Enemy Reaction 2017: Philadelphia Eagles

When Enemy Reaction is published on a Monday, you know the Seattle Seahawks did something special on Sunday. I’d consider defeating the team with the best record in the NFL by double digits a special occasion.

The Philadelphia Eagles were favored by six (then dropped to four) to beat the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, but Seattle was in a parlay-busting mood, and delivered their best performance of the season at an absolutely vital time. Had Seattle lost, they’d have been two games back of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West chase, and still behind the Atlanta Falcons in the wild card. Instead, not only is Seattle still in the hunt for another division title, some good results elsewhere combined with the Seahawks winning out could net them a first-round bye!

Enough chatter, let’s get this show rolling! Eagles game thread comments are courtesy of Bleeding Green Nation. Your salt intake shall be fulfilled by the quotes you are about to read.

Ronald Darby gets penalized for pass interference on Paul Richardson (3-0 SEA)

Russell Wilson hooks up with Jimmy Graham for a touchdown (10-0 SEA)

LaGarrette Blount run to Seattle’s 4-yard line nullified by Alshon Jeffery hold, but it’s obviously a ref conspiracy (10-0 SEA)

Eagles fail to convert 3rd and 2 toss play before halftime, and the fans are PISSED (10-3 SEA)

Doug Pederson unsuccessfully challenges spot of potential 1st down, even though they’d easily convert 4th and inches on a Wentz sneak (10-3 SEA)

Carson Wentz gets stripped of the ball near the goal line, Seahawks take over on touchback (10-3 SEA)

After a holding penalty on 3rd down, Eagles commit a Graham-on-Graham holding penalty (10-3 SEA)

Cover-zero blitz backfires for Philly, Doug Baldwin has apparent touchdown, but he’s called down at the 1-yard line (10-3 SEA)

No Baldwin touchdown? No problem! Tyler Lockett gets his first of the year (17-3 SEA)

Eagles go for it on 4th down, but K.J. Wright forces a turnover on downs (17-3 SEA)

How did Carson Wentz do that? (17-3 SEA)

Carson Wentz throws a touchdown to Nelson Agholor to bring the Eagles back within 7 points (17-10 SEA)

Russell Wilson flips it to Mike Davis for a first down (17-10 SEA)

Why u no challenge, Doug Pederson? (17-10 SEA)

J.D. McKissic breaks Mychal Kendricks’ ankles, snatches his soul, scores a touchdown (24-10 SEA)

Pass interference on Shaquill Griffin waived off, Eagles fans are mad! (24-10 SEA)

Byron Maxwell picks off Carson Wentz to seal a sweet Seahawks victory (24-10 SEA Final)

Who’s the MVP? Wilson or Wentz?

A reasonable take

Another reasonable take

Post-Game: Sloppy in Seattle (Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz)

The Eagles got a huge slice of humble pie. The whole world had been kissing their ass for a while now. Seahawks players talked to the Eagles after every single play. It drove me nuts, but probably was good. When you get your nose shoved in poop, you remember it and don’t want that feeling again.

The Eagles can learn from this game. They faced a playoff team in a tough atmosphere. They failed. That isn’t a defining moment. It showed the Eagles what they need to do to win games like that. You can’t make mistakes and you have to make plays.

You also have to keep in mind that this wasn’t a good matchup. Wilson is used to bad blocking and dealing with pressure. He’s sometimes at his best when running around and doing insane things. That neutralized the Eagles pass rush to a certain extent. Even when they won and got pressure…they didn’t win. Wilson could spin out of it and throw the ball away or to someone for a key completion.

I hate watching Wilson. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to play against him.

The Eagles are still a good team. They are still going to win the NFC East. This loss can be a bump in the road if the players and coaches learn from it. They have to identify the mistakes and work to correct them. Doug Pederson said all the right things in his postgame press conference.

Now the players have to make those words mean something. They need a strong week of practice and a much better performance next Sunday.

Post-Game: Reality check in Seattle (Thomas Jackson, The Sports Daily)

Truth be told, we were in this game most of the way but shot ourselves in the foot with some questionable challenges and non-challenges by HC Doug, and a most unfortunate goal-line fumble by Carson Wentz.

And a tip of the hat to Seattle’s linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played the game of his life and simply wrecked most of the crazy RPO stuff we tried to run.

Mama said there’d be prime time games like this. But she never knew a clinker like this one by the Eagles would give new life and expectations to just about every other team in the NFC with a winning record.

I guess the football gods finally decided this team was getting it too easy and having too much fun.

The flip side of this loss is that sinking feeling deep in the soul of every veteran Eagles fan: “Maybe we’re just not as good as we thought we were…”

Post-Game Video RANT: Seattle bites us again (NSFW language from Big D)

Enemy Preaction: Jacksonville Jaguars (Big Cat Country)

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Wow! That was fun. This was one of my favorite wins in the Russell Wilson era, and there are plenty to choose from. Seattle hasn’t often had to play the underdog role in recent years, but they kicked ass and toppled the consensus best team in the league. We could still use the Eagles’ help next week, seeing as they play the Los Angeles Rams.

Now the Seahawks turn their attention to the 8-4 Jacksonville Jaguars, whose offense isn’t really good but their defense is beastly. I’m sure Russell Wilson can’t wait to deal with Calais Campbell again! It won’t be an easy game for the Seahawks by any stretch, but it’s certainly one where a classic Seahawk-y 14-9 or 17-13 scoreline will do the job for the good guys. Seattle doesn’t often play East Coast games at 4:25 PM ET, so it’s basically a night game, and you know how well the Seahawks play once the sun sets!

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!