Eagles battle injuries, Seahawks in NFC wild-card game
Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET | NBC
Matchup rating: 64.9 | Spread: SEA -1.5 (45)
What to watch for: Eagles guard Brandon Brooks is out with a shoulder injury and tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) is questionable for Sunday, meaning the right side of the line may be manned by backups Matt Pryor and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. The Seahawks are second to last in sacks this season (28), but defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Co. will have some opportunities this week. — Tim McManus
Bold prediction: The Seahawks will force at least two turnovers. They won the first meeting in Philadelphia thanks to five takeaways, and that was without Clowney. But he’s back (albeit it at much less than 100%), and Quandre Diggs might be as well. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is playing his first playoff game and might not have his No. 1 target in Zach Ertz. — Brady Henderson
Stat to know: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 2019 Eagles are the sixth division-winner since the 1970 merger to have zero wide receivers gain 500 yards through the air. The Eagles started nine different wide receivers during the regular season, and during their current four-game win streak, they had four different wideouts catch a pass: Greg Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Deontay Burnett and Robert Davis. That quartet had 11 career receptions combined entering the season. It shouldn’t surprise then that Wentz completed 242 passes to his running backs and tight ends this season, the most by a quarterback since Drew Brees‘ 251 in 2014.
Key matchup: Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett vs. the Eagles’ man coverage. With the Eagles leaning on single-high man coverage, Lockett will have opportunities to win in the slot. Look for quarterback Russell Wilson to target Lockett on vertical shot plays and deep crossers to test the Eagles’ cornerbacks. Read more.
Betting nugget: Under the current playoff format (since 1990), a 9-7 or worse team has previously hosted an 11-5 or better team eight times in the wild-card round. The home team went 6-2 in those games (6-1-1 ATS) despite being underdogs in six of those games. Philadelphia is also 5-0 outright as a playoff home underdog in the Super Bowl era, winning all but one game by at least 13 points. Read more.
Officiating nugget: Referee Shawn Smith’s regular-season crew threw the league’s most flags for unnecessary roughness (23), more than three times the lowest crew total (Walt Anderson/Alex Kemp, 7). Smith’s crew also called the second-most roughing the passer fouls (12).
Henderson’s pick: Seahawks 23, Eagles 21
McManus’ pick: Seahawks 28, Eagles 26
FPI prediction: PHI, 60.3% (by an average of 3.4 points)