Eagles Soaring Super Bowl Odds are Well-Deserved

After Jalen Hurts' career day in a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl odds jumped to +1300. That's good for the fourth-best in the entire NFL, and I'm here to tell you these Eagles aren't a fluke.

With a dynamic group of skill position players made better by Hurts' explosive dual-threat ability, Philly's offense can hang with the league's best. Throw in an opportunistic defense that forced Kirk Cousins into three interceptions, and you've got the perfect recipe for a Super Bowl contender.

Why Eagles' Rising Super Bowl Odds are Deserved

It took just two weeks before my +1000 bet on the Eagles to win the NFC became a screaming value, but they're still worth consideration at their current +500 odds. At the very least, they're a bonafide contender and deserve to be among the Super Bowl favorites.

Eight of the last 10 Super Bowls, including each of the last six, featured at least one team starting a QB on a rookie deal. That makes sense - teams that aren't spending big at the position can load up in other areas, after all. As it turns out, giving your star QB a stellar supporting cast makes that QB's job easier.

To say Philly utilized Hurts' rookie contract to load up this offseason would be a massive understatement. The Eagles traded for star wideout AJ Brown, whose early career stats compare favorably to Calvin Johnson's, while bolstering every level of the defense in the draft, free agency, and trade market.

The early returns on Philly's empowerment of Hurts are an offense that handily leads the NFL in yards per game (470.5) and a defense that allows the sixth-fewest yards per play in the NFC. No other team in the conference can boast such balance or reach the heights Hurts can unlock.

Watching Hurts hurl a 53-yard bomb for a TD before seeing him juke and drag Vikings defenders into the end zone felt like watching a suave Josh Allen. The guy is Pro Football Focus' highest-rated passer while leading the NFL in Rushing TDs, for crying out loud! With an easy strength of schedule that finds the Eagles favored in 13 of 15 remaining games, Hurts will have plenty of chances to shine.

As a cherry on top, every other top NFC team has serious flaws. The Bucs have injuries everywhere, Green Bay has fewer receivers than even Tampa does, the Rams look thin and depleted, Minnesota has Kirk Cousins, and San Francisco has Jimmy Garoppolo (Side note: Hurts can hang with Jimmy G in a Handsome Contest).

You're telling me the NFC's most complete team paired with the easiest schedule isn't a legitimate value to win the Super Bowl? Consider too, that seven different teams have won the conference over the last eight years and no team won it consecutive times. That's bad news for Tampa Bay, and I'm betting on the Eagles to continue the trend.