Eagles at Seahawks
The Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks look to ride the momentum of impressive statement victories last week into Sunday's tilt at CenturyLink Field. Philadelphia posted just its second win in six outings with a 24-15 victory over Atlanta on Sunday while Seattle benefited from a goal-line stand to emerge victorious for the second straight week and improve to 5-1-1 in its last seven with a 31-24 triumph over New England.
Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for three touchdown passes versus the Patriots while the former also accounted for three scores (two passing, one rushing) in the last meeting with the Eagles - a 24-14 Seahawks win on Dec. 7, 2014. While a healthier Wilson has Seattle on the rise, Philadelphia trumpeted Carson Wentz after a hot start before seeing the second overall pick of the 2016 draft throw two touchdowns and four interceptions in the last five games. Undaunted, Wentz admitted he's been impressed by Wilson since he's entered the league in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, reportedly 13 picks ahead of an Eagles team that wanted his services and instead settled for fellow quarterback Nick Foles. "A lot of respect for him, the way he came into the league right away and took it by storm as a late pick. It was impressive," Wentz said. "So I have a lot of respect for him and look forward to going up against him."
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Seahawks -6.5. O/U: 44
ABOUT THE EAGLES (5-4): The Philadelphia backfield is a confusing one to label, yet both veteran Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews are making their mark in distinctly different ways. Sproles remains a threat in the passing game with eight receptions last week and Mathews rushed for a season-high 109 yards and scored twice to increase his touchdown total to four in his last three contests. Jordan Matthews, who is nursing back spasms, has been the lone consistent Eagles wideout with 23 catches for 216 yards in his last three games.
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (6-2-1): With Thomas Rawls (fibula) expected to return on Sunday and rookie C.J. Prosise turning heads by recording a career-high 153 yards from scrimmage (66 rushing, 87 receiving) versus the Patriots, Seattle opted to end Christine Michael's second stint with the club by waiving him this week. Prosise's dominating performance notwithstanding, the Seahawks are expected to ease back Rawls into the system despite the team being on pace for a franchise low for yards in a 16-game season. "We've got to get him back first. Let's get him back, get him going, make sure he's ready to roll and all that, and we'll figure that out," coach Pete Carroll said. "If he makes it through the week, he's going to play considerably because he’s in great shape and he's ready to do that. But we're not going to overplay him or try to take it too far too soon."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Veteran DE Cliff Avril has a team-best 9.0 sacks for the Seahawks, who are tied for second in the NFL with 29.
2. Eagles coach Doug Pederson grew up in Ferndale, Wash. -- approximately 100 miles north of Seattle - and used to attend Seahawks games at The Kingdome.
3. Seattle LB Bobby Wagner's 93 tackles are one shy of Cleveland's Christian Kirksey for the NFL lead.