THE UGLY

The penalties: Seattle committed five penalties in the first half to Philadelphia’s zero, and finished the game with 12 total penalties for 90 yards. The first major penalty was called at the end of the first quarter, when Quandre Diggs lowered his helmet to initiate contact with Zach Ertz after a completed pass, thus giving the Eagles 15 free yards. Later in the same drive, Ziggy Ansah’s stupendous forced fumble was negated by Shaquill Griffin’s defensive holding penalty. In the second half, Tyler Lockett was called for offensive pass interference, forcing the line of scrimmage back to the Seahawks 18-yard line, and a Joey Hunt tripping penalty created a third-and-25 situation in which Wilson was forced to throw deep and was subsequently intercepted. Seattle needs to tighten up on discipline for the tough weeks ahead – even a few yards could make all the difference in a close game down the stretch.

Who greased the ball (again)?: Although most of the fumbles belonged to Carson Wentz (four official, one reverted due to a penalty) one particular drive in the fourth quarter brought back unfortunate memories for Seahawks fans as Carson lost the ball at the Seattle 32, thankfully recovering it himself. On the very next play, the Seahawks were not so lucky – a miscommunication between Wilson and Carson in which Wilson attempted to hand the ball off and released his grip before Carson had figured out that the offense was not, in fact, running a play-action. This time, the Eagles’ Nathan Gerry jumped on it, giving the Philadelphia offense an opportunity for a comeback try. Seattle has had trouble hanging onto the ball all year; as the season starts to wind down, the Seahawks will need to figure out how to remedy the issue if they hope to make a deep playoff push.

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