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Week 9 Game Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 26, Seattle Seahawks 7
What you need to know
| Philadelphia Eagles |
QB Donovan McNabb got off to a very slow start that included a bad interception in the end zone, but recovered early enough to go on and have a very good day that included just shy of 350 yards passing and two TDs
RB Brian Westbrook followed up his career rushing day last week with an average performance this week due to the obvious focus that the Seattle defense placed on stopping him.
TE Brent Celek, filling in for the injured L.J. Smith had a career day as he was used in a wide variety of situations and ran an equally wide variety of pass routes. Of his six receptions four went for over 25 yards.
| Seattle Seahawks |
QB Seneca Wallace got off to a smashing start tossing a 90 yard TD pass on Seattle's first play. It was all downhill from there. Over the rest of the game he amassed only 79 more passing yards, and while he didn't throw any interceptions, it wasn't for lack of trying.
RBs Julius Jones and Maurice Morris split the team's carries almost evenly and while both had the occasional impressive run, neither had enough opportunity to make a significant impact.
WR Koren Robinson took the first pass of the game 90 yards for six points and ended the day as the most targeted Seattle receiver.
What you ought to know
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 28 - 43 - 349 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 |
The game got off to a rough start for McNabb. On his first play he was flushed from the pocket and, when tackled, coughed up the football (albeit out of bounds). His performance took a while to improve as he started the game 0-7. While he then began to complete passes (including a long completion to his TE Brent Celek who was only pulled down inside the Seattle 20) any chance for a score died when McNabb was picked off in the end zone as he tried to force a play that really wasn't there. Shortly thereafter, however, something seemed to click and the Donovan McNabb Philly fans have come to know suddenly appeared. He began finding his receivers and marching the Eagles down the field en route to ending the first half with ten straight completions that included two TD tosses. On the first, just past the mid-point of the second quarter, McNabb spotted WR Reggie Brown in man coverage and connected with him for a 22 yard score. On the second score, with under a minute remaining in the first half, McNabb found eligible lineman Todd Herremans for the wide open one yard TD toss. While, yardage wise, McNabb was more effective in the second half, hitting on 75% of his passes for 183 yards, he did not throw for any more scores.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 20 - 61 - 0, Rec: 6 - 35 - 0 (8 targets) |
It was a frustrating day for Westbrook, and, in turn, for his owners. He was never really able to get on track as the Seahawks clearly made keeping him in check their top priority. Whether the play called for Westbrook to go outside or up the middle, he was met by a pack of defenders almost immediately, and he simply wasn't able to break free except on rare occasions. Even then he generally only added an extra yard or two and his longest run went for only eight yards. In the passing game Westbrook also commanded intense defensive attention that kept him from making any big plays. All in all a very ho-hum day for one of the league's most dynamic backs.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 6 - 83 - 0 (11 targets) |
Curtis, still likely trying to get back into starting WR rhythm, started slow. He dropped the first two passes that QB Donovan McNabb tossed his way, and then appeared to injure his wrist on the third (another incompletion that was close to being intercepted.) As the game moved into the second quarter, however, Curtis became much more sure-handed and narrowly lost out on a TD reception in the final minute of the first half as he was pushed out of bounds at the one yard line after a 26 yard gain. While that play would be his longest on the day, Curtis continued to be productive in the second half, and appeared more and more to be settling back into his featured role in the Eagles' passing attack.
| WR DeSean Jackson, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (8 targets) |
The dynamic Jackson was used in a number of ways to try and get him in the open field and was tied with RB Brian Westbrook for second on the team with 8 targets. His first touch was on an end around that went nowhere, but his second was on a short crossing route that saw Jackson demonstrate the elusiveness of a pinball as he zig-zagged through the defense for a 15 yard gain that set up an Eagle TD on the next play. Even given his playmaking ability, and the Eagles' interest in exploiting it, however, Jackson was unable to haul in many of the passes thrown his way, and that limited his stats on the day.
| WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 1 - 22 - 1 (1 targets) |
Brown was almost invisible during much of the game, but midway through the second quarter he found himself in man-coverage at the Seattle 10 yard line. QB Donovan McNabb quickly got him the ball, and, when the covering Seahawk, Marcus Trufant, lost his footing, Brown was able to scamper into the end zone for a 22 yard score -- the Eagles' first of the day and Brown's first of the season.
| WR Hank Baskett, Rec: 1 - 25 - 0 (1 targets) |
Baskett was not an important part of the Eagles' passing attack, though his single 25 yard reception was an interesting moment in the game as the question of whether he got both feet in bounds resulted in the Seahawks burning one of their timeouts through a challenge on the play.
| TE Brent Celek, Rec: 6 - 131 - 0 (6 targets) |
With fellow TE L.J. Smith out with injury, Celek was given the chance to start at TE, and he made the most of it. He was QB Donovan McNabb's most reliable target, and he announced his presence fairly early as he raced downfield for a 44 yard reception in the second half of the first quarter. On his next reception he took a dump-off at the line of scrimmage and bounced down the field for 27 yards. Celek continued his heroics in the second half, and on consecutive receptions in the third quarter racked up another 54 yards (a 39 yard streak down the middle and a 15 yard screen pass). In the end, Celek had the best day of his short career and proved he is more than capable of filling in for Smith.
| PK David Akers 4 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 14 points |
Akers had a busy day, kicking two extra points and connecting on all four FG attempts from distances of 39, 24, 42 and 39 yards respectively.
| PHI Rush Defense |
Facing the two headed RBBC of Julius Jones and Maurice Morris, the Eagles defense was very effective in shutting down the run. Neither Seattle RB was all that impressive, and while Seattle managed 86 yards on the ground, 28 came on a single play, and another 26 came late in the fourth quarter when the Philadelphia defense was much more concerned with stopping the pass and protecting their lead.
| PHI Pass Defense |
On their first defensive play, the Eagles gave up a 90 yard TD pass to Koren Robinson. Aside from that lapse, they played very well. The pass rush gradually grew more and more effective as the game wore on, forcing Seahawk QB Seneca Wallace to choose between either hurling ill-advised passes or taking the sack. In the end, the Eagles allowed fewer passing yards over the entire rest of the game than they allowed on that first, 90 yard play.
| QB Seneca Wallace, Pass: 13 - 29 - 169 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
On the Seahawks very first play from scrimmage, Wallace dropped back to pass at his own 10 yard line, spotted a wide open Koren Robinson and hurled the ball to him. 90 yards later, Seattle was up 7-0 on the longest play in the team's history. It would be the high-water mark for Wallace, and would go a long way toward making his day look better than it actually was. The rest of Wallace's game was filled with short completions, long incompletions and questionable decision making. While none of the many ill-advised passes Wallace blindly threw up in the air ended up as interceptions, a number of them easily could have. To be fair, Wallace did look to have a second long (34 yard) TD midway through the third quarter but WR Keary Colbert was unable to hold onto the ball for the score.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 10 - 41 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
On the day, the Seahawks were clearly committed to using a committee at RB, so even though Jones got the start and finished with the most carries of any Seattle back, he was unable to get enough opportunities to amass many yards or any scores. When he did receive his carries, he faced a tough Eagles defense that prevented him from making many plays and he seemed to get swallowed up on each carry almost as soon as he hit the line. To the extent that he was able to rack up some yards, over half of them (26) came on consecutive carries late in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were more concerned with pass defense and protecting their 19 point lead.
| RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 8 - 43 - 0 |
While fellow RB Julius Jones received the start and ended with more carries, the rushing duties were divided almost evenly between he and Morris. Morris' slashing style and ability to make a cut and hit a hole was somewhat more effective against the Eagles' defense early. It also enabled him to notch a 28 yard scamper in the third quarter. Even so, between splitting carries with Jones and the Seahawks needing to turn to the passing attack more and more as the game wore on, Morris never really had much of a chance to shine.
| WR Koren Robinson, Rush: 1 - -4 - 0, Rec: 4 - 105 - 1 (10 targets) |
On the first play from scrimmage, Robinson flew down the field 30 or so yards and found a soft spot in the Eagles' defense. QB Seneca Wallace spotted him and delivered the ball in stride. Taking advantage of a few blocks and some weaving moves, Robinson took the pass another 60 yards to the end-zone. It was the longest play in Seattle Seahawks history. While Robinson saw plenty of passes over the rest of the game as he did have some success getting open, and was easily ended the game as Wallace's favorite target, he was unable to make any additional plays of note.
| WR Bobby Engram, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
Despite starting at WR, Engram was almost a complete non-factor in the passing game as a result of both QB Seneca Wallace's struggles and the fact that Engram was used almost exclusively on short routes that gave little opportunity for yards after the catch.
| WR Keary Colbert (3 targets) |
Despite starting at WR, Colbert failed to haul in a single pass throughout the game. His most glaring incompletion was a third-quarter pass that Colbert had in his hands in the end-zone, but he was unable to hold on as he was hit by Eagles safety Brian Dawkins.
| TE John Carlson, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (5 targets) |
Carlson, the Seahawks' leading receiver coming into the game, had a rough outing. On the first target that came his way -- a third down toss early in the second quarter -- he dropped an easy reception that would have kept his team's drive alive. It would be emblematic of the frustration he experienced most of the day. To the extent he amassed any receiving yards, much of it came on a single 23 yard reception with less than a minute remaining in the first half as the Eagles were defending deep and allowing passes underneath that coverage.
| PK Olindo Mare 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Mare was only asked to kick a single extra point, and he did.
| SEA Rush Defense |
The Seattle rush defense, using their speed, did an excellent job on the day of keeping the Eagles' Brian Westbrook under control and forcing Philadelphia to make their plays through the air. The longest play they allowed on the ground went for only eight yards, and they finished the day allowing only an average of 2.6 yards per rush.
| SEA Pass Defense |
While the Seattle pass defense appeared to get off to a strong start, holding Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb to only three completions on his first 13 pass attempts, it soon became clear that this was more a result of the Eagles' offense being out of synch than sound defensive play. McNabb followed up his slow start by going 25 of 30 for almost 300 yards. The Seahawks pass rush, while it occasionally flushed him from the pocket, nonetheless gave him enough time to look downfield, and the defensive backs -- in particular Marcus Trufant -- seemed unable to handle their assigned receivers.
