It’s August, the temperature continues to rise, and everyone’s looking at getting out of town and near water. Yep, it’s the dog days of summer, and especially for Philadelphia Eagles fans.
For football fans, that means the start of training camps. As I write this, pro football has just begun, and NFL sports betting is about to heat up. Yep, the next half of the year is ours.
Philly Philly in 2020?
In Philadelphia, expectations are almost as high as the blacktop temps in Center City. Eagles fans are looking for another parade down Broad Street, this time led by newly extended quarterback Carson Wentz.
If he can stay on the field, the team’s offense is very potent and should be a dominant force in the NFC. While the secondary is still a question mark, that defensive line can match any in force, skill and depth.
The Eagles were good business for the sportsbooks in NJ in 2018. The then-defending Super Bowl champs were one of the top five in handle for the season.
Despite an inconsistent 9-7 record and the departure of super understudy Nick Foles, the oddsmakers are fairly enamored with the Eagles this season. Let’s take a look at some of the prices available before the preseason’s first snap.
Flying High Again?
The Eagles finished second in the NFC East last year to Dallas in a close race. Early losses came back to bite Philly as Dallas won two late match-ups to take the division.
This year, a healthy Carson Wentz has books confident, as the Philadelphia Eagles are the unanimous moneyline favorites to win the NFC East. All the books have them below even money to reclaim the division, with the best price at PlaySugarHouse.com at -106.
The stacked lineup and favorable schedules (four of the five games against playoff teams from last year are at the Linc) has moved their win totals from 9.5 to 10 across most platforms. The best price at 10 is +100 at PointsBet (even money). FanDuel and Caesars still have the 9.5 total but -155 may be too steep for some.
High win totals usually mean shorter odds for postseason success. The Eagles are very favorable to make the playoffs for the third year in a row (odds against it are +150 and higher). Philly is the third choice at every major book to win the NFC except William Hill, which draws from other states. The best price is +750 at ResortsCasino.com. The Rams and Saints are the two lowest-priced teams in the market.
To hoist the Lombardi in Miami, the Eagles are in the top quartile across the board. There’s some differing in the ranking (fifth, in most places, sixth, seventh or eighth, in others) but the price point seems pretty stable at +1300. Best price right now is at PointsBet, where they’re eight-best price behind the Bears, Chargers and, yes, the Browns.
Pricing the Players: Philadelphia Eagles
Last year, the NJ online sportsbooks rolled out through August, and most were up and running by Labor Day. This year, there are lots of options running at full capacity; the props market is open for business. So let’s get weird kids.
Wentz broke the team’s passing touchdown mark shortly after he tore his ACL in 2017.
His 21 touchdowns last season was a drop, but he played fewer games after recovering from the ACL tear and than missing the last three games with a back injury suffered against Dallas.
Eagles fans remember how much better Donovan McNabb played in 2008 season after a full year of recovery from his 2006 ACL injury compared to 2007.
He threw for a career-high 3,916 yards and led the Philadelphia Eagles to their fifth NFC Championship berth during his tenure.
Wentz is younger than McNabb was and probably in better shape. Oh yeah, and his offense is LOOOOOOADED. DeSean Jackson was a rookie out of Cal that season for the Eagles with McNabb and is still a danger to go long a decade later.
- Wentz is among the top picks for NFL MVP, an award he may have won in 2017 had his ACL survived the LA Coliseum.
Placing varies but the best price available is +1400 at DraftKings and a couple others.
Some books have over/unders for certain players’ stat lines. Wentz is a really interesting pick this season because not only does the team have so many weapons, it’s also an offense that does best when it runs the ball and controls the clock.
For the season, the unanimous touchdown number for Wentz is over/under 28.5.
That’s certainly feasible and probably low. However, the yardage totals are 3905.5, which doesn’t seem as likely.
- The lowest number is Caesars, which 3628.5 seems a bit arbitrary but certainly more tantalizing.
There’s a lot of options out there for players to consider. Do your homework and find the values you like.
