The NFL is only 17 games long, which gives every game added importance both immediately and in the future. In 2024, for instance, the Seattle Seahawks lost a game they shouldn't have to the New York Giants, and it ultimately cost them the playoffs. Looking ahead to Week 15 this season, the game against the Philadelphia Eagles keeps getting somewhat easier.
That is because the Eagles lost elite right tackle Lane Johnson to retirement on Tuesday, and then traded very good center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday. One of the best parts of the Eagles was their offensive line, and now they are missing two-fifths of that starting unit.
Not that Philadelphia will be without talent, of course, its defense should still be quite good, but without the strength of the offensive line that carried the team to a Super Bowl victory for the 2024 season, the overall team is diminished.
Seattle Seahawks will be facing a weakened Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15
Johnson's retirement was due to personal matters, and he had a right to call it a career to hopefully remedy whatever those problems are. On the field, he is not easily replaceable, and not just for the Eagles. Johnson could be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, so any team moving on from him might struggle for a short time.
Jurgens was a Pro Bowler in each of the last two seasons, but has greatly struggled after moving mostly to left guard this season. Philadelphia probably should have kept him at center. In 2025, for instance, he allowed just 11 quarterback pressures, and he has already allowed 12 this season, all coming since he switched from center to left guard.
Philadelphia is obviously trying to build for the future, too. In the trade of Jurgens to the Ravens, Baltimore gave Philly a 2027 fifth-round pick but a second-rounder in 2028. This means the Eagles are looking deep into the future and not trying to do a quick fix in the next year.
In Week 15, imagine, Seattle Seahawks fan, a defensive line that has Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, and Jarran Reed against an Eagles line missing a potential Hall of Famer and a Pro Bowler playing out of position this season? Mike Macdona;d's defense should dominate.
Of course, many things can change before that apparently winnable matchup, but what won't is Lane Johnson or Cam Jurgens playing the Philadelphia Eagles. Williams, Murphy, and Reed will still be getting reps in the Pacific Northwest. A late-season win should be assumed.
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