DeSean Jackson sparked a sluggish Eagles offense in a come-from-behind victory over Washington, but they’ll need a better effort if they want to cover at Atlanta.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Atlanta Falcons (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: September 15, 8:20 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: NBC National Game
Sportsbook Odds: Falcons -2.5 | O/U 51 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Falcons opened as 2.5-point home favorites, but after Atlanta’s pedestrian effort at Minnesota, Philadelphia is now a 1-point road favorite. Atlanta’s moneyline opened at -120 pending an update and the point total opened at 51.0. The OVER has hit in five of the past six games when the Eagles have been a road favorite.
The Eagles finished the 2018 regular season 7-9 against the spread and started their 2019 campaign 0-1 ATS thanks to a late Redskins touchdown. The Falcons were a league-worst (tie) 5-11 ATS last season and carried that ineptitude into 2019 by failing to cover +4 at Minnesota in a 28-12 loss.
Philadelphia News & Notes
After the Eagles scored just seven points through the first two quarters, many wondered if Carson Wentz’s critics were right, but a 25-point second-half barrage reminded us to never judge a book by its Week 1 first-half cover. Overreactions are part of the Week 1 process, but this Eagles offense is loaded.
It appears Philadelphia is going with a true running back by committee as Jordan Howard, Darren Sproles and Miles Sanders shared the backfield workload. Howard averaged 7.3 yards per rush on six carries, but it’s something to remember after Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison just carved up the Falcons rush defense for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
DeSean Jackson finished with 154 receiving yards. The other seven Eagles to record a reception combined for 159 yards. Need to work on that.
Although they allowed 20 first-half points and didn’t force a turnover, the Eagles defense did nearly pitch a second-half shutout, held the Redskins to 2.2 yards per rush and hit Case Keenum seven times.
On the injury front, defensive tackle Malik Jackson is out indefinitely with a foot/ankle injury.
Atlanta News & Notes
The Vikings pass rush finished with seven hits and four sacks of Matt Ryan. Devonta Freeman finished with eight carries for 19 yards. If the Falcons are going to flip the script on an injury-plagued 2018 season, this needs to be fixed ASAP.
Defensively, they let a one-dimensional Vikings rush offense beat them. Kirk Cousins only attempted 10 passes and the Vikings offense scored 28 points. Carson Wentz is going to attempt more than 10 passes and test that Falcons secondary.
It was learned Monday that first-round draft pick and starting offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom broke his foot in Week 1 at Minnesota and will be in a walking boot for eight weeks. Before this injury, Pro Football Focus had already ranked Atlanta’s O-line in their bottom 10 during the preseason.
Bonus Bite: The Falcons are 7-1 ATS as a home dog over their past eight games.
Betting Pick: OVER 51
Atlanta’s offense is better than what it showed at Minnesota, but the defense remains exploitable. The Falcons O-line must protect Matt Ryan and create holes for Devonta Freeman to establish some balance. Washington learned the hard way it’s tough to pass your way to a victory against Philadelphia.
- The total has gone UNDER in the Eagles’ last three games on the road (avg. combined score: 29.67).
- The Falcons are 9-1 SU and ATS in their last 10 games in Week 2.
- The Falcons are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games at night.
