EAGLES (5-4) VS. SEAHAWKS (6-2-1)
SUNDAY, 4:25 P.M. ET, CENTURYLINK FIELD, SEATTLE uTV: CBS, DIRECTV 715
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms,Tracy Wolfson
About the Eagles: Needing a win to stay in the playoff race, Philadelphia got one in impressive fashion against the red-hot Atlanta Falcons. The impressive part was the defense, which held the high-flying Falcons to season lows of 15 points and 303 total yards. DT
return from a groin injury was a big lift for the front four, and
and continued their emergence as perhaps the league’s most versatile pair of safeties.
About the Seahawks: Seattle is getting hot as the season enters its second half. Last week’s down-to-the-wire victory at the New England Patriots was a statement win, as the Seahawks called on every part of their team — from QB to WR
to rookie RB to the rugged defense — to hold off the Patriots.
Against a rookie quarterback like the Eagles’ Carson
the standard game plan is to turn up the heat with the pass rush and pressure him into errors. For the Seahawks, whose 29 sacks are the NFL’s second most, that’s the standard game plan — even with DE (knee) sidelined. With DEs (nine sacks) and (seven) coming from the outside, Seattle has posted five games with four or more sacks. Philadelphia’s offensive front is pieced together with RT
and LG filling in for injured and suspended starters, but the unit was stellar against Atlanta. This week’s test will be tougher. Richard Sherman and the Seahawks are tasked with slowing the Eagles offense.
Quarterbacks must always know where Sherman is before pulling the trigger. He is an unquestionably controversial and gifted player.
Seattle’s Wilson has been playing through knee and ankle injuries and hadn’t quite been the dynamic playmaker of previous seasons. That has changed in the past two weeks. In those two
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
victories, Wilson has completed 45 of 63 passes (71.4%) for 630 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions for a 129.7 rating. He scored his first rushing TD of the season. In the marquee matchup at New England, he passed for 348 yards and three TDs — both season highs.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Don’t panic: Seattle boasts perhaps the NFL’s most daunting home-field advantage and is 4-0 there this season. Facing a killer defense in an insanely loud building will be a monumental challenge for Wentz. He’ll have to stay poised and keep his wits about him to avoid mistakes.
CB has been consistent as the Eagles’ best pass defender, but he was forced out of last week’s game with a concussion. If he can’t go Sunday, the task of staying with Baldwin, Seattle’s top receiver and a touchdown machine who broke out of a slump with three scores against the Patriots, will likely fall to rookie who has had his moments — good and bad. It will also put pressure on CB vin, who is playing through a sore hamstring.
3. Hot hand at running back: The Seahawks’ Prosise was handed the lead role last weekend and piled up 66 yards on the ground and 87 on seven receptions. Philadelphia rediscovered veteran who opened the season as the starter but vanished soon after. Mathews roared back against the Falcons with 109 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 30 yards receiving.
Andy Friedlander