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Final Score
Seahawks 0-10-7-0 — 24
Eagles 7-0-7-0 — 14
The Seahawks defeated the Eagles 24-14 to move to 9-4, dropping the Eagles to 9-4. It was Philadelphia’s first home-loss this season. The Seahawks are still one game behind the Arizona Cardinals for first place in the NFC West, who travel to the desert to play them next Sunday. The Eagles drop to 9-4, and will host the 9-4 Cowboys next Sunday for first place in the NFC East.
The Seahawks 1st half trend continued into the 2nd half. The Seahawks out-possessed the Eagles 2-to-1; almost 42 minutes to just over 18 for the Eagles, and in total yards — 440 to 139 — the lowest total of a Chip Kelly coached Eagles team.
Wilson finished 22-for-37 for 263 yards and two touchdowns with 48 rushing yards on 10 carries and another touchdown. Sanchez looked like the old Sanchez. He went 10-for-20 for just 96 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Although he threw two interceptions, he didn’t throw enough, which is how you defeat the Seahawks.
The Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defense has rounded into form over the last month, and is starting to resemble the unit that made the Hawks champs in Ferbuary.
Eagles and Seahawks Traded TDs in 3rd Quarter
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The Eagles answered the Seahawks quick strike with a 4-play, 54-yard drive capped off with Sanchez hooking up with Zack Ertz for a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-14.
Not to be outdone, Wilson orchestrated another quick drive. A 5-play, 91-yard drive capped off with his 2nd touchdown pass of the game — a 23-yarder to Doug Baldwin — that gave the Seahawks a 10-point lead again.
McCoy Fumbled on the 1st Play of 3rd Quarter and Seahawks Capitalized
The Eagles came out of the break and ran a draw up the middle with McCoy. McCoy fumbled and the Seahawks recovered at the Eagles 19-yard line. Two plays later, Wilson passed across the field to Marshawn Lynch, who was left wide open by the Seahawks defense, for a 15-yard touchdown.
Seahawks Dominated 1st Half but Only Led By 3 at Halftime
To say Seattle dominated the 1st half would be an understatement. The Seahawks possessed the ball for 22 of the 30 1st-half minutes to just eight minutes for the Eagles, had 14 1st downs to the Eagles five and out-gained the Eagles in total yards 242 to 67 — essentially quadrupling the Eagles’ offensive output. Yet, despite that offensive production, the Seahawks only lead 10-7 at halftime.
Wilson remained his usual self, going 11-of-21 for 153 yards, but continued to use his legs, running for 43 yards on five carries including the lone Seahawks touchdown.
The 67 yards for the Eagles is the lowest since Chip Kelly became head coach. They received the 2nd half kickoff.
Wilson’s 5th Rushing TD Tied Game at 7-7
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Russell Wilson entered today’s game with 679 rushing yards, good for 15th in the NFL. After the Eagles opened the scoring, the Seahawks answered back with a 10-play, 82-yard drive in 4:20, capped off with Wilson’s 26-yard TD run, which tied the game 7-7. His 26-yard TD run was his 6th rush of over 20 yards this season.
The Seahawks had 75 rushing yards in just over one quarter of game action.
Seattle Special Teams Blunder Led to Game’s First Score
On their second posession of the game, Seahawks’ punter Jon Ryan bobbled and eventually fumbled the snap, allowing the Eagles to take over possession starting at the Seahawks’ 15-yard line. After converting a 4th-and-1 with LeSean McCoy, the Eagles scored two plays later on a Sanchez-to-Maclin quick out strike for one yard, which gave the Eagles a 7-0 with 3:37 remaining in the 1st quarter.
That is the first touchdown the Seattle Seahawks have allowed since November 16th against the Kansas City Chiefs. #Eagles lead 7-0.
This was the first touchdown that the Seahawks defense has given up since losing to Kansas City on November 16.
The Seahawks struggled early in pass-protection.
Battle of the Birds Previews NFC Contenders
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The defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles are two of the NFC’s four best teams. With Seattle at 8-4 and one game behind division leader Arizona, a win would set them up nicely to potentially win the division in the season’s closing weeks. Like Seattle, Philadelphia has a chance to win the NFC East, and with a win here, next week’s game at home against Dallas could be for the NFC East crown.
For all of the talk about the Seahawks’ home-field advantage at CenturyLink Field, the Eagles’ home-field advantage isn’t so bad, either. The Eagles are 6-0 at Lincoln Financial Field this season, and if that trend continues to hold up over the next two weeks, the Eagles will, most likely, win consecutive NFC East division championships to start the Chip Kelly Era.
With Arizona on the downside of their season after losing Carson Palmer to an ACL tear, these seem to be the two biggest challenges for the Packers in the NFC.
Former Pac-12 coaches have each transformed their respective franchises, and have kept elements of their college coaching styles as pros.
#NFL teams w/ greatest % of read-option plays this season:
1. Seahawks 13.3%
2. Dolphins 9.5%
3. Eagles 7.9%
4. Jets 6.3%
5. Panthers 5.9%
Headed out to see USC-Oregon, er, Seahawks-Eagles. Fascinating matchup. #SEAvsPHI
The game’s key match-up will be Russell Wilson against the 26th ranked Eagles pass defense. Marshawn Lynch can always, and seems to always, find a way to run even against the strongest of front-sevens. Wilson can do it with his arm and his legs, but since trading Percy Harvin, the Seahawks receiving corp as a whole could be described as pleasantly “average,” maybe even “mediocre.”
Speaking of runners, LeSean McCoy needs 48 yards to set the Eagles’ franchise record for career rushing yards, passing Wilbert Montgomery, who had 6,538 as an Eagle from 1977-84. McCoy will be utilized in the passing game, but 48 yards may be a daunting task against this Seahawks defense, especially with the recent returns of Bobby Wagner and Kam Chancellor. Their defense hasn’t been as good as it was last year, but it’s still stingy, allowing just 204 and 164 total yards to the Cardinals and 49ers in their last two games.
