Eagles catching Russell Wilson at close to his best again…

What a tremendous opportunity for the Eagles to break out of the middle of the NFC pack if they can take out the Seahawks in Seattle this weekend…

It won’t be easy—nor should it be. The Eagles know to a man you have to win a tough game on the road at this time of the season to prove yourselves a legitimate contender.

We won’t exactly be catching Russell Wilson in a downtrend, either. The Seattle QB is healthy again.

Wilson passed for a 2016-high 348 yards in Seattle’s 31-24 road win over the New England Patriots in Week 10 at Gillette Stadium, also tossing three touchdowns to receiver Doug Baldwin. He completed 25 of his 37 throws (68 percent) and compiled a 124.6 quarterback rating, Wilson’s third-highest mark of the year.

Wilson has been playing through ankle, knee, and pectoral injuries this season, but during his Monday afternoon press conference at Renton’s Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said of Wilson’s Sunday night performance, “I don’t think there’s any question that that was the best he has looked.”

“He showed the most quickness in transition to begin the movement—there was a time when he really couldn’t get started fast, so he had to have space to move and get going, so you just didn’t see him move at all; he wasn’t even trying to,” Carroll said. “But now he was alive. He was alive in that game, he was all over the place, very effective, and found three or four plays that might not have happened otherwise that were really great. I think he’s really close to being all the way back, but I think he’ll get a little bit better too. I think he’ll be a little more fluid and all of that. But it was great to see him play like that. He had good quickness, good burst, good change of direction, and just led us to some really exciting plays.”

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Strange Personnel Moves by the Seahawks:

It seems like an omen of some sort that could work either way when a host team makes significant roster changes right before the Eagles fly into town.

The Seahawks made roster moves Tuesday, promoting running back Troymaine Pope off the practice squad and signing former Saints defensive tackle John Jenkins. Running back Christine Michael and defensive tackle Sealver Siliga were waived to make room on the 53-man roster.

Pope first signed with Seattle as an undrafted rookie out of Jacksonville State, then was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets when the Seahawks made their roster cuts before the start of the season. Pope returned to Seattle earlier this month on the practice squad after being waived by the Jets. Pope emerged as something of a preseason star with the Seahawks, rushing for 162 yards on 24 carries, including an 86-yard performance against Minnesota in Seattle’s second preseason game. He also scored the game-winning 2-point conversion in Seattle’s preseason win at Kansas City.

Jenkins, 27, was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft by New Orleans, and in three-plus seasons he appeared in 49 games, starting 22. The 6-foot-3, 343-pound Jenkins started 12 games last season and had a career-high 49 tackles. Jenkins was released by New Orleans last week.

Michael was drafted by the Seahawks in the second-round of the 2013 draft, then traded to Dallas before the start of last season. Michael returned to Seattle late last season after short stints with Dallas and Washington, then re-signed with the Seahawks as a free agent in the offseason. Michael has started seven games this season, rushing for a team-leading 469 yards and 6 touchdowns on 117 carries, but over the past two weeks rookie running back C.J. Prosise has taken on a bigger role in the offense, including starting last week’s game at New England. The Seahawks are also expecting to get Thomas Rawls back from injury this week, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

Siliga was with the Seahawks in the offseason before landing on injured reserve prior to the start of the season. Siliga then re-signed with the Seahawks in October and appeared in four games, totaling five tackles.

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Eagles First and Second Down Success is Crucial:

“The biggest thing coming out of the Atlanta game, as opposed to some of those other games, was we did a little better on first and second down than we did in those previous games where we kept ourselves in some third-and-longer situations,” said HC Doug Pederson. “At least we were in some manageable down-and-distances there that gave us opportunities to stay on the field. … And then just our offensive line taking control at the line of scrimmage and playing on their side of the ball was a big benefit and (we) didn’t have to necessarily throw the ball as much.”

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Injury report:  Eagles’ most significant injury on Sunday was sustained by Nolan Carroll, who was diagnosed with a concussion. Carroll is currently going through the league’s concussion protocol, according to Pederson. Meanwhile, Brent Celek (rib), Kamu Grugier-Hill (hamstring), Jason Kelce (quad contusion),Bennie Logan (groin), Leodis McKelvin (hamstring) and Destiny Vaeao (calf contusion) should all be good to go for Sunday’s game in Seattle.
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Signing: The team signed veteran tight end Marcel Jensen (6-6, 270, Fresno State), who was most recently with the Chicago Bears’ practice squad. A former rookie free agent signing of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, Jensen has played in two NFL games – one as a Jaguar and the other with Washington – and recorded one catch for 8 yards.
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BRISUKSEGG Fantasy Football Update:

Week 10 Results: