It is officially the home stretch for the Seattle Seahawks. With only six games remaining in the regular season, and the most difficult schedule in terms of strength of opponents, the Seahawks are going to be pushed to their limits. First up on the docket is a road trip to the City of Brotherly Love to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles.
This will be Seattle’s first trip to Philadelphia since 2014 when the Seahawks suffocated the Eagles in a 24-14 victory that was never nearly as competitive as the final score might indicate. In fact, the Seahawks have not lost to the Eagles since a 26-7 defeat at home in November of 2008.
Philadelphia was a trendy pick to win the NFC by many during this offseason. After last season’s injury-riddled 9-7 campaign following their Super Bowl run in 2017, the Eagles looked to bounce back and return to championship-caliber form.
So far, this has not happened. Despite Philly’s talented roster, the Eagles have stumbled to a disappointing 5-5 record, going 2-2 in the last month. While they have earned impressive road wins over Green Bay and Buffalo, they’ve also been dominated by Dallas, Minnesota, and were completely stymied by New England.
The injury bug has bitten once more, specifically in the secondary and wide receiving corps, which roughly translates to the Eagles receivers struggling to get open, while opposing receivers do not find such difficulty against Philadelphia.
Furthermore, the Eagles could very well be without running back Jordan Howard and right tackle Lane Johnson. Although Philadelphia has a solid backup in former Washington State standout Andre Dillard, this could present an opportunity for a surging Seahawks pass rush, should defensive end Jadeveon Clowney play on Sunday.
Prediction: Seahawks over Eagles 24-20
The Eagles may be struggling to log wins, but they aren’t going to lay down at home for the visiting Seahawks. Philadelphia only managed to score 10 points last Sunday and was outscored 17-0 from there by the Patriots in front of an unforgiving home crowd.
The Eagles will certainly be looking to have a much better outing against a conference heavyweight.
However, despite being 8-2, it could be argued the Seahawks are perhaps the more desperate team. Philadelphia still has a shot to win a very weak division, especially with first-place Dallas facing a more challenging schedule down the stretch compared to the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks are trying to keep pace with a 9-1 San Francisco team currently sitting in first place in the NFC West. This is a win Seattle actually needs more than the Eagles.
Also, the Seahawks have dominated this series in recent years, especially in Philadelphia. The Seahawks have not lost a road game to the Eagles since 1989, and Lincoln Financial Field is the site of one of the most lopsided wins in franchise history when Seattle won 42-0 over Philly in 2005.
MVP front runner Russell Wilson is 3-0 in his career against the Eagles, and coach Pete Carroll is 4-0. Right now the Seahawks are also one of the better road teams in the NFL. Expect Seattle to take advantage of Philadelphia’s critical injuries to grind out a physical and close win.
