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Can Wilson, Seahawks Win on Road?
Seattle had a shot at a home playoff game but squandered its opportunity with consecutive home losses to Arizona and San Francisco. Instead, the Seahawks head to Philadelphia, which was 5-7 not that long ago.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson has never lost a home playoff game, but he is just 2-4 on the road. Seattle had to bring Marshawn Lynch out of retirement to fill holes at running back. With Wilson running the show, anything is possible. Seattle went 9-2 this season in games decided by seven points or less.
The Eagles managed to win a division no one wanted to win by going 4-0 down the stretch. All four wins were against NFC East opponents, all of whom will be or are searching for new head coaches. Philadelphia was just 4-6 outside of the division and has a ton of injury problems.
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey, CB Ronald Darby, RB Darren Sproles, and G Brandon Banks are all done for the season. Tight end Zach Ertz has a broken rib and a lacerated spleen. Running back Miles Sanders is questionable. The list goes on and, as usual, the Eagles will have to overcome adversity to advance this postseason.
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Saints’ Home Field Advantage
New Orleans QB Drew Brees is 6-1 as a starter in home playoff games for the Saints. Brees is leading an offense that is red-hot as of late. Over the past four weeks of the regular season, the Saints scored touchdowns on 85.7 percent of their trips to the red zone.
The Saints’ problem could be on defense where they lost half of their starting defensive line after they lost to San Francisco at home in Week 14. That could help Minnesota since RB Dalvin Cook is expected to be at full strength on Sunday.
Cook is not the only offensive weapon for the Vikings. From Week 5 on, QB Kirk Cousins is second among in NFL quarterbacks in yards per attempt and completion percentage and fourth in passer rating.
The Minnesota defense is going to have to figure out how to get off the field on third down. After leading the NFL in opponent’s third down percentage in 2017 and ’18, the Vikings are just 19th at 39.7 percent.
