Beware of the bye week.
The Eagles had a week off to get healthy and it has seemed to help. Key pieces to the offense like Miles Sanders, Lane Johnson, and Alshon Jeffery appear to be ready to go.
However, the Eagles have not fared well coming off the week's rest under Doug Pederson. Since 2016, the Birds are just 1-3 both straight up and against the spread (ATS). Over the last 10 games after the bye the Eagles are 5-5 straight up and 3-7 ATS.
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The good news for the Eagles is they are headed to face a Giants team that has not fared well at home against the point spread. Per Rotoworld, the Giants (2-7 overall, 6-3 ATS) are 4-17 ATS in its last 21 games at MetLife Stadium.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, New York is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games as an underdog against teams with a losing Money Line record.
Enter the 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles (3-5 ATS).
The Birds opened as 3-points favorites and are now favored by 4-points per NBC Sports betting partner PointsBet. The Giants last 5 games have been decided by 3-points or less and its 6-3 mark ATS is tied for the second best record this season.
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The Eagles must be pumping their fists like Snooki and J-Woww when it calls for a trip up the Jersey Turnpike. Philadelphia is 10-2 straight-up while going 9-3 ATS in their last 12 meetings on the road against the Giants.
Back in week 7 the Eagles did not cover the 5-point spread against Big Blue but did rally for the 22-21 win thanks to two Carson Wentz 4th quarter touchdown passes. The Eagles have won 8 straight versus the Giants but are just 3-5 ATS in those contests.
Speaking of Wentz, he’s been under the microscope this week thanks to comments made by Doug Pederson’s good friend and Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre (link to Roob’s story).
Wentz will certainly welcome another game against the Giants this week. Back in Week 7 he had his best game of the season statistically throwing for 351 yards and posting a 91.1 passer rating. Wentz’s over/under on PointsBet is at 248.5 passing yards.
His counterpart Daniel Jones did throw 2 touchdown passes but only accounted for 187 yards in the air in Week 7. Jones is throwing for a shade under 209 yards per game on the year. His over/under is listed at 229.5 passing yards.
Sanders looks to return after missing the last 2 games with a knee injury. Sanders’ over/under on rushing yards is at 64.5 and for the season he’s averaging nearly 87 yards on the ground per game. It’ll be a chess match between Sanders and the Giants rush defense that is ranked 6th best in the league allowing 94.8 rushing yards per contest.
Sticking with the Eagles running back, Sanders has an over/under of 18.5 receiving yards. That’s a tad bit under his 18.2 yards average for the season.
A win for the Eagles Sunday in New York (North Jersey) and they increase their lead to be top of the list, king of the hill and a number one in the NFC East. However, from a betting perspective it’s not just about winning straight up. It’s a matter of beating the spread. So if you back the Birds then it’s win, but also win by 5 or more.
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