Philadelphia Eagles Wild Card: Killing 3 myths about Seattle
By Hunter Doyle
Let’s dig a little deeper into Sunday’s matchup
The Eagles had to manage with just one healthy receiver at the end of the week 14 battle with the Giants. Greg Ward Jr. made big catches in that game. Philly has had to manage with three practice squad receivers and one rookie receiver in recent weeks. Deontay Burnett, for instance, was called up last week and had a huge 41-yard catch to move the chains at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
With an already abysmal offensive line for Seattle, Duane Brown recently had minor knee surgery and is unlikely to play Sunday. Without him in the past two matchups, Seattle has allowed six sacks.
The Eagles have had to juggle bodies on the line as well. Halapoulivaati Vaitai has proven once again that he’s a good backup filling in for Lane Johnson. After playing just 43 snaps in two seasons, Matt Pryor came in on Sunday and got downfield quickly to clear the way for one of Scott’s three touchdowns.
Seattle has also been without Quandree Diggs, and they’ve given up 810 yards and 53 points in his absence. He’s questionable for Sunday. The Eagles have seen defensive backs Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, and Avonte Maddox miss time, but Jones, LeBlanc, and Rasul Douglas have had seamless transitions into the Eagles starting lineup.
Lastly, former Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks tore his ACL this past Sunday and is out for the season. He’s been a key part of Seattle’s defense with 71 total tackles, three sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble.
Losing starting linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill hasn’t been a problem for the Eagles since Nathan Gerry, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley have all looked like they’ve started all season, and Nigel Bradham has elevated his game recently.
Not all of Seattle’s players have shown resiliency. They’ve struggled to figure things out recently as they’ve dropped back-to-back games at home. It may not seem this way on paper, but the Eagles are in a better situation injury-wise than the Seahawks are.