Eagles soaring into difficult West Coast swing
Philadelphia has big games versus Seattle, Rams
For starters, our perspective on the big news. If the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles have any detractors left, the team has a great chance over the next two weeks to convince such folks of the error of their ways.
The NFL’s highest-scoring team with the best record plays back- to- back games on the Pacific Coast: Sunday night at Seattle, followed by a Dec. 10 showdown at the Los Angeles Rams (which deserves to be flexed into prime time). The Eagles will stay on the coast all week, rather than fly cross- continent in between.
Philadelphia ought to extend its win streak to 10 at Seattle, a banged- up squad whose 7- 4 record and playoff contention exist only because of the wizardry of quarterback Russell Wilson, the world’s greatest escape-artistunder-duress since Houdini.
After that game, let the Carson Wentz vs. Jared Goff hype begin. The top two overall picks in last year’s NFL Draft headline a game featuring this year’s two surprise powerhouses.
These two teams are so much more than their aheadof-pace quarterbacks.
The Eagles are potent at every position group but the secondary. Second- year head coach Doug Pederson has done a brilliant job of moulding Wentz into the NFL’s most prolific touchdown thrower this season ( 28), while Jim Schwartz’s attacking 4- 3 defence somehow remains under-appreciated.
Consider these top- line statistical measures: Philly ranks third in total offence, second in rush offence, sixth in total defence, first in rush defence, second in turnover differential (+ 9), first in red- zone offence ( scoring touchdowns an amazing 72 per cent of the time inside the 20), third in third- down conversions offence (45.5 per cent) and second in thirddown conversions defence (28.8 per cent).
While Eagles- at- Rams looms as maybe the showdown of the year this season in the NFL, Seattle is up first.
“I definitely want to make sure that we’re focused on this week,” Pederson said.
Win these next two out west, and the Eagles probably won’t even have to worry about playing on the road in January. Owning the No. 1 NFC playoff seed would require winning just two home- field playoff games, then off to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.
Two Canadians started their first NFL games on Sunday: rookie Tampa Bay TE Antony Auclair of NotreDame- des- Pins, Que., as the Bucs’ second tight end (who was not targeted by QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in a loss at Atlanta) and second- year New Orleans DE David Onyemata of Winnipeg (who had two tackles in a loss in Los Angeles against the Rams).
Fifth-year Seattle TE Luke Willson of LaSalle, Ont., suffered a concussion at San Francisco.
“He’ll be in the protocol because he did get hit in the head, but he was lucid and he was in good shape,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said after the game.
“So there’s a real chance he could make it through and we’ ll see ( about this Sunday’s game against Philadelphia). We’re going to take care of him, first and foremost.”
It happened again, so it probably will happen again. ❚ 1. By improving to 9-2 on Sunday, New England for the 17th straight season clinched a winning record, the longest such streak in the NFL since the 1970 merger. Normally, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick won’t comment on such an achievement, in season. He did on Monday when asked how much pride he and the Pats organization take from the streak.
“A lot. Yeah, a lot. That’s what we’re here for is to win games,” Belichick said. “We take pride in winning and that’s important to us, whether it’s games, division, conference, whatever.” ❚ 2. Without Zeke Elliott, the Dallas offence really is doomed. The Cowboys had a 5-3 record when the running back’s six- game domesticviolence suspension began in mid November. Dallas averaged 183 yards rushing over the five games before Elliott’s banishment. In the three games since, all losses, Dallas has averaged 99 rush yards per outing — an immense fall-off. ❚ 3. Arizona head coach Bruce Arians needs to win four of the Cardinals’ last f i ve games to pass Ken Whisenhunt as the winningest coach in franchise history. Whisenhunt had 49 victories from 2007-12, Arians has 46 since then.
Many have speculated this will be Arians’ last season as Arizona’s head coach. He began his tenure with three winning seasons, but went 7- 8-1 last year, and this season his Cards again are a shade under .500, at 5- 6. So it would go down as one of his top achievements as Cards head coach if he can get this team, with a backup QB, to go 4-1 in December.