Eagles schedule preview: Carson Wentz will have his revenge on Seattle?

We turn to December and Week 13 in our game by game preview of the Eagles schedule. They’re on to Seattle to face Seahawks in a repeat of last year.

Lost: K Steven Hauschka, DT John Jenkins, DE Damontre Moore, TE Brandon Williams

Added: CB Perrish Cox, G Luke Joeckel, RB Eddie Lacy, S Bradley McDougald, K Blair Walsh

Drafted: DT Malik McDowell, C Ethan Pocic, CB Shaquill Griffin, S Delano Hill, DT Nazair Jones, WR Amara Darboh, S Tedric Thompson, S Mike Tyson, T Justin Senior, WR David Moore, RB Chris Carson

Why they’ll lose to the Eagles

Because when they faced each other last year in Week 11, the Eagles were in the game in the first half before it all fell apart, and they’ve added more talent than Seattle has. A big reason the Eagles struggled in the second half of that game was that both Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles left the game with injuries, forcing Carson Wentz to throw the ball 45 times. Under Pete Carroll Seattle is 12-2 at home when the opposition passes at least 40 times. The Eagles would have to be terribly unlucky to lose their top two running backs against the Seahawks again, and with LeGarrette Blount an upgrade over Mathews and Donnel Pumphrey an upgrade over Kenjon Barner, the Eagles should be even better and deeper on the ground. And by being better and healthier on the ground, Wentz should be better as well, to say nothing of the Eagles additions at receiver and any second year improvement by Wentz.

The Seahawks offensive line is still a weak point, and the Eagles just got one sack on Russell Wilson last year. If the pass rush is upgraded, that’s another advantage for the Eagles.

Seattle’s special teams were mediocre last year, and adding Blair Walsh, who’s made just 82% of his field goals since his rookie season (and he converted on only 85% of his kicks indoors in his career), won’t turn it around. Eagles special teams could be a difference maker.

Barring significant injuries, the Seahawks should be the favorites going into this game. For 30 minutes last year, the Eagles hung with the Seahawks. This offseason they’ve closed the talent gap, and it’s not crazy to think they could hang for 60.

Why they’ll beat the Eagles

Because the Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league, and the Eagles have to go to Seattle, where they are 34-6 since Russell Wilson became the starter.

Even if the Eagles strong defensive line has its way with the Seahawks weak offensive line, most of Russell Wilson’s best games in 2016 came when he was sacked multiple times. Most QBs play worse when you get to them, but Russell Wilson isn’t most QBs.

The Seahawks are the better team, and the better team usually wins, and they’ll have the added advantage of home field advantage. It’s very easy to predict an Eagles loss. If you’re into moral victories, a close loss would be a sign of improvement from last year, as this is one of only two non-divisional teams that the Eagles play in 2017 that they played in 2016, and the other team is the Bears, who underwent significant roster changes. The Seahawks are relatively the same team, and the game is again in Seattle. If one game can be a barometer, this is it.