Philadelphia Eagles versus Seattle Seahawks: 3 Concerns about Week 12

3. Is the Philadelphia Eagles offense able to keep pace with Seattle’s?

What kind of game plan can Eagles head coach Doug Pederson cook up to keep pace with Seattle? That’s the question heading into Monday night. There’s some good news on that front. The Seahawks defense isn’t very good.

Let’s be blunt. The Seahawks’ defense is currently the worst in the NFL from a statistical standpoint. Seattle is 18th in total points allowed. They’re 32nd in passing yards allowed, and they’re 32nd in total yards allowed. If you throw out newly acquired defense end Carlos Dunlap, the Seahawks defensive front should be one of the more controllable units the Eagles have faced or will face this season.

Conversely, one of the major things keeping the Seahawks in games is a stout linebacking core that features Bobby Wagner. He’ll be one of the guys the Eagles want to try and neutralize or, at minimum, slow down. So again, how can the Birds win this Week 12 matchup?

One, they’ll need to keep Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ offense off of the field. In Seattle’s last two losses, both of the winning teams won in the time of possession battle, so the Eagles can’t abandon the run game. We mean it, Doug! Goal number two should be getting the ball out of Wentz’s hands quickly, especially to wide receiver Jalen Reagor in space.

This matchup may appear to be a guaranteed loss, but the Birds will have opportunities to win. The Eagles won’t be able to get into a shoot out with the Seahawks, so the defense will have to come up huge (and maybe even score themselves). The offense will have to scheme their receivers open in an attempt to keep Seattle’s defense on its heels. Advantage: The Eagles