Metcalf comes up big, Seahawks soar in Philly
Defence clips Eagles' offensive wings as Seattle moves to head of NFC West
Maybe this new incarnation of the 2020 Seahawks — which looks eerily similar to those of many of coach Pete Carroll's first 10 years in Seattle — isn't quite as exciting as the earlier “let's give up a ton of points but score just a few more” version.
But it's proving to be just as effective.
For the second consecutive week it was a suddenly revived defence that Seattle largely rode to a 2317 win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Well, that and the even larger shoulders of receiver DK Metcalf, who had a career-high 177 yards receiving on 10 receptions, besting the 161 he had against the 49ers this month.
The win was the second in a row for the Seahawks after they had lost three of four and moved them into sole possession of first place in the NFC West at 8-3, and on the heels of the 9-2 Saints for the top seed in the NFC.
It was also the second consecutive week in which the defence allowed a season low in points and yards (250).
A pass defence that came in allowing 343.7 yards per game, last in the NFL, gave up just 148 until the Eagles got 32 on a Hail Mary touchdown with 12 seconds left that made the game look closer than it really was.
And sure, it came against an Eagles offence that has struggled all season.
But this is the way a decent defence is supposed to treat a bad offence, something the Seahawks probably couldn't have done earlier in the year.
Seattle held the Eagles without a first down on their first five drives, allowing the offence to build a 14-0 lead.
And the defence then made big plays down the stretch — notably, two stops on fourth downs in the fourth quarter — allowing Seattle to hang on to its seventh consecutive victory against the Eagles and third in a little over a year.
The Seahawks didn't quite have the balanced attack of last Thursday's 28-21 win over Arizona, held to 77 on 29 carries.
But Metcalf helped make up for that, continually beating threetime Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay on a night he topped the 1,000-yard mark in receiving for the season, now at 1,039.
The Seahawks led 14-6 at the end of a first half dominated by Seattle's defence early on and Metcalf throughout.
The Seahawks forced Philly's offence to go three-and-out on each of its first five possessions, with the Eagles held to a net of minus-1 yards on its first 15 plays.
That allowed the Seattle offence to eventually break free and forge a 14-0 lead after two early possessions into Eagles territory yielded no points when the Seahawks failed on fourth downs.
In fact, Seattle's first possession ended at the Eagles 2-yard line when Seattle went for it on fourth down and David Moore was tackled for a five-yard loss on a play in which he was flipped the ball as he ran in front of Russell Wilson on a sweep.
Seattle's next drive ended in another failed fourth down at the Philly 37-yard line, and the game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
But the Seahawks then scored touchdowns on two consecutive drives in the second quarter, marches of 68 and 56 yards, with Metcalf keying each.
A 52-yard Wilson-to-Metcalf connection on a third-and-13 took the ball to the Philly 1, where two plays later Wilson hit Moore for the touchdown.
On the next drive, Wilson hit Metcalf for 17 yards to the Eagles 6. After a penalty, Chris Carson then rumbled 16 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Seattle lead with 5:27 to play in the first half.
But the Eagles then finally got their offence moving, keyed by runs by Wentz of 20 and 13 yards.
That set up a 3-yard pass from Wentz to tight end Dallas Goedert with 12 seconds to play in the half. The extra point was no good, leaving the score at 14-6 at halftime.
Seattle outgained the Eagles 194-74 in the first half, as Metcalf had seven receptions for 118 yards. Wilson was 13-for-18 for 152 yards and one touchdown.
Seattle held the Eagles without a first down on their first five drives, allowing the offence to build a 14-0 lead.