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Eagles vs. Seahawks Matchup Statistics, Wild Card round

We take a look at the defensive statistics vs. QB, RB, WR and TE for the Eagles and Seahawks in preparation for their Wild Card round match.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson looks for an open receiver during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. San Francisco defeated Seattle 26-21.  Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

It is true that statistics can lie or at least obscure the truth we need to see, but on the whole, they can give us a decent idea how teams are attacked on average. If a team gives up a ton of rushing yards, we can infer that their opponents have a reason to run against them. Maybe they just can’t stop the run or their pass defense is so good teams need to run or maybe game flow has them trailing more often than not and teams look to salt away the game on the ground. At this point in the season we can feel somewhat confident in what a team’s strengths and weaknesses are.

These stats should help us when we go to set our DFS lineups, especially the Showdown slate for this game. Below I have given us the statistics allowed for each position on the season and just below that, for the last eight games of the season for some context on how team defenses are doing more recently. I’ve also opened up the comments on these posts if you have any questions about the statistics.

Below we will look at the Eagles and the Seahawks.

Quarterback Stats Allowed Season/Last 8 games

Season Opp Rank DKP/G COMP ATT YDS TD INT YPA ATT YDS TD YPC
Season Opp Rank DKP/G COMP ATT YDS TD INT YPA ATT YDS TD YPC
Eagles SEA 16 18.5 346 569 4120 25 11 7.24 43 214 1 4.98
Seahawks @PHI 17 18.8 383 596 4407 19 16 7.39 57 342 3 6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Last 8 Opp Rank DKP/G COMP ATT YDS TD INT YPA ATT YDS TD YPC
Eagles SEA 9 15.5 163 281 1936 9 3 6.89 18 89 0 4.94
Seahawks @PHI 11 16.4 188 294 2137 10 9 7.27 30 144 0 4.8

The Eagles and Seahawks both have been middling against quarterbacks on the season and slightly better over the last half of the season. Football Outsiders has the Eagles ranked 16th in DVOA and the Seahawks ranked 15th. When these teams met in November, neither quarterbacks had a good game as Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz combined for two touchdowns, three interceptions and three lost fumbles in a 17-9 Seahawks win. Wentz’s top target that day was Zach Ertz, who is iffy to play this week with a lacerated spleen.

Wentz has had a tough time keeping an offense upright around him this season, but he has gotten the job done for the most part:

Running Back Stats Allowed Season/Last 8 games

(Season) Opp Rank DKP/G ATT YDS TD YPC REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
(Season) Opp Rank DKP/G ATT YDS TD YPC REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
Eagles SEA 7 20.8 299 1113 10 3.72 87 645 1 118 5.47 73.7
Seahawks @PHI 19 25.9 308 1318 18 4.28 86 817 1 108 7.56 79.6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(Last 8) Opp Rank DKP/G ATT YDS TD YPC REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
Eagles SEA 8 21 142 578 6 4.07 41 309 0 58 5.33 70.7
Seahawks @PHI 27 28.4 171 739 11 4.32 42 442 0 53 8.34 79.2

The Eagles have been a Top-10 defense against running backs all season while the Seahawks haven’t. Football Outsiders DVOA has the Eagles as the fourth-best defense against the run while the Seahawks are 26th. That bodes well for Miles Sanders if he is healthy. If he isn’t, Boston Scott was the go-to back last week — but there is a chance Jordan Howard gets back in the action as well. Seattle has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards to running backs and we will likely see Miles Sanders and Boston Scott used extensively as receivers with dearth of pass catchers on the team.

When these teams met last, the Seahawks put up the most rushing yards of any team against the Eagles, but that was on Rashaad Penny’s breakout game and neither him or Chris Carson are healthy and they will likely be without offensive lineman Duane Brown. Travis Homer and Marshawn Lynch will again lead the backfield this week and get a tough matchup overall.

Wide Receiver Stats Allowed Season/Last 8 games

(Season) Opp Rank DKP/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
(Season) Opp Rank DKP/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
Eagles SEA 29 41.3 195 2809 21 336 8.36 58
Seahawks @PHI 17 36 200 2491 12 334 7.46 59.9
* * * * * * * * * *
(Last 8) Opp Rank DKP/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
Eagles SEA 21 37.4 94 1325 9 170 7.79 55.3
Seahawks @PHI 20 36.8 95 1164 8 161 7.23 59

The Eagles rank 29th in DK points allowed to wide receivers while the Seahawks rank 17th. Over the second half of the season those numbers are much closer and both teams have been poor against wide receivers. The Eagles don’t actually have many receivers who are capable of playing in the NFL but they’ll go with what they’ve got, which puts Greg Ward near the top of their depth chart while the tight ends and running backs see a lot of work through the air.

Seattle should be able to get something going to their receivers, which is the Eagles biggest weakness. The Seahawks will try to get the running game going but will likely have trouble doing so, which will push Russell Wilson into more work, giving his wide receivers more targets in a game which should be close.

Pro Football Focus has their fantasy points allowed to receivers by where they line up as:

WR Fantasy Points Allowed by position

Team Opp Left WR PPG Right WR PPG Slot WR PPG
Team Opp Left WR PPG Right WR PPG Slot WR PPG
Eagles Seahawks 20 12 10 9.9 15 18
Seahawks Eagles 31 14.5 32 15.9 1 12

The Eagles have been the best in the league against slot receivers, so Tyler Lockett will have some trouble but he does move around enough to get schemed open and they will likely need him. DK Metcalf is set up to benefit the most as he lines up outside while Malik Turner (if he’s healthy) and David Moore should both have their chances this week with Jaron Brown out.

The Seahawks are worst against receivers on the left and middling against slot receivers. Greg Ward should have plenty of opportunities from the slot while Robert Davis and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside move around quite a bit between left and right formations. Neither has done much of anything to hang our hat on though.

Tight End Stats Allowed Season/Last 8 games

(Season) Opp Rank Pts/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch % DVOA
(Season) Opp Rank Pts/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch % DVOA
Eagles SEA 5 9.8 65 681 4 96 7.09 67.7 12
Seahawks @PHI 31 15.5 97 1099 6 138 7.96 70.3 17
* * * * * * * * * * *
(Last 8) Opp Rank Pts/G REC YDS TD TAR YPT Catch %
Eagles SEA 2 8.2 29 317 1 46 6.89 63
Seahawks @PHI 22 14.9 51 531 2 72 7.38 70.8

The Seahawks rank 31st in DK points allowed to tight ends while the Eagles rank fifth. This is a big disparity and it bore out the last time these teams met when Jacob Hollister was corralled while Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert had 19 receptions. If Ertz can’t go, Joshua Perkins would see an uptick in usage behind Goedert.