The Philadelphia Eagles have yet another opportunity to make a statement Sunday at home against a red-hot Seattle Seahawks squad.
Last week’s statement game for Philadelphia turned out to be a failure. After taking a 10-0 lead over the defending champion New England Patriots, the Eagles were outscored 17-0 for the remainder of the game.
On the other side of the ledger, the 8-2 Seahawks head into Week 12 coming off their bye and fresh off a dramatic win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Still alive in both the NFC West and home-field races, Seattle is pretty much in a must-win situation heading into Philadelphia. It’s in this that we give you five bold predictions for this huge conference matchup.
Jadeveon Clowney records first multi-sack game
As you can see, Carson Wentz struggles big time when Lane Johnson is not manning right tackle for the Eagles. That reared its ugly head last week after Johnson left the game with a concussion. He’s now questionable to go for Sunday’s game.
With the right side of the line set to go up against Clowney, this could be a major issue for Philadelphia’s passing game.
After struggling to start his Seahawks career, Clowney has picked it up big time. The former No. 1 overall pick has recorded nine quarterbak hits, two sacks and two forced fumbles over the past three games. Look for a dominating performance from Clowney Sunday evening in Philly.
Zach Ertz goes for 150-plus receiving yards
Given how poorly Philadelphia’s receivers have played this season, it’s permitted Ertz an opportunity to stack together big numbers. The Pro Bowl tight end has caught 18-of-21 targets for 197 yards over the past two games. He’s going to play a major role if Philadelphia is to come out on top against Seattle.
There’s better news on this front for the Eagles. Seattle has given up a 72% completion mark to tight ends on the season. Look for Carson Wentz to target his No. 1 pass catcher early and often.
If so, it will lead to a potential career high in receiving yards for Ertz, whose previous high (152) came against the Giants back in 2016.
Jay Ajayi plays big role for Eagles
Set to sesa his first real action in an NFL game since October of 2018, this former Pro Bowler signed with Philadelphia following the Darren Sproles injury. Given that Ajayi knows the Eagles’ system from the past two seasons, there’s not going to be a learning curve here.
We’re not going out on a limb to suggest that Ajayi will be heavily featured. What makes this bold is the prediction that he’ll see more touches than Jordan Howard (should he play), sharing duties with Miles Sanders in the process.
Josh Gordon leads Seahawks in receiving yards
Even with Kevin Lockett likely to go in this one, we’re expecting Gordon to play a larger role than his more established counterpart. We’re just not too sure how Lockett is going to look after being rushed to the hospital with a leg injury following Seattle’s Week 10 win over San Francisco.
For his part, Gordon made big catch after big catch late in the Seahawks’ above-mentioned win over San Francisco. He’s built up trust with Russell Wilson. Expect that to be taken to a whole new level against a suspect Eagles secondary on Sunday.
Eagles keep pace with Cowboys in NFC East
As 1.5-point home favorites, it stands to reason that most expect Philadelphia to come out on the losing end Sunday. We’re not too sure. This team had the Patriots where it wanted them last week. A meltdown on offense led to a disappointing loss.
It’s all about desperation. Unlike Seattle, the Eagles’ only chance of earning a trip to the playoffs comes via winning the NFC East.
With Dallas heading to New England to take on the defending champs, the Eagles need to make a statement. We’re expecting that to come to fruition here.