In one of the uglier games of the season – even by Seattle’s standards – the Seahawks’ defense stifled the Philadelphia Eagles and helped lead them to a 17-9 victory.
Seattle is now 9-2 on the year.
A 58-yard touchdown run from Rashaad Penny early in the fourth quarter gave Seattle a two-touchdown lead, and an interception by Tre Flowers late in the fourth was the final nail in the coffin of an Eagles team that struggled all game against Seattle’s defense.
Penalties were a huge part of the game story, with Seattle getting penalized a whopping 12 times. They were penalized 10 times before Philadelphia received their first penalty late in the third quarter. They finished with two penalties for 15 yards, nothing compared to Seattle – who struggled with discipline upfront on the line of scrimmage all day long.
The wind had a huge impact on this game as well, with both quarterbacks struggling to generate yards through the air. Both Carson Wentz and Russell Wilson missed wide-open receivers throwing against the wind, and punts and kicks were considerably less effective all day long.
Seattle scrapped their way to a 10-3 lead at halftime, although they should have been up by multiple scores. A rare miss from Wilson to tight end Jacob Hollister in the end zone cost them four points (they converted a field goal instead) and a dropped catch by DK Metcalf, also in the end zone, cost them seven.
After the Eagles struck first on a short field goal midway through the first quarter, Seattle responded quickly on a flea-flicker from Chris Carson to Russell Wilson that worked perfectly, as Wilson hit Malik Turner in the end zone on a dime for a touchdown.
It was Seattle’s first flea-flicker of the season and gave them an early lead.
Later in the half, Ziggy Ansah forced a fumble that was negated by a Shaquill Griffin holding penalty, but Seattle forced a turnover a few plays later on an interception from Bradley McDougald.
The interception was part of a disastrous game from Wentz, who lost two fumbles and threw another interception – this one by Flowers – which sealed the game late in the fourth.
Wentz finished 33-45 with 256 yards, one garbage-time touchdown, two interceptions, and two lost fumbles.
Shaquem Griffin was the catalyst behind one of Wentz’s fumbles on his first big play of the season as a member of the defense, drilling Wentz and forcing a fumble that was recovered by Branden Jackson.
Griffin had a really solid game, flashing excellent disruption as a pass rusher and finishing with four tackles and one pass defended.
The Seahawks moved to 6-0 on the road this season, and will now root for Green Bay on Sunday night against San Francisco, Seattle’s NFC West rival.
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