Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks Semi-Coherent Preview

A preview of the matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks.

Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles faced one of the NFL’s best offenses, and came away victorious. This week, they’ll take on one of the NFL’s most imposing defenses. Will they have similar success?

Seattle Seahawks

Record: 6-2-1 (First place in NFC West)

Last week: Defeated New England Patriots 31-24

Head coach: Pete Carroll

The last time they met

When the Seahawks visited Philadelphia in 2014, the Eagles thought that having the game at home would give them a chance at an upset. Those hopes were dashed by a combination of a tough Seattle defense and Mark Sanchez at quarterback.

Despite a rough game by Sanchez, the Philadelphia Eagles defense kept things close into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, a 23-yard touchdown catch by Doug Baldwin provided the Seahawks with a 24-14 lead, which the Eagles were unable to overcome.

What’s the deal with the Seahawks

The Seahawks offense has not been especially strong this season. Quarterback Russell Wilson has been hobbled, slowing down the passing game. The rushing attack is anemic, as they rank 30th in the league in rushing yards. And in a shocking move, the team just released its leading rusher Christine Michael.

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However, the Seahawks offense doesn’t have to be spectacular. The Seahawks stellar run over the past few years has been largely fueled by their defense, and that unit appears to be as tough as ever. The “Legion of Boom” secondary is still capable of shutting down any and all opposing passing games.

It should be noted that the Seahawks’ past three opponents have scored 24 or more points, so maybe they’re slipping a little? Then again, two of those games were on the road. This week’s game is in Seattle, where the Seahawks have one of the best home field advantages in the league.

Featured Seahawks player: Earl Thomas

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: In the 2010 draft, the Eagles had an opportunity to draft Earl Thomas. Despite being in need of a safety, the Eagles passed on the future All Pro, in favor of Brandon Graham. Since then, they’ve been waiting for Graham to live up to the hype, and the safety position has been a constant weakness. (Sorry, that was a force of habit.)

Thomas is good. So are his secondary-mates Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman. The fourth member of the group is Jeremy Lane, and I honestly don’t know how good he is. But when you’re surrounded by Pro Bowlers, it tends to help. Remember that thanks to playing along these guys, people thought Byron Maxwell was worthy of being paid a lot of money.

Reason to hate the Seahawks

Some people can’t stand Richard Sherman, but I actually like him. He’s mastered the “I’m just going to rough up the receiver on every play so that the refs accept it as normal” technique.

Now the Seahawks uniforms on the other hand – those are easy to hate.

Super important Eagles storyline: Road woes

The Eagles have been great at Lincoln Financial Field. They are 4-0 and have wins against the Steelers, Vikings, and Falcons – three teams that looked like they were among the league’s best before they faced the Eagles. Unfortunately, the Eagles have not been nearly as dominant on the road. Their defense in particular seems to play much worse outside Philadelphia.

Hopefully that trend does not continue, because the Eagles need their defense to come through in a big way. The Seahawks appears somewhat similar to the Vikings: Dominating defense, but an offense that has some weaknesses, primarily on the edges of the offensive line. The Eagles did a great job of shutting down the Vikings offense and forcing turnovers. If they want to pull off another upset, they’ll need a similarly strong performance.

South Park character who somehow relates to this week’s game

Bat Dad

The Seattle fans are regarded as being among the best in the NFL. Are any of them as intimidating as “Bat Dad?”

Tweets of unimportance

https://twitter.com/KerryLofton/status/799266687761711104

I figured the whole “Eagles defense is on the same level as the Seahawks” thing wouldn’t sit well with Seahwaks fans.

The man just won an MVP award and you’re gonna talk smack about his favorite football team?

https://twitter.com/valleylove40/status/799010214863257600

Correlation = causation?

Elsewhere in the NFL

That was a classy speech by Tony Romo, huh? He pretty much laid out the template for what any athlete in his situation should say. It almost makes me have a grudging respect for the guy.

Don’t weep for Romo, though. At some point, Dak Prescott is going to get hurt or struggle, and Romo is going to get his chance. And the Cowboys’ season is going to end because of a Romo interception in the playoffs. It’s going to happen and it will be magnificent.

The Wentz Watch

Despite a couple of rookie mental mistakes, Carson Wentz played well last week. In a game where the plan was to lean heavily on the run game, Wentz did what he had to do: Avoid costly mistakes. He didn’t force anything and avoided interceptions. His numbers would have looked even better had his receivers not dropped a few passes. (What else is new?)

The Seahawks appear to be the toughest defense Wentz has faced so far. Their secondary can make things tough on even the most seasoned quarterbacks, let alone rookies playing in their tenth game.

Next: Pederson Needs To Abandon Inner Reid

Prediction

As mentioned before, the Seahawks do share similarities with the Vikings, and since the Eagles beat them, a victory here isn’t out of the question. The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense will give them a shot, but I think the Seahawks’ defense is too much for Wentz and the offense to overcome.

Seahawks 20 – Eagles 13