The Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) are looking to bounce back from a disheartening loss last week when they take on the Seattle Seahawks (8-2) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
Just like last Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, this weekend’s game is a must-win for the Eagles. Philadelphia is sitting one game behind the Dallas Cowboys for first place in the NFC East.
Things aren’t getting any easier, either. This is a Seahawks team that took down the then-undefeated San Francisco 49ers in overtime on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks ago.
In that game, the Seahawks’ defense did a great job of stopping one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL, holding San Francisco to 87 yards on the ground.
They are holding opposing teams to just 85 rushing yards per game over their last three contests.
On the offensive side of the football, veteran quarterback Russell Wilson completed 71 percent of his passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. He also had 53 yards on the ground.
The Eagles’ defense will have their hands full trying to stop Wilson, running back Chris Carson and their wide receivers (Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Josh Gordon).
Can Philly step up on defense for another week, after making life rough on Tom Brady? Or will the offense finally come to life and snap the Seahawks’ three-game winning streak?
To answer those questions and more, here are a couple of things to watch for in this Week 12 contest:
Defending Russell Wilson
As alluded to earlier in this story, if the Eagles want to win on Sunday, they will need to keep Wilson under wraps.
Last week, Philadelphia’s defense did a great job of making Brady uncomfortable and not giving him time to step up in the pocket.
The Eagles will need that defensive pressure, especially up the middle by All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on Sunday. According to ESPN’s NFL Matchup, Philadelphia’s defense has a disrupted dropback percentage of 17.5, good for ninth in the NFL.
However, they aren’t going against Brady this week. The Eagles are going against Russell Wilson, who is playing at an MVP level this season.
In 10 games played, Wilson is completing 68.5 percent of his passes (career-high) for 2,737 yards, 23 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Furthermore, he leads all starting QBs in passer rating at 114.9 and is doing an excellent job on first and second downs through 11 weeks.
Wilson is completing 69.3 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns on first down, while on second down, he is completing 72.9 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and an interception.
Therefore, the Eagles must get Wilson and the Seahawks in second-and-long situations and not give up more than five yards on first downs.
A shorthanded offense vs. a beatable defense
Last Sunday, we saw the Eagles’ offense fall flat on their face after jumping out to an early 10-0 lead over the Patriots.
The Eagles started the game getting running backs Miles Sanders and Boston Scott involved and using tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert in the passing game.
However, the wide receivers were non-existent and did not make any plays against one of the league’s top pass defenses. Fourth-year quarterback Carson Wentz also struggled, completing a season-low 50 percent of his passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.
That being said, can they get back on track this weekend against the Seahawks? It was going to be a possibility as Seattle’s pass defense is ranked 28th in the league, giving up 271.8 yards per game.
Additionally, the Seahawks are ranked 31st in quarterback pressures percentage at 18.5. This means that the Eagles could have had some opportunities through the air against Seattle.
The problem is, the Eagles are going to be without their top playmakers in Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, and running back Jordan Howard which leaves Wentz with a less-than-impressive wide-receiver corps of Jordan Matthews, Mack Hollins, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Greg Ward.
