By Terry Anders
Seattle came up two inches short of a Week 17 upset of the 49ers.
Instead of a 28-26 win and +3 cover, the Seahawks lost 26-21 to finish the regular season 11-5 straight up and 7-8-1 against the spread.
However, five of the seven ATS wins came on the road where they were 5-2-1.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Eagles’ 34-17 win over the Giants and a four-game winning streak to end the regular season was enough to capture the NFC East title and a much-needed wild-card playoff home game.
The Eagles head into the postseason 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS with a ragtag cast of talent who have become household names.
Date/Time: January 5, 4:40 p.m. ET
Lincoln Financial Field
TV Coverage: NBC
Odds: Eagles + 1 1/2-2| O/U 46
The Eagles opened as 3-point home favorites, but after Seattle appeared competitive Sunday night against the 49ers, the Seahawks became a 1.5-point road favorite. Philly’s moneyline opened at -142 but has flipped to +105, while the point total opened at and remains 46. The total has gone UNDER in the Eagles’ last six home games with an average combined score of 32.
The Seahawks beat the Eagles 17-9 in Philly back in Week 12, but much has changed between then and now.
Offensive lineman Brandon Brooks suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the Giants. Running back Miles Sanders’ X-rays came back negative on his injured ankle, but he’s currently day to day according to coach Doug Pederson.
Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholor, Jalen Mills and Lane Johnson all missed Week 17 and remain questionable for Wild Card Weekend. Ertz is out with a rib injury, but NFL Network reported he’s also dealing with a lacerated kidney. There’s an outside chance DeSean Jackson could make a return after missing most of the season with an abdominal injury.
Carson Wentz became the first NFL quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards and have no wide receivers with 500 yards. With the season-ending injury to Alshon Jeffery, who fell 10 yards short of 500, and no Agholor or D-Jax, Wentz has relied on names like Greg Ward Jr., J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and a bevy of pass-catching running backs.
It’ll be interesting to see what Wentz learned from watching film of his first game against Seattle when he completed 33 of 45 passes for 256 yards but had two interceptions and only one touchdown.
The Eagles turned the ball over FIVE times in their Week 12 loss to the Seahawks and only made two red-zone trips.
While we wait to hear on Sanders’ Sunday status, we need to applaud Boston Scott’s effort to morph into Darren Sproles 2.0 the past few weeks. He posted 138 total yards on 23 touches with three scores against the Giants. As of right now, it’s Scott’s backfield to lead.
Seattle has allowed 175 rush yards per game over its past three and yielded 153 in the loss to San Francisco. The Niners averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
With their backs up against a wall, Philly’s red-zone defense stepped up. They allowed touchdowns on just 33 percent of opposing offenses’ red-zone trips the final three weeks of the regular season – fourth-best in the NFL during that stretch.
The Eagles defense also ranks fourth in third-down conversion rate as opposing offenses have only converted 34.1 percent of the time.
Philly’s ability to get off the field on third down and clamp down inside the red zone are big reasons why the Eagles eked out an NFC East title and get to host this game.
The Seahawks lost more players to injury in Week 17’s loss to the 49ers. Linebacker Mychal Kendricks tore his ACL and is out for the season. Wide receiver Jaron Brown suffered a sprained MCL and is questionable against the Eagles. Offensive lineman Duane Brown, who had surgery to repair his meniscus last week, is expected to miss this weekend.
One bit of good news is that Pete Carroll said safety Quandre Diggs should return against the Eagles after missing time with an ankle injury.
After inking former running backs Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, Seattle brought fellow alum Alex Collins in for a workout on Monday. However, they might not need him after rookie Travis Homer stole some of Beast Mode’s triumphant return thunder. Homer led Seattle’s rush attack with 10 carries for 62 yards and had five receptions for another 30 yards against the 49ers. Lynch finished with 12 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.
What was once the team’s strength, Seattle’s rushing attack is now its Achilles heel about to face one of the league’s best against the run. The Eagles allow just 90.1 rush yards per game.
Unless Homer has more magic up his sleeve, Philly has the advantage here.
Somewhat lost in the last-second chaos of Sunday night’s game against the Niners was that rookie John Ursua made his first catch of the season on fourth-and-10 before he was tackled at the Niners’ one-yard line. The need for Ursua at a critical moment just goes to show how stitched together the offense is heading into the postseason.
Russell Wilson once again made chicken soup out of chicken droppings as he completed 25 of 40 passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. With Jaron Brown hobbled and Josh Gordon suspended, we can expect a lot of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett with a red-zone splash of Jacob Hollister this Sunday.
The Eagles’ banged-up secondary has watched its season-to-date average of 241 pass yards allowed per game creep up to 261 yards over its last three games.
While Seattle’s third-down defense ranks in the middle of the league pack at 38.4 percent, opposing offenses have scored touchdowns on 61.5 percent of their trips inside the Seahawks’ 20-yard line. This is sub-optimal efficiency especially when playing a road playoff game. It’s also something to consider before backing the ’Hawks.
It’s hard to gauge where the Eagles truly are after two wins over the Giants and wins over the Redskins and Cowboys the last four weeks of the season. However, we learned the Seahawks can compete against the NFC’s No. 1 seed with their RB4, RB5 and RB6. That has to count for something, right? This is a lean more than an outright pick, but I do believe Seattle can pull a rabbit out of its hat one more time.
