After a wild weekend, the final game of Week 15 sees the Seattle Seahawks host the Philadelphia Eagles on "Monday Night Football."
Both teams come into this game with questions at quarterback, as Jalen Hurts is dealing with an illness and Geno Smith has a groin injury. Hurts seems more likely to go for this game than does Smith, and that plays heavily into how competitive this game will be.
The Eagles caught a break on Sunday as the Cowboys got blown out by the Bills, but they need to continue stacking wins to maintain their chances of recapturing the No. 1 seed from the 49ers. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are now a half-game back in the wild card race, and need to avoid falling too far back in the race for the postseason.
Can the Eagles keep pace with the Niners near the top of the NFC, or will the Seahawks spoil their plans? We'll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here's a look at how you can watch the game.
How to watch
Date: Monday, Dec. 18 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lumen Field (Seattle)
TV: ESPN | Stream on fubo (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Eagles -3, O/U 45 (via Sportsline consensus odds)
When the Eagles have the ball
Jalen Hurts was downgraded to questionable for this game due to an illness that got worse from Saturday night to Sunday morning, and traveled to Seattle separately from the rest of the team so as to not get anybody else sick. For an offense that has been struggling in recent weeks and needs to find a way to get back on track, it's less than ideal timing.
Philly piled up 400-plus yards in 10 of its 17 games last year, then did the same in four of its first five this season. But the Eagles haven't gained more than 378 yards since, and they have turned the ball over multiple times in five of their eight games since that point. (They had four multiple-turnover games all of last season.) They averaged 28.1 points per game last season, and 28.2 through the first five games of 2023. Since then, they are at just 25.1 per game and have scored 21 or fewer in three of their last four, culminating last week when they failed to score a single offensive touchdown against the Cowboys.
Luckily for them, the Seahawks defense has been a cure for more offenses' ills. Seattle checks in 28th in yards allowed and 25th in points allowed, as well as 24th in FTN's defensive DVOA and 27th in Tru Media's version of EPA/play. Seattle has specifically been vulnerable against the pass, checking in at 26th in DVOA and 27th in EPA/play, and particularly against short passes (24th in DVOA) and throws to the left side of the field (25th) and over the middle (21st).
Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon has been terrific in coverage, but there have otherwise been exploitable defenders all over the field. The Seahawks have played the second-higher rate of zone of any team in the NFL (behind only the Colts) and Hurts somewhat surprisingly has been more effective relative to the rest of the league against zone (ninth in EPA/play) than man (13th). The Seahawks also rarely blitz, sending extra rushers on 22.8% of opponent dropbacks, the eighth-lowest rate in the NFL. Hurts has struggled against blitzes this season, ranking 28th out of 30 qualified quarterbacks in EPA/play when opponents rush six or more defenders.
All of this could combine to give Hurts a chance to find some success through the air. His apparent knee issues have hampered the run game, and D'Andre Swift is at just 3.9 yards per carry since stacking back-to-back 130-plus-yard games back in Weeks 2 and 3. It's almost shocking to see the degree to which Philly has struggled to run the ball relative to its typical success, but Seattle's struggles with tackling and allowing yards after contact could give Swift a chance to break some big plays for the first time in a while.
When the Seahawks have the ball
Geno Smith played one of his best games of the season two weeks ago against the Cowboys, but appears in serious danger of missing his second consecutive game here. That means it will again be Drew Lock under center for the Seahawks, which is ... not good. Lock went 22 of 31 last week against the 49ers, but his willingness to take sacks (11.4% sack rate) and put the ball in danger (two picks, and he should have had at least two more) undermined the offense throughout the afternoon.
The Philadelphia defense has been disaster-level bad of late, and is coming into this game shorthanded after Darius Slay underwent knee surgery. The back end of the defense is now perilously thin, and will be wildly overmatched against DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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The Eagles are at their most vulnerable over the middle of the field thanks to the poor play of their linebackers and their non-Kevin Byard safeties, but losing Slay on the outside leaves them with James Bradberry (who has struggled this season) and either Eli Ricks or Kelee Ringo on the perimeter. Slot man Bradley Roby is probably the team's best coverage on the back end right now, and he'll spend most of the evening battling JSN on the inside. Perhaps things change defensively with Matt Patricia apparently calling the plays now instead of Sean Desai, but anyone who has seen Patricia's work outside of New England would have a healthy degree of skepticism regarding that possibility.
The Eagles have a better run defense than they do a pass defense, thanks to the strength of their defensive front. (They have been underwhelming in terms of rushing the passer but very good against the run.) Kenneth Walker III is more of a boom-or-bust type of back, and if he breaks a tackle and gets into the second level he could hit for a big play. Zach Charbonnet has been more involved since Walker missed time due to injury, and his work as a pass-catcher could be valuable against Philly's linebackers.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Seahawks 17
Hurts is sick, but Geno is likely out. It therefore seems highly unlikely that Drew Lock can hang with the type of explosive offense the Eagles are still capable of tapping into, and which they are well-set-up to access in this matchup.
I like my prediction but do yourself a favor and check out SportsLine proven model (you can check it out here).
And if you're wondering who all of our experts are picking for the game, here are their predictions.
