Thursday Night NFL - Big birds to cancel each other out

Week 13 in the NFL begins this Thursday with a battle between two teams with identical records of 4 wins & 7 losses, both won their respective divisions last year but it now seems virtually impossible either the Philadelphia Eagles or hosts the Seattle Seahawks will make the playoffs this year. Both sides will want to finish the season strongly though to prove they can be contenders next year in order to attract playing talent, the Seahawks can point to having a transitional year after losing 10 year quarterback Matt Hasselbeck & the Eagles look to have many talented individuals but haven't been able to operate well enough, especially on defense, as a team - that could spell trouble for the league's longest serving head coach Andy Reid.

(The Seahawks Tavaris Jackson - he's not very good)

This game looks a really tough one to call as there are so many factors that seem to balance themselves out starting off with where the game is played, Qwest (or now CenturyLink) Field is a tough place to come for opposing teams with a raucous atmosphere whilst opposing offenses are on the field leading to missed snaps & penalties but the Eagles have been struggling at home (1 win, 5 losses) with the crowd getting on their back & might just need this away trip. That atmosphere could play a part with the Eagles having to stay with backup quarterback Vince Young, with noise like this it helps if an offense knows each other very well & although Young has played a decent amount in the side this isn't like a veteran quarterback with a set of offensive linemne that have been together for years - they'll find it difficult to go to a silent count.

On offense the Eagles are great at running the ball, leading the league with 5.6 yards per carry but the Seahawks have been great at stopping the run being only behind the Ravens in yards allowed per run with 3.8, they've played some hot rushing sides in the Rams, Ravens & 49ers so that looks a pretty true stat. The Seahawks meanwhile aren't very good at running or passing with the ball ranking 27th & 25th respectively in yards gained in either offensive aspect. The Eagles haven't been great defensively, their overall yardage given up is respectable but it has to be taken into account that they take a lot of time off of the clock by using their potent running game often, they're giving up 4.3 yards a rush & 7.7 yards a catch so are very ordinary.

(LeSean McCoy has 13 touchdowns already this year for the Eagles)

Looking at the individuals who could win this for their team Philadelphia's running back LeSean McCoy stands out with 1,050 rushing yards already & touchdowns in 10 of their 11 games, he will almost certainly be used in plenty of plays in this one especially without the first choice QB Michael Vick playing, odds of 4/9 to score a touchdown at anytime are great value - if his current form carried on he should be 1/10. The Seahawks have basically a poor quarterback in Tavaris Jackson & so will use their running game as well, Marshawn Lynch has 706 yards on the ground but hasn't been averaging too far with each attempt at just 3.9 yards compared to McCoys 5.6 yards. The Seahawks look to have found a good young receiver in rookie Doug Baldwin who's been a potent deep threat & has as many receiving touchdowns as anyone on the team with just two. Defensively the Eagles look to have players who could make big plays but haven't been doing it this year & the Seattle defense looks solid enough but definitely not spectacular. With both sides likely to run the ball a lot in this one it looks like a lot of time could be coming off the clock with each possession & that points to a low scoring game, the total points are set at 43.5 & betting under that total looks the sensible option.

Selections:
Under 43.5 points in the Philadelphia Eagles v Seattle Seahawks game at 10/11 (various)
LeSean McCoy to score a touchdown at anytime at 4/9 (Boylesports)