The Eagles will look to avenge their loss against the Patriots against the equally formidable Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are the only team to knock off the 49ers this season, and they have an MVP candidate in Russell Wilson. A win against the Seahawks would be huge for the struggling Eagles as they look to keep pace with the Cowboys for NFC East supremacy. Here’s what to watch for tomorrow:
1 – Shutdown Wilson: This is no easy task, and no one has found an answer that works consistently this season. Wilson is a clutch, mobile QB, and he is always able to make something out of nothing. He is a generational talent, and his combination of arm strength and quickness make him lethal. He is dangerous in and out of the pocket, and if he even gets warm, the Eagles are in trouble – let alone if he gets hot. The Eagles need to stop Wilson from the first snap, or it will be awful quickly.
2 – Bounce-back: The Eagles jumped out to a 10-0 lead; however, the Patriots made adjustments, and they methodically worked out a 17-point run to secure a victory. The Eagles need to learn how to make adjustments efficiently as well. The Eagles just got knocked down hard, yet they have the chance to get back up and to punch even harder than they got hit with a great win against a fantastic Seahawks unit. Can the Eagles make it click enough to knock off Wilson and company?
3 – Build on positives: If I named all the negatives from last game, you would just get more angry, and it would solve nothing. Instead, look at the positives. The Eagles’ defense looked impressive for the first time all season. The Eagles held Tom Brady under 225 passing yards, and they kept the offense in the game. Hammering the negatives should be the job of the ney-saying media. Instead, let’s use the positives from the loss as a springboard against the Seahawks’ potent offense.
4 – Offensive game-plan: How will the Eagles structure their offense against the Seahawks? Will it be led by a combination of Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Jay Ajayi, and Jordan Howard? Will the focal point be the arm talent of Carson Wentz? Both units had their ups and downs against the Patriots, so it will behoove both units to get out to a fast start. The Eagles have so many dynamic weapons, but it hasn’t been easy to get all of that talent flowing in one direction. Can the Eagles finally figure it out?
5 – History: History is not on the Eagles’ side. The Seahawks own the series lead with a record of 9-7. The Seahawks also boast a record of 6-1 in their last 7 games against the Eagles. Can the Eagles reverse the trend, or will the Seahawks keep their winning ways going?
Eric Fenstermaker 