Eagles at Falcons: Odds, trends and more
The Philadelphia Eagles take on the Atlanta Falcons to kick off their respective 2015 NFL seasons on Monday Night Football. The Eagles had to be the most talked about team throughout the offseason, with people curious to see how the roster makeover will work. Out are Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Trent Cole, Evan Mathis and Jeremy Maclin, while Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Nelson Agholor and Kiko Alonso are in.
The line has been set with Philadelphia favored by 3.5 points over Atlanta, according to BOVADA. The over/under is set at 54.5, with Vegas expecting both offenses to put up some points. This is a pretty substantial line in favor of the Eagles considering they are on the road. Normally, a road team begins as a three-point underdog, so Vegas is basically saying that Philadelphia is a touchdown favorite.
The Falcons are also undergoing a new change with head coach Dan Quinn taking over for Mike Smith. Quinn is getting his first chance to run his own NFL team, after being the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator throughout their recent run of dominance. Quinn is hoping to revive the league’s worst defense from 2014, bringing in rookie defensive end Vic Beasley Jr along with linebacker Justin Durant. Offensively, the Falcons are still loaded with Roddy White, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
Over at OddsShark, the trends say that the over/under bet is a stay-away. Philadelphia has seen six of its last nine games eclipse the line, while Atlanta has surprisingly gone under in nine of its last 12 games. The Falcons have struggled at home in recent games against the spread, only covering two of the past six opportunities.