Philadelphia at Seattle, Week 9
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
Just like last week, the Eagles are facing another fine feathered friend. Unlike last week, however, when the resurgent Falcons came to Philadelphia, the Eagles are traveling across the country to take on a team whose season has been nothing to squawk about.
Seattle has been hit with injuries, but even those players who have stayed healthy haven't been positive difference-makers. As a result, the team, which normally lords it over the NFC West, is at the bottom of the mediocre division with a 2-5 record. Receiver Deion Branch has fond memories of playing against the Eagles from his experience as the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, but he has a stubborn foot problem and will likely miss another game. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck can usually be relied on for steady play, but he is likely to miss his fourth straight game with a bulging disk in his back. That may be a good thing, because Hasselbeck was terrible earlier in the year, completing less than half of his passes while posting a miserable passer rating of 57.7. In his place, backups Charlie Frye and Seneca Wallace had been no better until last week, when Wallace ripped the 49ers for 222 yards on 15-of-25 passing, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Wallace will need to be on his game again, because Donovan McNabb and Co. versus the Seahawks' secondary appears to be a total mismatch. Seattle ranks 30th in yards allowed through the air, while Philadelphia never saw a pass play it didn't want to run. McNabb, who has only faced the Seahawks once before (racking up 283 yards and two scores in 2001), has a top receiver on the mend in Kevin Curtis, who returned last week and should provide an even more effective complement to talented rookie DeSean Jackson this Sunday. Fellow pass-catcher Reggie Brown, recovering from a groin injury, also hopes to hit the field, which would give McNabb a full arsenal for the first time all season. It won't help Seattle's cause, either, if top defenders Lofa Tatupu (groin) and Patrick Kerney (shoulder) either can't play this week or are limited.
By
Desmond Bieler
|
October 31, 2008; 12:54 PM ET
| Category:
Game Previews Week 9
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