The Seahawks have reached the most-critical game on their 2023 schedule. According to the latest odds they are three-point underdogs for Monday night’s home game against the Eagles. If they want to reach the playoffs this year they’re going to have to pull off an upset, because one more loss now will effectively end any realistic hope of making the postseason.
Here are nine things to know about these two teams going into their Week 15 matchup.
1
The Seahawks are on the ropes
The Seahawks are going through their most-difficult stretch since Pete Carroll became head coach in 2010. The landslide began in Baltimore, where the Ravens decimated this team by 34 points. Seattle hasn’t been the same ever since, going 1-5 with the only win coming against an awful Washington team. To be fair, all of the other opponents they have played recently have been serious contenders. Fair or not, this is a must-win game. According to PFF’s math, a win will boost their playoff odds to 48%, while a loss would drop them to 10%.
The Seahawks NEED a win 🥶 pic.twitter.com/cUbDMPbA3w
— PFF SEA Seahawks (@PFF_Seahawks) December 15, 2023
2
Seattle secondary has to step up
The Eagles are definitely the better team this year, but we’re feeling an upset. If that’s going to happen, Pete Carroll needs his beleaguered secondary to step up. Given what they’re paying, the Seahawks should have the best safety room in football by far and at minimum a top-10 secondary. That hasn’t been close to the case this year, as the unit has underperformed expectations in a bad way. Rookie corner Devon Witherspoon is a superstar in the making, but Riq Woolen has regressed and Quandre Diggs is having the worst season of his career. Collectively, they’ve been bad in coverage and atrocious at tackling all year. If this group is not on their A-game against the likes of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith then this team is toast.
3
Devon Witherspoon is likely out
If we’re going to see a surprise strong game from the back end of Seattle’s defense it’ll probably have to be without their most-talented player. Devon Witherspoon suffered a hip pointer injury against the 49ers and has not practiced yet this week, which most likely means he won’t be available on Monday night. Jamal Adams has also not practiced, which may or may not be a good thing at this point. If both are out look for Coby Bryant to take over in the slot and for the Eagles to target him hard.
4
Darius Slay is out
It seems the Eagles will also have to go without their top cornerback this week. News just came in that Darius Slay has to undergo knee surgery and will be out for a while – at least for this coming week. Philly still has James Bradberry at corner but they’re definitely overmatched as Seattle has at least four strong wide receivers this year.
5
Jalen Carter is as good as advertised
Devon Witherspoon is a strong second, but Jalen Carter is still the odds-on favorite to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. His traditional numbers aren’t eye-popping (four sacks, six tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hits), but you need only watch a handful of snaps to see his impact on the game – especially as a pass rusher. Carter is only one small part of a team that typically dominates at the line of scrimmage, though…
6
Philadelphia wins in the trenches
The Eagles may have lost their last two games, but they came against the red-hot Cowboys and the even-hotter 49ers. Philadelphia remains an extremely dangerous opponent – especially for teams that aren’t stacked in the trenches. They boast what might be the best offensive line and the best defensive line in the NFL right now. That doesn’t bode well for the Seahawks given how they have performed this season against teams that are also loaded up at the line of scrimmage.
7
Geno Smith is on track to play
It’s far from certain who will be starting for the Seahawks this week, but right now it looks like Geno Smith is on track to play despite dealing with two injuries (groin, elbow). He sat out last week’s game against the 49ers and has been limited in practice. However, the team sounds confident he will start. Backup QB Drew Lock has been getting first-team reps in practice just in case, though.
8
The Eagles are great on the road
While the Seahawks have their vaunted Monday night record and home-field advantage working for them, that might not mean that much. Over the last three seasons no NFL team has a better record in road games than Philadelphia. The Eagles have gone 18-6 on the road since the start of 2021.
9
Similar defensive issues
Despite the four-game gap between them in the NFC standings, these two teams have a lot in common heading into this week. They are most alike on defense, where both units are talented but not playing close to their full potential. Their personnel is different, but both defenses are among the worst in the league on third down and in the red zone. We might be in for another shootout.
10
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