History made!
The Philadelphia Eagles are making history this week. Unfortunately, it’s not the good kind.
“For the first time since the 2009 season a defending Super Bowl Champion opened as a nine-point underdog when the New Orleans Saints host the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend. The last time this happened, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened as nine-point underdogs on the road in Baltimore on 11/29/09. The Ravens won 20-17, but didn’t cover. So far most of the action (74%) is on the Saints to cover the spread. However, we are seeing 50% of all moneyline wagers on the Eagles at 3/1.” — Kevin Bradley, Bovada.lv SportsBook Manager
The extenuating circumstances surrounding that 2009 Steelers-Ravens game are much different than this week’s matchup. That 6-4 Steelers team was starting third string quarterback Dennis Dixon under center. It was Dixon’s first career NFL start and only his second career game played.
The 2018 Eagles aren’t starting a third string quarterback against the Saints. They’re starting the guy who easily could’ve been the league’s MVP last year in Carson Wentz. Despite this, the Eagles are huge road underdogs.
As highlighted earlier this week, history is not on Philadelphia’s side.
The Saints are 56-47-1 against the spread at home since the Sean Payton and Drew Brees era began in 2006. That’s the seventh best percentage during that span. New Orleans is 69-35 straight up in those games.
The NFL can be incredibly unpredictable at times. No one saw the Bills blowing out the Vikings in Minnesota earlier this season. No one saw the Eagles beating the Patriots in New England right after getting blown out by the Lions on Thanksgiving in 2015. Crazier things have happened.
So, with that in mind, maybe the Eagles actually have a chance to beat the Saints.
But probably not.
This post first appeared on Bleeding Green Nation, A Philadelphia Eagles Commu, please read the originial post: here
