The Week 15 finale on Monday Night Football has the biggest NFC playoff ramifications of any game on the slate. The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks in a game neither can afford to lose this late in the season. It’s pretty apropos of these teams closing out Week 15, seeing how it’s been as many years since the Eagles beat the Seahawks. With both teams coming off butt-kickings at the hands of divisional foes last week, this should be an epic showdown because so much is riding on the outcome.
Unlike last year, Philly is no longer a surprise team that no one believed in until late in the season. They don’t feel like quite the same team, although their record is among the best in the NFL. After being destroyed in Dallas last week, this Monday night matchup with Seattle is a must-win in the race for home-field advantage this postseason. After getting stomped out by the 49ers two weeks ago, the Eagles can’t fall a full game behind them with San Francisco owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Seattle’s in a similar situation, but a loss for them means losing ground on a playoff spot altogether. The Seahawks sit perched in ninth place in the NFC, a half-game behind four teams at 7-7. With six teams focused on two wild card spots, another loss would make Seattle’s chances at making the postseason damn near impossible with only three games remaining. There’s no time like the present for snapping this four-game losing streak.
Another aspect that could make this game even more intriguing (or less, depending on how you view it), is that it could be a shootout between backup quarterbacks. Jalen Hurt is dealing with some kind of illness and Geno Smith has a groin injury. Smith is unlikely to play, while the jury is still out on Hurts. So, the postseason hopes of the Seahawks could very well fall on Drew Lock’s shoulders. If Hurts can’t go for the Eagles, Marcus Mariota, the former No. 2 overall pick, gets the nod.
These teams have lost six in a row, combined, so they’ll be fighting for their football lives. All things being equal, Philly should take this game, even on the road, but this is near-playoff football and anything can happen when a team’s back is against the wall. For the Eagles, a loss probably means no home field, but for the Seahawks, their postseason dreams will most likely be nothing more than that.
