After a stunning 8-2 road record (playoffs included) in 2019, the Seattle Seahawks are just 2-3 on the road in 2020, but fear not because their next game is at their second home.
Oh, you thought I was talking about that cursed stadium in Glendale? Yeah that already happened and I don’t want to discuss further.
I’m talking about the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia! The Eagles are 3-6-1 and no longer in first place of the rancid NFC East, and they are five-point underdogs to a Seahawks team looking for its first road win since September.
The Seahawks have a winning away record over ten teams in franchise history, but none more pronounced than Philadelphia. Not only are they 6-2 lifetime at the Eagles, but they are undefeated at Lincoln Financial Field. Those two losses occurred in the Seahawks’ inaugural season in 1976 and the other in 1989. Since then it’s been one-sided in favor of the good guys in this story.
Seahawks 38 Eagles 0 – Week 1, 1998
This would be Dennis Erickson’s final year with the Seahawks, ditto Ray Rhodes for the Eagles. Brian Hoying had as many sacks taken (9) as completions, as Seattle’s defense swarmed him all game long. Warren Moon threw for three touchdowns, including two to Joey Galloway, and Shawn Springs had an early pick-six that gave the Eagles a taste of their eventual 3-13 season. This doubled as Seattle’s final game at the old Veterans Stadium.
Seattle started the year 3-0 and then collapsed after that, and there’s a certain game older Seahawks fans may remember bitterly as daylight robbery by the refs. It all worked out in the end as the Eagles hired Andy Reid and the Seahawks hired Mike Holmgren.
Seahawks 42 Eagles 0 – Week 13, 2005
Dubbed the “Monday Night Massacre,” the Seahawks didn’t even crack 200 yards of offense but they didn’t need to. There were three defensive touchdowns — two by Andre Dyson and one by rookie Lofa Tatupu — as well as two rushing TDs by Shaun Alexander and a passing touchdown by Matt Hasselbeck to make up the final score. Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer threw two picks apiece and the Eagles had six turnovers for the entire game. There were 17 combined punts, which is terrible television but it’s great TV to me when the Seahawks win by that much in bad weather conditions.
This was Seattle’s NFC championship winning season and they moved to 10-2, while the Eagles fell apart and finished 6-10.
Seahawks 28 Eagles 24 – Week 13, 2007
The Seahawks had just beaten the St. Louis Rams on the 1-yard line on a dropped snap by Gus Frerotte. It would’ve been a pretty embarrassing loss to a team that would end the season 3-13. Against the Eagles, they were 5-6 and starting AJ Feeley at quarterback while Donovan McNabb was out injured. Feeley’s number one target that day was Lofa Tatupu, who had three interceptions including the game-winner right near the goal-line in the dying seconds. Seattle could’ve put this game away sooner but allowed Brian Westbrook to run back a punt 64 yards to give the Eagles a shot at a dramatic win. This might have been one of the most Pete Carroll-esque wins of the Holmgren era Seahawks teams.
Seattle clinched the NFC West the following week over the Arizona Cardinals and then got bounced by the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. The Eagles went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Seahawks 24 Eagles 14 – Week 14, 2014
The Eagles were 9-3 coming into this game, but Mark Sanchez was the starter while Nick Foles was injured. A fumbled snap by Jon Ryan gifted Philadelphia a short field and the early lead on a Jeremy Maclin touchdown. Seattle would score the next 17 points before Sanchez found Zach Ertz behind KJ Wright for a touchdown to make it 17-14. On the next possession, the Eagles learned that the Cover 0 against Russell Wilson is a bad idea, and Doug Baldwin made them pay. Lynch’s 4th quarter fumble gave Philly some life, only for Sanchez to throw a horrible pick to Tharold Simon to kill the comeback. The Eagles only had 139 yards of total offense and frankly the Seahawks should’ve won by more.
Philly missed the playoffs at 10-6 while Seattle reached the Super Bowl again.
Seahawks 17 Eagles 9 – Week 13, 2019 and the 2020 NFC Wild Card Game
Yeah these games are recent enough that I don’t need to recap them. The regular season game was deceptively close because of a garbage time touchdown, while the playoff rematch was only marginally scary because the Seahawks somehow forced zero punts in the 2nd half against a Josh McCown led offense. DK Metcalf had his phenomenal playoff debut and iced the game himself.
Russell Wilson has never lost against the Eagles, and they ought to keep that intact on Monday night at their fall/winter home.
