The Seattle Seahawks are surging back up the NFC standings after very impressive back-to-back wins over tough division rivals. The high level of competition won’t drop off any time soon for the champs, as they prepare for yet another playoff-caliber matchup in Philadelphia to face the NFC East-leading Eagles.
This figures to be another contrasting battle between the Eagles’ outstanding offense and the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning shutdown defense. To see how these two teams match up, read up on our extensive game preview below. And for more big Week 14 action, see our preview of the big AFC showdown between the Patriots vs. Chargers.
[sc:Football ]
Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia Eagles Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
When: Sunday, December 7, 4:25 PM ET
Line: Seattle Seahawks (pk) at Philadelphia Eagles (pk); total 49.0 – see all NFL lines
Betting on the Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are peaking at exactly the right time and making what should be the toughest part of their schedule look like a walk in the park. Their defense, finally healthy after being banged up for most of the season, led the way in their dominant wins over playoff-caliber teams in Arizona and San Francisco.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Taking care of the Cardinals, then-owners of the NFL’s best record, 19-3 at home while allowing just 204 total yards was impressive enough, but the Seahawks managed to top that on Thanksgiving with another 19-3 win, this time at San Francisco. They limited the Niners to just 164 total yards, including a season-low 121 passing yards from Colin Kaepernick and two picks care of his old friend, Richard Sherman.
The Eagles’ offense is so much more potent than either the Cards’ or Niners’, but the Seahawks are well set-up to stop Philly like they did their previous two opponents. It starts with the running game, which Seattle wasn’t able to control in its last loss away to Kansas City.
The Seahawks have been shutting teams down on the ground since then, in large part due to the return of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. Taking away the run will be a crucial part in slowing down the Eagles’ fast-paced attack.
Even with a reliable running game, Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez can often become a turnover machine (he has three multi-interception games already in five games) capable of throwing his team out of the game. Throwing against an in-form Legion of Boom could easily turn out disastrously for the Sanchize.
And on offense, Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks’ league-best rushing game (168 yards per game) have been moving the ball very effectively, and should be able to help the defense keep the dangerous Eagles offense off the field for as long as possible. Seattle has averaged over 10 more minutes of possession in its last two games.
Betting on the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles turned in their most impressive road win of the season, coming into Jerry World and clobbering the rival Cowboys, 33-10, in Dallas to claim the outright lead in the NFC East. It was a tale of two running games, as the Eagles exploded for 256 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while their run defense held the Cowboys’ prolific ground game below 100 yards for just the second time all year.
The Eagles now return to Philly to protect their sparkling 6-0 (5-1 against the spread) home record this season against the reigning champion Seahawks. Philly’s 16-point average margin of victory at home is the third highest only behind the Packers and Patriots.
It’s a bit too much to expect a two-touchdown win, especially against Seattle’s defense, but the Eagles are certainly very capable of scoring a victory against the Super Bowl champs. It’ll involve points, which the Eagles put up better than every team but the Packers at home (36.7 points per game).
More specifically though, the Eagles will need to get scoring early and build a big enough lead to force the run-oriented Seahawks to throw the ball more than they’d like. This is what they managed to do against the Cowboys, as they jumped out to a 23-7 lead by halftime and forced the normally efficient Tony Romo into two second-half interceptions.
Through Week 12, the Eagles were averaging 16.6 first half points per game (third-most in the NFL) and 20 PPG at home, which shows they’re definitely capable of those fast starts. By comparison, the Seahawks were averaging just 11 first-half points on the road.
Writer’s Prediction
The Seahawks’ (pk) defense clips the Eagles offense’s wings en route to another big win and cover. Create a betting account now and bet on these two NFC heavyweights in action.
