Seattle Seahawks (+1)* at Philadelphia Eagles
While the matchup between the Browns and Colts has a spread largely influenced by perception, no two NFC teams are more sensitive to this treatment than the Seahawks and Eagles. Every conversation about how legitimate of a contender Philadelphia really is starts and ends with quarterback Mark Sanchez. Those who believe in ‘The Sanchize’ consider the Eagles a top-notch team. Those who don’t expect a fall-off every time he takes the field.
Then there’s the Seahawks. Ask yourself one question — how many points would you be comfortable giving if this game was in Seattle? Three? Seven? Ten? Why? Because everyone believes the Seahawks are monsters at home. We all know they are difficult to beat in Seattle, but we perceive they struggle on the road.
Ask the 49ers how much the Seahawks struggled on Thanksgiving.
Philadelphia and Seattle both made large strides in their respective division races, but the pressure to keep winning rests solely on the defending Super Bowl Champions’ shoulders. They cannot and will not slow down. And while the ‘Mark Sanchez Factor’ can drive the spread in any direction, the Seahawks leaving home almost always moves the points in their favor. We tend to trust the teams whose reality stays intact – the Seahawks are good, regardless of the fact that they are better at home — despite perception — “The Seahawks can’t win road games.”
Seahawks win by a field goal and beat the spread.
