Philadelphia Eagles (10-1 SU, 9-2 ATS) vs. Seattle Seahawks (7-4 SU, 4-6-1 ATS)
NFL Week 13
Date/Time: Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 8:30 PM ET
Where: CenturyLink Field Seattle, WA
TV: NBC
by Keith, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: PHI -5/SEA +5 (-115)
Over/Under Total: 47
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks will square off in highly-touted primetime clash when the NFC East and NFC West do battle on a national stage. The activities are set to kick off at 8:30 PM EST and will be aired across the country on NBC. The action will come live from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington home of the 12th Man. The two outfits last met in 2016 at this exact location where the Hawks would swoop in on the Eagles in a 26-15 victory. Dating back to 2005, the Hawks have won five of the last six against Philly.
The Eagles continue to display why they are the best team in the NFL. Under the play of quarterback Carson Wentz the Eagles continue to lay waste to all competition as their offense is simply a raging barnburner. The Eagles have a lot of weapons in their offensive personnel. The collection of running backs Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood, Kenyon Barner, and Corey Clement makes this tandem one of the deepest in the league. Complemented by Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, and Nelson Agholor as receiving options, there is no fall-off in these positions. It is for this reason the Eagles are the top scoring team in the NFL at 31.9 points per game.
The Seattle Seahawks have taken noticeable strides backward in 2017 compared to its previous editions. First, the Seahawks have no running game. Since the departure of Marshawn Lynch, Seattle has been able to find its identity in the rushing department. Philadelphia wont aid this endeavor by any stretch albeit they own the best rushing defense in the league at 65.1 yards per game. Regardless of the emergence of running back Thomas Rawls, the Hawk rushing attack has consistently sputtered and stalled. Furthermore, the offensive line has been quite porous. It is for this reason quarterback Russell Wilson has been sacked at unusual quantities he is not accustomed to. Lastly, the Seahawks have suffered some losses due to the injury bug. Most notably, the leagues best cornerback Richard Sherman who has been shelved with a season-ending injury due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. The Hawks also lost safety Kam Chancellor for the season due to an injury to his neck.
Seattle is a known for a significant home field advantage when they are at CenturyLink Field. In fact, some audiences have been known to create seismic energy from the sheer mayhem they can create from their loudness. However, Seattle has been defeated at home in their last two outings against Atlanta and Washington. This is uncharacteristic of Seattle teams as typically CenturyLink Field is one of the most feared places to play in the NFL.
Out of the gate, we have noticed an early lean on the Seahawks. As a result, we have seen this market drop by half of a point. Contrarily, it has been revealed 80% of the cash and 74% of the tickets have been cashed on the Eagles. In Over/Under markets, the number has reduced by a point to reveal action on the Under. On the contrary, 82% of the cash and 92% of the tickets have been cashed on the Over according to market analytics.
There is a reason why the Seahawks are fabled when they are at home. Given the fact, this is yet another pivotal primetime clash, Seattle can remind the country of why they boast the services of the 12th Man. For Seattle, this game in particular has extreme significance if it has any aspirations of making the post-season. A loss here could potentially put the Seahawks behind the Rams by two games for the NFC West lead. This is the time of year where every win matters and given the fact Coach Pete Carroll has navigated contests of this magnitude before, we like Seattles chances to not only cover but pull an upset. This market opened with Seattle being spotted less than a touchdown despite Philadelphias dominance against the league as a whole. We are astute to this and prompted to step in on an enhanced value play. When do you ever get Seattle with this kind of points at home? Swallow the points.
Keith’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: SEATTLE +5 – If you went to the store and two of the same exact product were sitting side by side; One for $105.00 and one for $110.00, which would you buy? THE CHEAPER ONE OF COURSE! So why are you still betting at -110 odds when you could be betting at -105? Dump your overpriced bookie TODAY and start enjoying the benefits of discounted odds at the web’s BEST sportsbook: 5Dimes!