Monday Night Football Matchups Analysis: Seahawks vs Eagles

The Thursday games have concluded, your body has digested your Thanksgiving meals, and Black Friday shopping is in the rearview mirror, leaving us the rest of the Week 12 NFL games to look forward to. This week's Monday night matchup will be an interesting one between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams are in the running for a coveted playoff spot (although the Eagles are getting the benefit of playing in the worst division in football) so the stakes for this game will be pretty high.

Seattle boasts one of the highest octane offenses in the NFL thanks to the arm of Russell Wilson and the wide receiver duo of D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Seattle is second in the NFL in points per game, averaging 31.8 points per contest and 400 yards per game. Seattle should get Chris Carson back this week, but it is unclear how much they will lean on him with Carlos Hyde and Alex Collins also in the fold. Defensively Seattle is giving up 28.7 points per game with an average of 343.7 passing yards surrendered per contest. The Seattle defense has generated a better pass rush since trading for Carlos Dunlap, but they are still susceptible to opposing passing games.

On the other side of things, the Eagles have been an up and down team all season. After a close loss to the Ravens and two big wins against the Giants and Cowboys gave the Eagles hope, they came tumbling back to Earth. Philadelphia has dropped their last two games, a rematch against the Giants and a bad weather game against the Browns, scoring 17 points in each of those contests. Carson Wentz shoulders a heavy dose of the blame (14 interceptions and four fumbles lost this year), but the Eagles offense as a whole has been ravaged by injuries. The Eagles offense will hope to rely on Jalen Reagor, Dallas Goedert, and Miles Sanders in this contest. Defensively, the Eagles allow a respectable 25.4 points per game but are doing well in terms of yardage. Philadelphia is 10th in yardage allowed per game (342.7) and has done especially well in the run game (115.1 yards per game allowed).

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Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles

• Game time: Monday 11/30 @ 8:15 PM EST
• Game line: Seattle -5
• Over/Under: 50

Must-Starts

Russell Wilson (QB, SEA)

After a torrid start to the 2020 season, Russell Wilson has settled back down a bit in recent weeks. Despite the dip in production, Russ is a no-doubt starter for every fantasy team. In the last three games (two losses), Russ is still completing 68% of his passes but has thrown for only 835 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions. He also has 107 yards and a rushing touchdown in that time. The Eagles are allowing only 17.4 points per game to quarterbacks on the season, but have given up 13 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions. Philadelphia hasn’t seen a passing attack like the Seahawks in a while, so this could be a big game for Russ to get him back on track and producing like a top-3 quarterback again.

Carson Wentz (QB, PHI)

I already mentioned this earlier, but Carson Wentz has been a mess this season. Wentz is completing only 58% of his passes and has as many interceptions as touchdowns (14). He has also been sacked 40 times already this season thanks to his tendency to hang in the pocket with a makeshift offensive line in front of him. Slowly, Wentz has been getting weapons back in his passing game which could potentially help him get things right. It won’t feel great, but Wentz has some major upside coming into the game against Seattle. Seattle is allowing 24.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, the second-highest number in 2020. Seattle’s secondary leads the league with 3,556 passing yards surrendered while giving up 18 passing touchdowns on the year. Wentz will likely have to throw the ball to keep up, so if he can limit his mistakes he is a quality starting quarterback this week.

D.K. Metcalf (WR, SEA)

Things have been relatively quiet for D.K Metcalf lately after a two-game tear that had him in the conversation for one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in his second season. In Weeks 8 and 9, Metcalf caught 19 of 24 targets for 169 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers and the Bills. Since then, Metcalf has caught five of nine targets for 74 yards and a touchdown in tough matchups against Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Peterson. The Eagles have allowed only 22.3 points to wide receivers this year and have only given up seven passing touchdowns to wideouts on the season. Metcalf will likely see a steady dose of Darius Slay on Monday night, who is a solid cornerback in his own right, but not quite on par with the likes of Ramsey and Peterson. Slay has struggled a bit when matched up on wide receivers who have top tier speed, and few players in the NFL boast the size and speed of D.K. Metcalf. Don’t be shocked if Metcalf can have another big game in a cornerback he matches up well against.

Tyler Lockett (WR, SEA)

While D.K. Metcalf is busy taking shots down the field, Tyler Lockett has been operating in the slot and dominating the intermediate areas of the field. Lockett has at least seven targets in seven of ten games this season, including two consecutive games with nine targets. Lockett caught all nine of his targets against the Cardinals last week for 67 yards and a touchdown. That was on a short week where Lockett was limited in practice with a knee injury. Lockett has had more time to rest and should come into this game healthy, giving him an excellent matchup against Cre’Von LeBlanc this week.

Jalen Reagor (WR, PHI)

As Jalen Reagor gets healthy, his role in the Eagles offense continues to grow. Reagor has only played in five games this season but has been targeted at least four times in each contest. In his last two games against the Giants and Browns, Reagor caught eight of 12 targets for 99 yards. His primary role is working as the Eagles deep threat, but he has the game-breaking speed to take any reception to the house. Seattle is allowing 33.7 points per game to wide receivers, the worst mark in the NFL this season. Seattle has allowed 2,597 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns to wideouts this season. Reagor is a boom or bust play most weeks, but he has intriguing upside given his growing role coming into a game against the worst cornerback play in the NFL.

Dallas Goedert (TE, PHI)

Carson Wentz has always loved targeting the tight end position which has always given Dallas Goedert weekly top-12 upside at a weak position in fantasy football. With no Zach Ertz in the fold, Goedert is always poised for a big game. Since Week 9 (the Eagles bye), Goedert has caught nine of 12 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown. Goedert will not line up only as an inline tight end, but will also move out to the slot on occasion, which allows the Eagles to utilize different matchups against him. Seattle has been really strong against tight ends this season, allowing just 6.4 points per week to the position and giving up only three touchdowns to them on the year, but Goedert sees enough of a target share to be a staple of your starting lineup this week.

Consider Sitting

Chris Carson (RB, SEA)

After missing four weeks with a foot injury, Chris Carson is poised to return in Week 12 against the Eagles. Before his injury, Chris Carson was putting together a solid season rushing the ball 66 times for 323 yards (4.89 yards per carry) with three rushing touchdowns. He also added 22 receptions on 25 targets for 147 yards and three additional scores. Carson only exceeded 60% of the team’s offensive snaps in one game this season, which limits his upside carrying the ball. The Eagles are stout in the run game, allowing just 3.43 yards per carry on the season. They have surrendered 10 rushing touchdowns, but have been faced with a short field many times this year thanks to how loose Carson Wentz is playing with the football. Despite that high touchdown total, Philadelphia is still giving up only 17.1 points per game to running backs this season. That stout defense, combined with an uncertain workload coming off a foot injury, has me out on Carson for at least one more week.

Carlos Hyde (RB, SEA)

Carlos Hyde has dealt with his injury issues this season, but when he has been healthy he has functioned as the lead back with Chris Carson out. In week 11 against the Cardinals, Hyde had 14 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for 16 yards. Hyde and Carson will likely split carries this week, making both of them tough to start against the Eagles’ run defense. In the games where Carson and Hyde were both active, Hyde accumulated 31 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns while adding six receptions for 34 yards.

Potential Sleepers

Travis Fulgham (WR, PHI)

After a stretch of massive production, while functioning as the Eagles' number one wide receiver, Travis Fulgham has seen his role in the passing game shrink with the return of Miles Sanders, Jalen Reagor, and Dallas Goedert. In the past two weeks, Fulgham has caught just two of 12 targets for 16 yards. The lack of time in the pocket and questionable accuracy from Wentz has dampened his playmaking ability. Fortunately, Fulgham is still seeing plenty of opportunity in the passing game, which gives him a starting upside against a terrible pass defense. Fulgham is the definition of a boom or bust play recently, so there is obvious risk associated with starting him. Hopefully, we see a boom week in the best matchup he will have all season.

Richard Rodgers (TE, PHI)

The Eagles utilize two tight ends frequently in their offense, which gives Richard Rodgers a weekly role with Zach Ertz’s continued injury absence. Rodgers has been on the field for 31% and 32% of the offensive snaps for the Eagles since their bye week. In that time he has caught six of seven targets for 108 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers is a complete desperation play this week, but given the weak state of the tight end position, he does have upside and won’t see the same level of coverage as Dallas Goedert.

Jacob Hollister (TE, PHI)

There is a void in the tight end position for the Seahawks after Greg Olsen suffered a foot injury. Will Dissly is still working back into shape after an Achilles injury he suffered in 2019, Colby Parkinson is a developmental rookie, so my guess is Jacob Hollister fills into the pass game role of Olsen for the time being. Since Week 7, Hollister has been targeted 16 times, catching 12 passes for 108 yards. He won’t have a massive role in the passing game with D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and David Moore working around him, but he could sneak into the end zone against a defense that allows 8.9 points per week to tight ends. Philadelphia has given up 536 yards and six touchdowns to the position on the season.

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