Getty Quandre Diggs of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates an interception against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020.
The Seattle Seahawks face the biggest game of their 2023 season (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) on “Monday Night Football” when they host the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that could either tank or keep alive the Seahawks playoff hopes. One keen Eagles and Seahawks watcher, Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer, thinks the Seahawks have a real chance to win this game if Geno Smith plays, and will pick Seattle if Jalen Hurts doesn’t.
Seahawks, Eagles Experts Likes Seattle in Week 15 if Geno Smith Plays
There are few reporters in the NFL world as uniquely qualified to discuss and predict the Sehawks-Eagles Week 16 “Monday Night Football” game on Dec. 18 than The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia.
The host, writer, and reporter covers the NFL at large for Bill Simmon’s outfit, hosts an Eagles-centric podcast called the “Philly Special,” and covered the Seahawks as a beat writer for ESPN from 2015-17.
Kapadia joined Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports radio on Monday to discuss this meeting, and The Riger analyst said he believes the Seahawks have a real shot of winning under one condition.
“Listen, if Geno’s playing, I think the Seahawks have a great chance to move the football against this Eagles defense,” Kapadia said. “Darius Slay, the corner, is out. They’re playing a rookie at one of their corner spots. The pass rush has not been great over the last month or so in the season. They’re bad at linebacker, they’re not very good at safety. There are a lot of areas you can attack this Eagles defense. So I think it’s going to be a competitive game. I think the Seahawks are going to move the ball”
Geno Smith isn’t the only starting quarterback who may not play in the Seahawks’ Week 15 tilt. Jalen Hurts is questionable with an illness, and if he can’t go, Kapadia really likes Seattle’s chances.
“If Jalen Hurts plays, I think they have a chance to really run the football and play well up front,” Kapadi revealed. “If [Eagles backup Marcus] Mariota plays, I like the Seahawks. If Jalen Hurts is on the field, I pick the Eagles in a competitive, close game that kind of comes down to the last five minutes in the fourth quarter.”
Predicting a Seahawks win on “Monday Night Football” — even one that comes with caveats — is big for the team, as this game will make-or-break their playoff chances.
Seatle’s Playoff Chances
As it stands ahead of Week 15, the Seahawks’ playoff chances are at just 33 percent after four consecutive losses, according to the New York Times’ interactive NFL playoff simulator.
If Geno Smith and company take home the W on Monday, those chances jump up to 56 percent. That’s still not great for a team that was challenging for the NFC West crown a month ago, but it’s not bad either for a team that’s lost four-straight for the first time in the Pete Carroll Era.
A loss to the on MNF drops those chances all the way down to 12 percent.
Following this Eagles game, the Seahawks finish the season at the Tennessee Titans, home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and at the Arizona Cardinals. In the NFL, we know anything can happen on any given Sunday. But those are three winnable games for Seattle down the home stretch.
If the team loses Monday and wins out, they still have a 67 percent shot at the postseason, but that means they’d need some serious help from other contenders. A win Monday basically puts them in if they win out, gives them an over 70 percent chance if they win all but the Titans or Steelers games, and a 68 percent chance if they win all but the Cradinals tilt in Week 18.
So, if it wasn;t clear already, Week 15 will likely decide whether the Seahawks make the playoffs or not.