Enemy Confidential: Eagles a Familiar Foe as Seahawks Open Playoffs

Philadelphia has been rolling, winning four straight games to capture an NFC East title. What's different about the suddenly hot Eagles going into a playoff rematch with the Seahawks?

The last time the Seahawks traveled to Philadelphia just six weeks ago, the Eagles were battered, bruised, and reeling. In the midst of dealing with injuries to several key players, they looked nothing like a playoff team. But neither did the Cowboys, the only other team standing in the way of an NFC East division title.

The Eagles didn’t immediately recover from their 17-9 loss to the Seahawks on November 24 (they would drop a 37-31 decision to the Dolphins the following week), but rallied to win their final four games to leapfrog the Cowboys, win the division with a 9-7 record, and earn themselves a home rematch with Seattle.

So what’s changed in Philly since these two teams last played in November?

Here's a look at the Seahawks upcoming playoff opponent, with series history, key statistics, an injury report, a look at the weather forecast and head coach Pete Carroll’s thoughts on the Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY

--18th all-time meeting. Seattle leads the series 10-7.

The Seahawks have dominated this series in recent history, winning five straight and seven of the last eight. Under coach Pete Carroll, Seattle has gone 5-0 against Philadelphia, including the Week 12 victory earlier this season.

INJURY REPORT

• The Eagles might be the only other team in the postseason as banged up as the Seahawks, with some notable names on injured reserve including receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jefferey, defensive lineman Malik Jackson, cornerback Ronald Darby, and running backs Corey Clement and Darren Sproles. Just this week, the team added starting guard Brandon Brooks to injured reserve as well.

• Receiver Nelson Agholor (knee) and running back Miles Sanders (ankle) missed practice this week. Sanders is expected to play, but may not be at full strength.

• Right tackle Lane Johnson is still battling a high ankle sprain, and while he practiced in a limited capacity, most believe he’s a game-time decision.

• Tight end Zach Ertz practiced, and that came as a surprise. Just two weeks ago, Ertz suffered a broken rib and lacerated kidney in Week 16 and missed the team’s finale against the Giants. He’s wearing a flak jacket and going through drills and could also be a game-time decision on Sunday.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

5.7: Air yards per pass completion by Eagles, 20th in the NFL.

288: Passing yards per game by Carson Wentz during last five games.

72.3: Percentage of “on target” throws despite an increased emphasis on screens and short passes, 25th in the NFL.

41: Catches by running backs Boston Scott and Miles Sanders over the past four games.

91: Receiving yards in Week 17 by undrafted receivers Greg Ward and Deontay Burnett.

16.8: Points allowed at home by the Eagles defense, fourth-best in the NFL.

17.7: Points allowed by the Eagles defense over their last 6 games, sixth-best in the NFL during that span.

1,442: Rushing yards surrendered in 2019 by Eagles defense, third-lowest in the NFL.

60.95: Opponent passer completion percentage allowed by the Philadelphia defense, fifth-best in the NFL.

4.4: Third down conversions per game allowed by the Eagles defense, fourth-best in the NFL.

WEATHER FORECAST

According to AccuWeather, conditions Sunday should be about as good as you can expect this time of year in Philadelphia. Sunny skies will give way to some intermittent clouds by game time, and at kickoff (4:40 PM EST), the temperature is expected to be 40 degrees. Wind may be a factor as it was in the first meeting of these two teams in November, with gusts possible from 20-25 miles per hour. No significant rain is expected.

CARROLL’S THOUGHTS

--As the numbers above indicate, Carroll pointed out that his biggest concern may be dealing with a tough Philadelphia defensive unit, starting up front with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

“They’re really consistent and they’re really tough at the line of scrimmage,” Carroll said. “They don’t pressure a whole bunch. They just play really tough defense from inside out. It starts with Fletcher Cox. He’s a fantastic football player and he causes all the problems and disturbs everything. It starts right there. They have good experience in their safeties, too. They get all the way to the back end. They just pay good football. Like I said, they don’t pressure to get it done necessarily. They just play good ball and they attack you and they understand the game. They’re smart and they’re difficult to deal with. They look exactly the same. They haven’t changed at all. They just look tough and physical. 90 yards a game rushing. They’re doing a really nice job there. Difficult to deal with.”

--In addition to Cox, Carroll is wary of safety Malcom Jenkins, who the Eagles use in a variety of creative ways and recorded two sacks in the first matchup between these teams.

“He’s a very savvy football player and you have to make sure that you take care of that aspect of the game because he can hurt you,” Carroll said of Jenkins. “He’s been a very effective rusher. I think he got five or six sacks or something this year and caused a big fumble I think just last week. He’s a dangerous player.”

--Offensively, Carroll gives credit to the Eagles staff for changing things up once they lost so many key skill players to injury.

“I think Coach [Doug] Pederson does a terrific job of using their people and using their strengths,” said Carroll. “He’s very adaptable in that and that’s what he’s done to get great work going. Now, he’s caught a bunch of balls since our game. He’s a featured guy in the pass game. Without [Zach] Ertz for a while, he goes right to [Dallas] Goedert and away they go. Running backs, too. Boston Scott came in and picked right up where [Miles] Sanders left off. He really plays to his personnel really well. He gives them their best chance to be at their best, I think. That’s a really, really good coaching job.”

--In regards to the potential weather conditions, Carroll says the Seahawks are more prepared because of how recently they’ve seen it, although his interpretation of the forecast is a bit questionable.

“I thought that the wind in that stadium had an effect on both teams, both teams’ passing game,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be almost exactly the same it sounds. It’s going to be about 50 miles per hour winds and low 40s or high 30s or whatever. Very similar to that same setting we played in and we’ll be better because of it. We saw the ball that they threw a couple times. Got moved and it happened to Russ [Wilson] and the receivers a couple times. We need to be better at handling that. It’s an unusual condition in that stadium because the wind isn’t that strong, but yet it has a big effect because of the way it swirls in and out. We got to do a nice job with that.”

Regardless of whether wind gusts end up being 25 MPH or 50 (yikes!), the Seahawks face a tough task against a formidable Eagles defense Sunday in this wild card playoff matchup. Kickoff is set for 1:40 PM PST. If the Seahawks win, they would most likely earn a third meeting with the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the San Francisco 49ers.