Good morning sports fans, it's Wajih AlBaroudi here with everything you need to know this hump day. We'll get into the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams securing comfortable victories, plus more.
First, let's start with Philadelphia's old-school, ground-and-pound win.
Good morning to everyone but especially to...
USATSITHE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
A slow start to Tuesday's game drew plenty of boos at Lincoln Financial Field, but theEagles steamrolled the Washington Football Team the rest of the way in a 27-17 victory. The win brought the Eagles to 7-7, keeping them firmly in the NFC playoff race.
The Eagles adopted a run-first identity over their recent hot stretch -- four wins in their last five games -- and beat Washington with it as well. Here's what happened in Tuesday's game:
RB Miles Sanders, who rushed for a career high 131 yards, became the first Eagles rusher to clear 100 yards in consecutive games since LeSean McCoy in 2014The Eagles ran for 238 yards, their fourth 200-yard rushing performance in their last five gamesPhiladelphia posted its fifth 200-yard rushing game of the season, its most since former head coach Chip Kelly's first year in 2013Philly now has the same record as the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints -- fellow NFC Wild Card hopefuls. The San Francisco 49ers currently own the sixth seed at 8-6. While the box score indicated a wire-to-wire Eagles victory, the reality was far different. Let our NFL expert Cody Benjamin explain:
Benjamin: "Things were ugly out of the gate ... but they never panicked and leaned deeper into the ground game as the night wore on, with Hurts, Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard teaming up to gash Washington with both speed and power. A killer showing from the Eagles' offensive line helped ... and Hurts really settled in after his sloppy first quarter ... Defensively, Fletcher Cox came alive with 1.5 sacks and additional pressures, while the unit stuffed a banged-up Antonio Gibson all night."A win is a win, though, and it brought Philadelphia a step closer to the playoffs. It should be noted that Washington started Garrett Gilbert -- who signed off the New England Patriots' practice squad on Friday -- at quarterback after its top-two signal callers, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, remained in COVID protocols.
The Eagles close the season against all its NFC East rivals: home to the New York Giants, at Washington and home to the Dallas Cowboys.
Honorable mentions:
And not such a good morning for...
THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
The Russell Wilson-Pete Carroll era seems to be coming to a messy end. Seattle posted a season-low 214 yards in Tuesday's 20-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams -- its lowest total since 2017.
Wilson had arguably his worst game of the season, going 17-31 for 156 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His running game didn't provide much help either, as DeeJay Dallas' 41 yards was a team-high.
The loss assured Seattle of what's become an extreme rarity: a losing season. Since Carroll took over, the Seahawks:
Haven't had losing seasons since his first two years at the helm in 2010 and '11.Have lost seven or more games only once (2017) since Wilson became the starter in 2012.Seattle (7-9) will next play home games against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions before traveling to the Arizona Cardinals for its season finale.
Trade talk surrounding Wilson, 33, will likely grow deafeningly loud this offseason after whispers last year. The Seahawks don't own their 2021 first-round draft pick because of the Jamal Adams trade, so it wouldn't be shocking to see them trade Wilson for valuable draft capital to give the roster a reset.
