has turned things around Pete Carroll’s defense very quickly.
Advantage: Eagles if the Seahawks cannot withstand what they have been able to do the past two weekend, but if that unit shows up, the nod goes right to Seattle
Special Teams
The Eagles have the #1 ranked Special Teams unit according to DVOA rankings, while the Seahawks continue to slowly climb back up in the rankings and are now #18 heading into this week. The Eagles have a huge advantage over the Seahawks in their return games, but Seattle’s PK Steven Hauschka and P Jon Ryan are definitively in the top five in their respective positions.
Advantage: Eagles, who probably need to make a Special Teams play to win
Final Score Prediction: Seahawks 30, Eagles 24
The Seahawks are aided by the late/4:25pm EST start despite being on the east coast and pull out the win against yet another top contender in the NFC.