DK Metcalf sets NFL record with 160 receiving yards against Eagles

Seattle Seahawks rookie receiver DK Metcalf finished with 160 receiving yards on Sunday against the Eagles, a franchise playoff record.

The Seattle Seahawks advanced to the NFC divisional round following a hard-fought victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-9, on Sunday afternoon.

The Seahawks won despite an atrocious running game, which saw Travis Homer and Marshawn Lynch combined for just 19 yards on 17 carries.

That forced Seattle to air the ball out more, and the biggest beneficiary was rookie receiver DK Metcalf, who finished with seven receptions (on nine targets) for 160 yards and a touchdown.

Metcalf’s 160 receiving yards was not only a career-high, it was a Seahawks franchise record for a playoff game, breaking the previous record of 142 held by tight end Zach Miller.

It is also the most by a rookie in a playoff game in the Super Bowl era.

Metcalf did most of his damage on a remarkable 53-yard touchdown reception that saw him go to the ground to catch the pass, get up and scramble his way into the end zone.

Metcalf’s record-breaking rookie season continues with Seattle’s trip to Green Bay to take on a 13-3 Packers team that is coming off a bye week.

Kickoff is slated for 3:40 p.m. PT.

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Instant analysis of Seattle’s 17-9 wild-card win over Philadelphia

The Seattle Seahawks will advance to the NFC divisional round after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-9, in the wild card.

The Seattle Seahawks advanced to the NFC divisional round with a 17-9 victory over the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles. They’ll head to Green Bay to take on the Packers as they inch closer to yet another Super Bowl appearance in the Pete Carroll era.

The 17-9 final was the same score these two teams had in their Week 12 meeting, and also similar to the last matchup, the first half saw a lot of punts and very little offense. A Marshawn Lynch touchdown late in the second quarter was one of the few exciting plays, and brought the score to 10-3.

It was Lynch’s first playoff touchdown since 2014.

The biggest story was Philadelphia’s loss of Carson Wentz, who exited with a head injury in the first quarter and did not return. Backup Josh McCown didn’t quite go full Matt Schaub on the Seahawks, but he did find ways to be successful in short yardage situations, particularly by using tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. He finished with 18 completions for 174 yards.

However, Seattle’s defense continued their longstanding tradition of bending but not breaking, giving up a lot of yards on offense but each time managing to limit Philadelphia to a field goal.

Seattle appeared to break things open when Russell Wilson hit rookie receiver DK Metcalf for a 53-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving them a 17-6 lead.

While things remained close from there on out, the Seahawks managed to hold on. Now, they will head to Green Bay next weekend to take on the Packers.

Kickoff will be at 3:40 p.m. PT on Sunday, January 12.

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NFC wild-card round 3 things to watch: Seahawks at Eagles

The Seattle Seahawks are in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. Here are three keys for them to advance past the Eagles.

The Seattle Seahawks will take on the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC wild card, their second year in a row in the wild card game and the seventh time in the last eight years they have made the playoffs.

Seattle took on Philadelphia back in Week 12, winning a hard-fought battle 17-9 despite playing without star pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

Clowney will be active for this one, along with free safety Quandre Diggs which should give Seattle a strong defensive presence against a banged up Eagles offensive unit.

On offense, Seattle has opened up the playbook for veteran Marshawn Lynch, and will get a healthy Luke Willson back in the fold as well.

It should be a hard-fought battle in the city of brotherly love. Here are three things for fans to watch for that will be key for Seattle to win and advance in the NFC.

Luke Willson’s return gives Seahawks valuable experience

The Seattle Seahawks are thrilled that Luke Willson (hip) will be able to play on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It may not seem like a tight end who averages one catch and about 10 yards a game returning from injury would be a big deal, but for the Seattle Seahawks getting Luke Willson back in time for Sunday’s wild card game against the Philadelphia Eagles is crucial.

“It really helps us,” coach Pete Carroll said on Friday. “It really helps us getting him back. His experience. He does a number of things and he does them well. At the line of scrimmage, on the move, routes, and all kinds of things. We have such a background with him. It’s really valuable.”

Willson was signed midway through the 2019 season to replace Nick Vannett, who was shipped to the Steelers in exchange for a fifth round pick.

Willson ended up taking on a bigger role following the season-ending injury to Will Dissly, alongside Jacob Hollister.

Willson’s familiarity with the offense, versatility as a blocker and pass-catcher, and playoff experience make him a valuable piece of this Seattle team, and one they expect to have back in the mix on Sunday.

Willson missed five of Seattle’s last six regular season games with a hip injury, but he was left off the injury report and was a full participant in Friday’s practice, so all signs point to him suiting up against Philadelphia.

While he may not have a huge impact on the box score, his veteran presence and versatility along the line will be extremely valuable to this Seattle offense, especially with extra blocking tight end George Fant starting at left tackle in place of Duane Brown.

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Date and time set for wild-card game between Seahawks and Eagles

The Seattle Seahawks will take on the NFC East champion Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 5 at 1:40 p.m. PT in a wildcard battle.

The Seattle Seahawks lost a heartbreaker to their NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, 26-21, after a last second pass from Russell Wilson to Jacob Hollister fell just short of the end zone.

The loss not only cost Seattle the NFC West title, it also dropped them to the No. 5 seed and into a wildcard battle on the road against the No. 4 seeded Eagles of Philadelphia, who finished the season with a 9-7 record.

The game will be played at 1:40 p.m. PT on Sunday, January 5.

Seattle already played in Philadelphia this season, defeating them 19-7 in Week 12, but both teams have dealt with serious injuries since then, making this a very different matchup – even though we are barely six weeks removed from the last contest.

The Seahawks are 3-12 all-time in road playoff games, and they have struggled the second time playing opponents in the last two seasons, so Sunday’s battle could be a tricky one for a Seattle squad that struggled on both sides of the ball in the final two games of the 2019 regular season.

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Seattle Seahawks offensive player of the game: RB Rashaad Penny

Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 129 yards on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the second season in a row, Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny exploded for a huge game at an entirely unexpected time. This time, however, his performance helped lead his team to a victory.

Last year, Penny hardly contributed through Seattle’s first eight games before taking off for 108 rushing yards (on 12 carries) against the Rams in Week 10, a game the Seahawks narrowly lost, 36-31.

This year, Penny was even quieter through his first seven games, but he had a huge game on Sunday against the Eagles, carrying the ball 14 times for a career-high 129 yards.

Most of his damage came on a 58-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, which gave Seattle a 17-3 lead and put the game on ice.

Penny exploded through the tackles on a first-and-20, and used his blazing speed to outrun the rest of the Philadelphia defense.

The second-year running back out of San Diego State has been frustrated with his lack of playing time this season, but instead of sulking he has worked hard to improve his conditioning, and his work impressed coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer enough to give him an extended look this week.

“We expect our guys to be frustrated,” Carroll said after the game. “They all want to play. They all deserve to play, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. It’s how you deal with it. What he did is he got better, he’s trimmer, he’s faster, I mean look how fast he looked today, he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. That’s because of the hard work.”

Penny’s performance merited our offensive player of the week award, and it will be interesting to see if it gives him more opportunities going forward, especially after starter Chris Carson fumbled twice in a row and only finished with 26 yards on eight carries.

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Instant analysis of Seattle’s 17-9 victory over Philadelphia

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.

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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3 things to watch: Seahawks at Eagles

The Seattle Seahawks will look to earn their ninth win of the season on Sunday morning against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off the bye week with another tough 10:00 a.m. road game, this time in Philadelphia against a 5-5 Eagles squad.

Seattle (8-2) will have their work cut out for them in this one, the start of a brutal stretch of games they’ll need to win nearly all of if they want to have any chance of securing an NFC West title and/or a bye in the playoffs.

At this point every game matters a great deal, and this one will have plenty of exciting storylines for fans to pay attention to.

Click through to see three of the most compelling as we get set for Week 12 action.

Seahawks vs. Eagles in Week 12 flexed from Sunday night to early slot

The Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles will no longer meet Sunday night in Week 12, with the game slated to start at 10:00 a.m. PT.

The Seattle Seahawks’ matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 has been flexed out of prime time.

The NFL announced the schedule change on Tuesday, which will now feature the 49ers and Packers in the 5:20 p.m. PT time slot, pushing the Seahawks and Eagles up to a 10 a.m. PT kickoff — Seattle’s fourth early game of the season.

The Seahawks were initially slated for four straight prime-time games. Seattle is now entering its bye week.

 

Seattle is 5-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history and 3-0 in 10 a.m. start times this year, so perhaps this news isn’t as daunting as it seems.

The Eagles were the Super Bowl champs two years ago but went just 9-7 last season and are only 5-4 in 2019, perhaps a factor in moving the game.

Additionally, the 49ers and Packers are two of the strongest teams in the NFC, and their matchup should be a good battle for supremacy in the conference.

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