'This Game More Important To Seahawks Than Eagles' Says SportsLine's Kenny White
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)- After an ugly 17-10 loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday, the Eagles find themselves in the familiar position of being .500 once again. With a record of 5-5, the schedule does lighten up in the coming weeks. But before they get there, the Birds face a battle with the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday in front of their home fans.
Sitting a game back of the Dallas Cowboys and currently outside of the playoff picture, one would think that this game might mean a bit more to Philly than it does to the 8-2 Seahawks who seem to be comfortably in playoff position. SportsLine NFL analyst and Wizards Of Odds Kenny White says, to quote the great Lee Corso, "not so fast, my friend."
"The Eagles are only one game behind the Cowboys, and the Eagles do know the Cowboys are playing the Patriots this weekend," said White. "Seattle, even though they are 8-2, they are still a game behind the 49ers, and they have the Rams two games behind them. I'm actually going to say this game is more important to the Seahawks this week than the Eagles."
Because the Seahawks trail the 49ers in the division, Seattle is currently the fifth seed in the NFC Playoff Picture. If they want home-field advantage at any point in the postseason, they are going to have to catch the 49ers in order to do so. That is why White believes it's more important for Pete Carroll's squad to win this game. Furthermore, the Seahawks face games remaining against the Vikings, Rams, Panthers, Cardinals and 49ers. Combined record of those teams? 31-20-1.
Stream your local NFL on CBS game live with CBS All Access.
The Eagles, on the other hand, face the Dolphins (2-8), Giants twice (2-8), Redskins (1-9), and Cowboys (6-4) after this weekend. That is a large difference in strength of schedule, and the biggest reason that losing this game may not be the end of the world for Doug Pederson and company.
One thing playing in Seattle's favor so far? Their road record.
"The one trend I'm looking at is Seattle, five wins on the road. 5-0 and they are 4-0-1 ATS (against the spread)," said White.
That is a bit of a break from the norm for the Seahawks in the Pete Carroll era, as White notes.
"It is really remarkable because Seattle under Pete Carroll the last five years, they have barely been over .500 winnings games on the road 23-21. We'll see if that trend continues this weekend," said White.
That trend could suggest one of two things.
- The Seahawks are a better road team this season.
- There is regression coming for the team in the second half of the season, possibly starting this week.
One point in favor of number two above is that, outside of the Cardinals game that they won by 17 earlier this year, the other four road wins for Seattle have come by seven points or less. They beat the Steelers, 28-26, the Browns, 32-28, the Falcons, 27-20, and the 49ers, 27-24 in overtime. Consistently winning one-score games is difficult to do over time; things generally tend to even out. Russell Wilson is having an MVP-caliber season, and he is a large part of why the team has been so good in one-score games this season, going 7-1 on the year.
Whether that trend will continue remains to be seen, but heading into Sunday, the oddsmakers appear inclined to believe that it will with Seattle just one-point underdogs on the road in Philly. That essentially makes this game a pick'em.
The Eagles and Seahawks kick things off Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
