Seahawks X-Factors Who Could Make a Difference for the Wild Card Round

Which Seahawks role players are likely to make a big impact against the Philadelphia Eagles in postseason play?

A tough loss by less than a yard cost the Seahawks an NFC West championship in the season finale.

Rather than proceeding as the third seed and hosting in the first round of the playoffs, the Seahawks will now head to Philadelphia for a rematch from Week 12. The Eagles are currently ravaged by injuries, mostly on their offensive line and their receiving corps.

Looking to win their first playoff game in three seasons, the Seahawks will look to exploit the Eagles decimated roster and move on to the divisional round with the help of these three x-factors.

Offensive X-Factor: Travis Homer

The Seahawks had to be encouraged by what they saw from Homer last week. When he found space, he used his speed to get up field and had no problem engaging in contact with tacklers. He ran hard and proved to be exceptionally valuable in the passing game both in pass protection and catching the football. I suspect that the Eagles are going to do everything they can to slow Russell Wilson and the passing game. The Eagles could utilize a look with two deep safeties to ensure that neither D.K. Metcalf nor Tyler Lockett will be able to beat them over the top.

As a result, there will be plenty of opportunities to run the ball for both Homer and Marshawn Lynch. The Eagles will likely be pressuring Wilson through stunts in the middle of the offensive line, which is where Homer will have to put his fantastic blitz pickup skills to the test. Fortunately for the Seahawks, when they bring Homer into the game, it will keep the Eagles honest because of his receiving ability. The multifaceted back will have an opportunity to shine on the largest stage in the NFL.

Defensive X-Factor: Cody Barton

As previously mentioned, the Eagles have been hit hard by injuries in the secondary. The most dangerous weaponry the Eagles have in the passing game consists of tight ends Zach Ertz, who is less than 100 percent, and Dallas Goedert. With how much base defense that Seattle has played throughout the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if Barton is tasked with covering one or both of the aforementioned tight ends. He had mixed results last week when he faced the 49ers and now the Seahawks will be forced to ride out the rest of the season with him at SAM linebacker. Mychal Kendricks’ knee injury may spell the end of his time in Seattle and this is a great opportunity for Barton to carve out a starting role as early as 2020.

Many coaches on the Seahawks current staff have considered Barton to be the best coverage linebacker on the team. Barton is athletic enough to run with Ertz and could work to minimize his effectiveness with him being a game-time decision on Sunday. I also suspect that after Doug Pederson watched Barton’s film from last week against the 49ers, he will look to test his ability to get off blocks and set the edge as a run defender.

Special Teams X-Factor: Jason Myers

The last time the Seahawks played the Eagles, they were unable to capitalize on five turnovers, managing a measly three points off of them. The Seahawks will need to convert every opportunity they have into points in this rematch and Myers will have to be at his best if the Seahawks want to advance into the divisional round. With the great deal of injuries that have been suffered by both teams, this game should be an ugly, low scoring affair. Myers will need to put his missed PAT attempts behind him and convert whenever he is called upon.