Keys to Seahawks at Eagles: Jadeveon Clowney’s pregame, Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett
The Seahawks landed late Friday night in Philadelphia. That follows coach Pete Carroll’s script of flying two days earlier for games two or more time zones away.
Jadeveon Clowney wasn’t on that flight. He’s meeting the team in Pennsylvania.
Seattle’s top pass rusher is questionable to play in Sunday’s game against the 5-5 Eagles. He has a hip injury that had him away from team headquarters this week getting treatment.
Clowney is coming off a bye week, suggesting his hip must have been really bothering him after his last game. That was Nov. 11, when the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end dominated the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive line. Clowney had a sack. He had five of Seattle’s season-high 10 quarterback hits. He forced a fumble. He recovered a fumble.
He thoroughly terrorized Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners, the last undefeated team in the NFL.
Clowney turned what had been the Seahawks’ potentially fatal flaw—their weak pass rush—into the decisive factor in their overtime win at San Francisco. That performance, after nine uneven games, is perhaps the largest reason why the Seahawks (8-2) are in control of their fate for the NFC West division title entering Sunday’s 10 a.m. game at the Eagles.
“We’re just checking him out, making sure he’s OK,” Carroll said Friday.
One sign Clowney is going to play Sunday: the Seahawks made him available for cameras and interviews Wednesday. They typically keep players unlikely to play in that week’s game because of injury issues off limits to the media.
His status Sunday morning will be the pregame news; teams have to submit the list of inactive players for the game 90 minutes before kickoff.
If he indeed plays, expect the Seahawks’ defensive plan to feature Clowney challenging Philadelphia’s Andre Dillard, the first-round draft choice from Washington State, in the rookie’s first start on the right. The Seahawks like to move Clowney around: left side, right side, outside, inside. The side he is likely to end up on most in this one is across from Dillard. If Clowney succeeds again, so will Seattle.
Here are the other players to watch Sunday, as Seattle tries to go 6-0 on the road to extend its franchise record:
Russell Wilson is facing a foe he’s never lost to. Wilson is 3-0 against the Eagles, with six touchdowns passing, another rushing, no interceptions and a standout passer rating of 104.9 in three career starts against Philadelphia. A win Sunday would make him the first quarterback in NFL history with a winning record in each of his first eight seasons. Wilson needs 263 yards passing to join Peyton Manning as the only QBs with 3,000 yards passing and 20 touchdowns in each of their first eight seasons.
Wilson has 26 total touchdowns and two interceptions this season.
Somewhat improbably, Wilson is apparently going to have Tyler Lockett back as his favorite receiver. Seattle’s number-one wide receiver spent two nights in a Bay Area hospital following last week’s win at San Francisco because of a badly bruised shin and fears of flying home and pressurizing the injury. He flew home on team chair Jody Allen’s private plane last Wednesday, then got a perfectly timed bye week to heal. Lockett is not listed on the injury report, and Carroll said Friday the receiver is full go for Sunday. Lockett’s three catches for 26 yards against San Francisco before he got hurt late in the game were his lowest totals since week one against Cincinnati. He has 62 catches for 767 yards through 10 games. He’s been on pace to set Seahawks records for both categories for a season.
Dillard is playing at right tackle because starter Lane Johnson is still in the league’s concussion protocol. Dillard started three games on the left side earlier this season when Jason Peters was out from arthroscopic knee surgery. The 37-year-old Peters returned last week in the Eagles’ 17-10 home loss to the Patriots.
Clowney has a new bookend edge rusher: Shaquem Griffin. Remember him? The feel-good story in the NFL last season as a rookie is finally feeling good about 2019. He’s reemerging in the Seahawks’ defense, as a new speed rusher at defensive end on passing downs. Griffin, drafted and employed unsuccessfully last year as a linebacker, replaced ineffective Ziggy Ansah at the bookend opposite Clowney on passing downs and in nickel defense late in the win at San Francisco. Coach Pete Carroll says his defense will continue to find ways to take advantage of Griffin’s best skill—straight-line speed. Look for 49 in white to be running at Dillard and Peters Sunday.
