ClutchPoints
When the Philadelphia Eagles are on, they can play like the best team in the NFL.
They have a Super Bowl MVP-winning quarterback, a running game capable of ripping off huge plays, a trio of elite pass catchers with sky-high ceilings, and arguably the best defense in the NFL, run by a man who basically created the blueprint for the modern two-high defensive scheme but continues to innovate on it deep into his 60s.
And yet, the Eagles are also a team that has multiple games where they failed to complete a pass in the second half, have an coordinator who runs arguably the least creative offense left in the NFL playoffs, and a number of players who seem more concerned with their individual stats than winning, with a quiet quarter leading to headlines regardless of any game’s final score.
Is that the kind of strategy a team can ride to the Super Bowl, establishing a South Philadelphia dynasty after just toppling one in Kansas City last February? It’s hard to say.
Fortunately, the Eagles don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to beat Kyle Shanahan and his San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round of the 2026 NFL Playoffs. No, all they really have to do is follow the blueprint Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks laid out in Week 18, and the Birds would be able to live to play another week, where they will face off against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
With the No. 1 seed, home field advantage, and the NFC West Pennant up for grabs in Week 18, the Seattle Seahawks took the field against the 49ers with a pretty simple strategy: control the time of possession battle.
On paper, a simple enough strategy, right? But even when the 49ers saw it coming, they really didn’t have a way to flip the script and force their division rivals to play their game.
Receiving the ball to start things off, the Seahawks weren’t able to score on their first drive of Week 18, but they did possess the ball for 7:37, turning the ball over in the red zone after failing to score a touchdown on fourth and goal. The 49ers then possessed the ball for 1:31, going three and out after a two-yard run, a five-yard pass, and an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-3 at their own 12-yard line to send the ball back to the Seahawks, who scored a touchdown on three plays. From there, the 49ers only had one drive that lasted more than three minutes before halftime, scoring a field goal on their final drive of the first half.
From there, well, it might as well have been the Eagles’ game against the Buffalo Bills. Even though the Seahawks only put three more points on the board, they ran 35 plays versus just 22 for the 49ers, thanks to a strong rushing attack...
