The Eagles have become the talk of the town and the best team in the NFL.  Well over the next two weeks they will have a chance to prove it.  Over the next two weeks the birds will have to travel out west first to play the Seahawks and then to take on the Rams.  This will challenge the Eagles in so many ways yet if they can come out on top they will with out a doubt be the favorite to go all the way.

The Eagles have just resigned Alshon Jeffrey to a 4 year extension.  Once again the Eagles are using the blue print that was set by the Seahawks when they realized they had a franchise QB in Russell Wilson.  The blue print is sign your talent early and set the contracts to expire around the time that you will need to pay the young QB big money.  This gives the team the ability to be extremely competitive over the next 4 years.  By then if Carson is everything we think he is then we will have no problem being competitive for the next decade or more.  The signing of Jerningan was just another example of that.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles aren’t done.  I am also glad that they don’t care about re-working contracts in the middle of the season.  There is no rule that you have to wait, get it while it’s good.

So for the game this weekend we will talk about some of the struggles the Eagles may face going into a hostile environment like the Seattle.

1. You have to travel out west which is always problematic.
2. You are going to Seattle which has been has the toughest place to play in December the last few years, its loud, its passionate, and we can’t take it over with Eagles fans.
3. Russell Wilson is playing his best football right now.
4. The noise will make the Eagles have to use more silent count.  This could lead to more false starts.
5. Seahawks Need this win, because they want to reach the Rams who we happen to play the very next week.

So with the struggles that will exist there are some positives for the Eagles which will help them out this week.

1.  They are 4-1 on the road this season.
2. They kill the run game, and the Seahawks are currently ranked 20th in rush offense.  Not good for them.
3. The Eagles are going to force Russell Wilson to beat us through the air and since the return of Darby the Eagles are only looking better and better.
4. The Eagles front seven is almost unstoppable at this point.
5. The Birds are only the 5th Team in NFL history to throw 28 TD’s and rush for more than 1600 yards through 11 games.  That is amazing because they have yet to have a single back go over 100 yards in a game.

With all of this being said and the numbers slightly favoring the Eagles, this game will be tough, it will be a defensive battle against an up and coming team and a battled tested team.  The Seahawks know how to win during this time of the year.  It will be a tough first half of football as the two team go through the chess match of figuring out each other.  I don’t expect the birds to begin to pull away until the 4th quarter.  This is when the run game will begin to wear down the Seahawks and the Carson starts to sling the rock.

Predictions for the game

1.  Carson two more touchdowns one to Ertz and one to Alshon.
2.  Three backs will have 50 or more yards rushing, and at least one TD.
3. Two Interceptions by the Defense.
4. Three sacks, Jerningan, Graham, and Cox.

Final:  24 – 17 Eagles.  This will be fun to watch.