The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ win over Eagles
The Seattle Seahawks now hold the NFC’s second seed with an 8-3 record after their 23-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.” Neither offense looked their best, so it was up to the two defenses to set the tone of the game; four quarters later, nobody could argue that they did just that, with the men in the trenches providing some of the most impressive action of the evening. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly for the Seahawks in their latest victory of the season.
THE GOOD
The pass rush: The acquisition of Carlos Dunlap continues to pay dividends for the Seahawks’ defensive line, which looks like a whole new unit. Dunlap split a sack with Jarran Reed early in the second quarter but consistently threatened Eagles QB Carson Wentz throughout the game. Poona Ford, Rasheem Green, and Benson Mayowa each recorded a sack to add to the defensive line’s total, while blazing-fast safety Jamal Adams added one takedown to his team-leading sack total. Seattle’s pass rush, which lacked a meaningful presence in the first half of the season and contributed to the defensive woes, seems to have legitimately turned the corner this season.
D.K. Metcalf: Metcalf, who is now the NFL’s leading wide receiver with 1,039 receiving yards, caught 177 of those yards against the Eagles on Monday night on just 10 catches. He also recovered Philadelphia’s onside kick attempt with 12 seconds left in the game to seal the win for Seattle, who were up by six at the time. Metcalf’s night makes him the fastest player in Seahawks history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season, beating Steve Largent (1979, 1985) and Darrell Jackson (2004) by two games.
THE BAD
Fourth downs: In the first quarter, Seattle found itself in two fourth-down situations in Eagles territory, and elected to go for it both times. The first attempt, a fourth-and-goal sweep to WR David Moore at the Philadelphia 2-yard line, was instantly blown up by the Eagles’ Derek Barnett. The second fourth-down try, which took place at the Philadelphia 37, saw Russell Wilson keep the ball after D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett crashed into each other on their crossover routes; he was subsequently hunted down by none other than Barnett, who sacked him for a loss of one yard. The botched plays were particularly troublesome due to the fact that the Seahawks had taken a timeout before each one, which ought to have given them time to draw up the perfect strategy for the situation.
“It was me,” said coach Pete Carroll after the game when asked about the two failed fourth-down attempts. “I screwed it up.”
THE UGLY
The officiating: Neither team was particularly pleased with the referees on Monday night, who seemed to be watching an entirely different game at times. Eagles fans grumbled about an illegal contact penalty called on Darius Slay in the second quarter after the CB was accused of grabbing D.K. Metcalf’s shoulders (broadcast replay appeared to show nothing more than a standard defensive maneuver). On the following drive, Seahawks fans were outraged as the referees declined to call intentional grounding on Carson Wentz, despite an official standing right at the line of scrimmage as Wentz’s throw sailed out of bounds just short with no receiver in the area. Both plays occurred on touchdown drives, which only added to viewers’ ire. Unfortunately, human error will always be par for the course when it comes to penalty-calling, but the league’s recent willingness to experiment with reviewable flags (see: last year’s pass interference challenges) may indicate that another change could be tested next season.
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5 takeaways from Seattle's victory over Philadelphia in Week 12
