The Philadelphia Eagles didn't have the most impressive season, but they still did enough to win the NFC East and now have a great chance to knock off the Seattle Seahawks during Wild Card weekend.
The Eagles are just hitting their stride, while the Seahawks have a lot of issues that have been exposed during their last game.
Let's break down four reasons the Eagles are going to knock off the Seahawks and advance to the divisional round.
4. Injuries
Both of these teams are really banged up, but the Eagles have done something the Seahawks haven't been able to: have young guys step up.
The Seahawks defense has been terrible this season and each week it seems like a new key injury pops up. During the Seahawks loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Mychal Kendricks was lost for the season because of a torn ACL.
The defense was already a fragile group and losing him is going to leave them even more shorthanded.
3. Eagles running backs Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard
Miles Sanders is expected to be full-go in this game after suffering an ankle injury against the Washington Redskins, and that is good news with the type of season he has had.
Jordan Howard only got one snap against the Redskins, but Doug Pederson has made it clear he is going to have a bigger role in this game.
With both of these guys as part of the running game, it is a big boost and both guys should have a lot of success. The Seahawks rush defense hasn't been good, giving up 117.7 yards per game on the ground in the regular season.
Look for the Eagles to use a very balanced attack led by Sanders and Howard.
2. Seahawks running game
The Seattle Seahawks have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but Pete Carroll still insists on being a run-first team.
Against the San Francisco 49ers, rookie Travis Homer was the Seahawks leading rusher putting up 62 yards, but there is going to be a whole new level of pressure on him going into the playoffs.
Marshawn Lynch is also on the roster now, but it's clear his role is going to be as a goal-line back or short-yardage, not as the every-down back.
The Seahawks have a real problem with their running game and it's not something the team is going to be able to lean on against the Eagles. Carroll is probably going to try and run the ball early and often, but there isn't going to be any success.
1. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz
Carson Wentz has had a lack of receivers for most of the season but that hasn't stopped him from having success, especially late.
It's clear even though his receivers don't have a ton of experience, he trusts them and that has led to a lot of success. He has only thrown one touchdown in each of the last two games, but he has moved the ball up and down the field.
If it's a close game late, Wentz is going to make the big throws and lead the Eagles to the victory.
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