A couple of weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were rendered almost helpless at Levi’s Stadium by the San Francisco 49ers, in what was no doubt an embarrassing series of events for Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense. Last week the Eagles rebounded, to a certain extent, but have they really gotten “well” on offense? Maybe that question will be answered for America’s Bookie football bettors on Sunday night as they face off against the New York Giants in the NBC-televised game that kicks off at 8:30 PM ET at Lincoln Financial Field.
Against the 49ers, Philadelphia had 213 yards, scored neither on a touchdown nor a field goal, and failed in a couple of tries at the one-yard line as they actually had an opportunity to go ahead in the game. Last week they got off to a big lead against the St. Louis Rams and almost blew it; they totaled 352 yards on the afternoon.
This is a team that is supposed to be running a lot of plays, yet their opponents are running six more plays per game than they are. In fact, the Eagles trail their opponents in many key offensive statistics, and while that may be of reflection on the defense, which has allowed 406 yards per contest, it also speaks to some of the injury problems they have had on the offensive line.
In the NFL odds that have been established at America’s Bookie on this game, the Eagles are laying a field goal:
Philadelphia Eagles -3 (+100)
New York Giants +3 (-120)
Over 50 Points -110
Under 50 Points -110
Let’s give you some of the good news first – the Eagles are getting healthier on the offensive front. Lane Johnson has returned to action at the right tackle position, and that means there are more people in their natural places along that line. Unbelievably, the run game was not working, even with the presence of last year’s rushing champion, LeSean McCoy, but there was some reason for optimism in the game against the Rams, as Philadelphia had 145 yards on the ground.
Now let’s give Sunday night football bettors the bad news. Nick Foles seemed to be the perfect trigger man for Kelly’s no-huddle offense last season, completing 64% of his passes, with an average of over nine yards per attempt. He also threw 27 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. Well, this season he has turned the ball over eight times already (five interceptions, three fumbles), which is twice as many times as he did last year. And he’s hitting only 59%, with a 6.8 average yards per attempt. Those are numbers, but they are numbers that accurately tell the tale.
America’s Bookie customers know that if Philadelphia is going to be a serious factor, not only in the division race but if and when the post-season comes, they are not only going to have to get healthier on the offensive line, but they will certainly have to become more opportunistic on defense. Thus far they have only intercepted three passes, and football bettors have taken note that over the last three games, as he has become more comfortable in the West Coast offense, Eli Manning has thrown just one pass into enemy hands.
Will other things come in to play for the Eagles on Sunday night? After all, this is a team that has scored in a lot of different ways, including a kickoff return, a punt return, a fumble return, a blocked punt for a touchdown and a pick-six. In fact, they put 21 points on the board against San Francisco without any offense whatsoever. Undoubtedly this is a team that doesn’t have any quit; they came back from double-digit deficits in each of their first three games to emerge victorious, the first time in NFL history that is happened. So will the real Philadelphia Eagles take flight?
