December 16, 2023
The Eagles are suddenly in desperate need of a bounceback after getting pummeled the past two weeks and their grip on the top spot in the NFC having slipped.
But awaiting them on Monday night is the Seattle Seahawks, a team hanging on for its playoff life and a franchise that, for a long time, has routinely proven a horrible matchup for the Birds – we're talking an 0-7 stretch against Seattle going back to 2011.
Can the Eagles finally snap that streak of over a decade and seize some momentum back in the race for the conference's No. 1 seed?
Here are our thoughts...
TV: ABC/ESPN (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick)
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -4 | PHI -205 SEA +170 | 47.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -3.5 | PHI -196 SEA +164 | 48 |
| BetMGM | PHI -4 | PHI -200 SEA +165 | 47.5 |
| UniBet | PHI -4 | PHI -210 SEA +165 | 47.5 |
| PointsBet | PHI -3.5 | PHI -180 SEA +150 | 48 |
The Eagles' pass defense has been terrible the last two games against the 49ers and Cowboys, and they'll face a Seahawks team with a dangerous trio of wide receivers in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba. So, you know, that's troubling.
However, the Seahawks' offense has been erratic this season, and they're banged up. Geno Smith did not play against the Niners Week 14, and the Seahawks' running backs, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, were both listed as questionable. There are also a number of matchup advantages that are in the Eagles' favor this week:
This is a game that both of these teams desperately need to win. The Eagles have dropped two straight, and it feels like the sky is falling in Philly. Pressure is on to, uh, get rid of some of that pressure. The Seahawks, meanwhile, were at one time leading the NFC West, but they have lost four straight and are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely. Should that happen, I would imagine Pete Carroll's job would be in severe danger.
A season ago, the Seahawks fizzled down the stretch and then got blown out in the playoffs. The Eagles faced some adversity with an injury to Jalen Hurts, but they were able to right the ship and go on a playoff run to the Super Bowl.
The Eagles are the better team, they have more veteran leadership, and they're finally playing a game in which their opponent doesn't have a significant rest advantage.
A few weeks ago I predicted that the Eagles would lose to the Niners (they did), lose to the Cowboys (they did), and then win the last four games of the season and the NFC East. I am sticking with that pick, and I think they'll come to life out west against Seattle. This team is never as good — or as bad — as you think, and they seem destined for a 14-3 record and a disappointing NFC title game loss to either the Cowboys or Niners.
I’ll say the Eagles beat Seattle, something they haven’t done since three presidential administrations ago. I’m not expecting a complete housing of the Seahawks that re-establishes the Birds as the team to beat in the NFC, but the Eagles need a win any way they can get one, perhaps with some late-game Jalen Hurts heroics in prime time.
The Eagles' defense is struggling, and that's been obvious. But last week against Dallas, the offense looked terrible and that, I think, is an even greater concern so late into the season, especially when second-half comebacks had been the Eagles' means of victory for so many of the wins prior.
They just looked so limited in what they were able to do, and I'm not so sure that can be fixed within a week. Plus, I've seen too many Seahawks games go south over the years to know that somehow, someway they'll always present a bad matchup for the Eagles.
It’s hard to think the Eagles are going to magically clean up their mess before a huge game out west in Seattle. The Seahawks haven’t been great but a lot has been attributed to injury, getting a healthy Geno Smith makes life tough for the Eagles. Philly has been downright atrocious at times defending the pass, they live or die off the pass rush, and for some reason stopped running the football for the past two months. So much of this game in this league comes down to head coaching and QB play, something the Eagles struggle with right now. As good as Jalen Hurts can be, he’s turning the ball over at an incomprehensible rate, definitely not good enough to beat good or desperate teams.
The coaching is nonexistent or just idiotic at times and the team has been outgunned by an average of -105 net yards over their last six games. The Seahawks have covered six of the last seven meetings, and the Birds are a meager 0-8 ATS coming off a double-digit loss. Philly is in trouble and Seattle isn’t the place to fix it.
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