Seahawks Open as 1.5-Point Favorites vs Eagles in NFC Wild Card Game

• The Seattle Seahawks (11-5) will visit the Philadelphia Eagles (9-7) on Wild Card Weekend
• The Eagles won their final four games to qualify for the playoffs while the Seahawks lost three of their final four
• The Seahawks opened up as 1.5-point favorites but should close somewhere around -3

The Seattle Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers at home in Week 17 and will now be the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs. Even though they finished with a better record than the Philadelphia Eagles, they’ll have to visit Philadelphia on Sunday and find themselves as a 1.5-point road favorite. Which way will this line move by kickoff?

Seattle Seahawks vs Philadelphia Eagles Odds

Odds taken Dec. 30.

Seahawks Fall Inches Short in Week 17

The Seahawks had an excellent opportunity to win the NFC West in Week 17 but came up inches short. They had a number of chances from the red zone as they trailed 26-21 with less than a minute to go but could never breakthrough. On their final offensive play, they were stuffed inches short of the goal line.

🗣 There he goes! @MoneyLynch flies over the top for the touchdown!

Q4: SEA 14, SF 19 pic.twitter.com/42YGzHY3gr

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 30, 2019

As a result, the Seahawks go from potentially winning the NFC West and hosting at least one playoff game to dropping to the No. 5 seed where they’ll have to go on the road where they are an impressive 7-1 for all of their postseason games unless they happen to face the No. 6 seed, Minnesota.

Eagles Scrape By in Week 17 to Claim NFC East

One of the reasons why the Eagles, who finished 9-7, are hosting the 11-win Seahawks is because the Eagles ended up winning their division. It wasn’t pretty for them at times this year but they finished the season by winning their final four games and now get to host a playoff game.

https://twitter.com/summatime06/status/1211423826778587136

The biggest concern for the Eagles is that their roster has been absolutely decimated by injuries. The Eagles, who were already playing without their entire starting wide receiving corps, lost running back Miles Sanders and guard Brandon Brooks mid-game.

The list of absences is astounding as we’re looking at wideouts DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, running backs Corey Clement and Darren Sproles, tackle Lane Johnson, tight end Zach Ertz, cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby, and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. Now we’ll have to see Sanders’ and Brooks’ status.

Which Way Will the Line Move?

Although the Seahawks have opened as a small road favorite, I’m expecting the line to move in their favor. They should close about a field goal favorite by game time. The Eagles are simply too banged up and bettors don’t view them as the better of the two teams.

BREAKING: Eagles officially introduce the “jumbo tent” vs the Giants, in wake of an absurd amount of injuries (via @AdamSchefter) pic.twitter.com/VID9VE8daU

— MB (@PhillyWRLD) December 29, 2019

The Eagles really just scraped by down the stretch, beating the other three NFC East teams four times to claim the division crown. However, they needed overtime to beat the New York Giants the first time and then found themselves in a dog fight on Sunday until the Giants self-destructed. They also needed a late-score to beat the Redskins. They squeaked by.

On top of that, expect to hear a lot about Seattle’s road record this week. They were a healthy 7-1 in road games this season compared to just 4-4 at home. That’s likely going to be a big factor in bringing action on the Seahawks. Bettors won’t be scared of the Eagles’ home-field advantage here.

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