Seahawks are rare favorites on road
SEAHAWKS (11-5) at EAGLES (9-7) When: Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
TV: NBC
BetMGM.com line: Seahawks by 11⁄2
Injuries: Both teams are relatively banged up, with several key players who might not be able to play.
The Eagles recently lost starting RG Brandon Brooks to a season-ending shoulder injury, while TE Zach Ertz (ribs/back), RB Miles Sanders (ankle), WR Nelson Agholor (knee) and RT Lane Johnson (ankle) missed all or part of the regular-season finale against the Giants. Coach Doug Pederson said Monday that the staff would monitor their statuses throughout the week. Seattle, meanwhile, had 14 players on its injury report entering last week’s game against the 49ers. The Seahawks will be without starting LB Mychal Kendricks, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees, but hope to get S Quandre Diggs back for Sunday’s game, according to coach Pete Carroll. They could also be thin at wide receiver with Jaron Brown (knee) out and Malik Turner questionable this weekend after suffering a concussion.
THREE KEYS
1. Carries to be had: Few teams embraced the run this season like the Seahawks and the Eagles, who ranked third and seventh, respectively, in rushing attempts. But injuries have put them in a similar predicament, trying to figure out who’s going to get the carries. Philadelphia will hope for a healthy Sanders, lest they want to rely on Boston Scott for a second week in a row. The Seahawks split carries between Marshawn Lynch (fresh out of retirement) and Travis Homer. With the cast of characters changing, it will be interesting to see if either team can establish consistent production on the ground.
2. What’s home worth? The Eagles (9-7) earned home-field advantage in this game by virtue of winning the lowly NFC East, even though the Seahawks finished with a better record (11-5, including 7-1 on the road) and have generally played like the better team this season. (They also beat the Eagles, in Philadelphia, in Week 12.) If the Eagles manage to pull off the upset and win this one, it would illustrate the value of home-field advantage in the playoffs – and help fuel critics who say playoff seeding should be determined by record, regardless of division.
3. All eyes on the tight ends: One of the key matchups in this game will be Seattle’s defense against Philadelphia’s tight ends. The Seahawks ranked 31st in the NFL this season in catches (97) and receiving yards (1,099) surrendered to opposing tight ends, and Carson Wentz’s top two targets are Ertz and Dallas Goedert. That pair combined for 146 catches, 1,523 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season. All of this makes the health of Ertz that much more important in the days leading up to kickoff.