On Sunday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) will travel to CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington to take on the Seahawks (7-4). This Sunday Night Football matchup will kick off at 8:30 PM/ET.
The Eagles are dominating the NFL this season. They have the best record in the league and are on a 9 game winning streak. Carson Wentz is the league’s leading candidate to win the NFL MVP award. All is good in Eagles country. With a win in Seattle, the Eagles can clinch the NFC East. The Eagles, however, have loftier expectations this season than winning their division.
The NFC has a lot of teams jockeying for playoff position. The Minnesota Vikings sit one game back of the Eagles in the NFC race for home field advantage, followed by the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, and Seattle Seahawks. The Eagles are a young and untested team but don’t expect Philadelphia to take their foot off the pedal. Fortunately for the Eagles, they’re in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the in NFC playoff race. With tough matchups against potential playoff teams in Seattle and Los Angels, as well as a matchup with Dallas in week 17, expect Philadelphia to lose one more game before the playoffs begin.
The Seattle Seahawks have gone 2-2 over their last four contests. Seattle is one game back of the Los Angeles Rams, in the NFC West standings. With five weeks left in the regular season, Seattle is in position to capture the NFC West and possibly the one or two seed in the NFC. While the Eagles are in control of the one seed, the Seahawks can make strides by beating them this Sunday, and with another matchup with Los Angeles in three weeks, Seattle can easily leapfrog several teams in the standings before the playoffs begin.
The Eagles’ biggest challenge this week is overcoming a hostile road environment.
The Eagles have dominated many of their opponents this season. The Eagles, however, haven’t faced a dominant offense or quarterback all season. In fact, the best offense they faced was in week two when the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in Kansas City. That loss is their only one so far this season. The Seahawks are the Eagles first real test. Seattle’s quarterback, Russell Wilson, is a bona fide superstar. The Eagles will need to put pressure on Wilson and keep him from making plays with his legs as well as his arms outside of the pocket.
According to NFL Stats, the Eagles have the 6th ranked defense in terms of yards allowed. The Eagles are allowing 17.4 points per game. According to NFL Stats, the Eagles rank 3rd in terms of points allowed. In comparison, the Seahawks defense ranks 8th in terms of yards allowed and 9th in terms of points allowed per game. Expect a low scoring game with a lot of field goals on both sides.
In the playoff race, Seattle needs to win to keep pace.
Seattle needs to win. That’s no secret. They’ve struggled to run the ball all year. Those issues have prompted Russell Wilson to put the team on his shoulders through the air and on the ground.
According to NFL Stats, the Seahawks offense ranks 8th in terms of total yards. The Eagles passing game, however, is responsible for most of those yards.
The Eagles passing attack ranks 7thin the league while the rushing attack ranks 19th in terms of total yards. Philadelphia allows the fewest rushing yards in the NFL, according to NFL Stats. So, don’t expect Seattle to do much against Philadelphia’s stout front.
According to NFL Stats, the Seahawk’s run defense has given up 9 rushing touchdowns and an average of 98.4 yards per game.
Seattle needs to slow down the Eagles stable of running backs and force Philadelphia to throw the ball if they have any chance of pulling off the upset.
Seattle’s passing attack is their best shot at attacking the Eagles’ defense. The Eagles pass defense allows 226.6 yards per game, according to NFL Stats. They’ve given up 14 touchdowns this year, but have picked off opposing quarterbacks 16 times. Russell Wilson will need to attack the Eagles secondary but also remain wary of their ball-hawking ability.
Seahawks vs Eagles Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Eagles favored to win the game by 4.5 points. The over/under on total points scored is 47. You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Pick
The Eagles are slight favorites on the road. This is their toughest challenge of the season, and Seattle is a battle-tested team that won’t go down without a fight. Even with all their injuries, Seattle is still a formidable foe. The Eagles are bound to lose one more game this year, and this is their best shot. Expect a close game decided by a field goal. Seattle might not have the better team, but at home, Russell Wilson will do enough to have a shot at winning this game in the fourth quarter. Go with the Seahawks to cover the spread.
Play: Seahawks +4.5 @ BetOnline.ag
NFL Sunday Night Football Betting Pick • Philadelphia Eagles • Seattle Seahawks betting