After a week of joint practices, the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will face off at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for a Saturday night affair. This will be the 24th time that these two squads have met in the preseason, with the Patriots leading the series 13-10. These two haven’t met in the preseason since 2018, and in that game, the Patriots defeated the Eagles 37-20 at Gillette Stadium. It’s time to take a look at both teams and how they arrive into this match so you can get ready to bet against their NFL Preseason odds.
NFL Betting Preview for New England Patriots vs Philadelphia Eagles On Aug. 14th
All Eyes on the Quarterbacks
Everyone will be watching Jaylen Hurts and Mac Jones. Philadelphia has yet to name Hurts as the starter, but we’re predicting that he’ll see a lot of action in this one. After Hurts, we should see a steady diet of Joe Flacco. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback looked good in his preseason debut, going 10-17 for 178 yards with a touchdown. We don’t think that Flacco will win the starting job, but Philadelphia has made some strange decisions with the quarterback position the last couple of years, so nothing seems to be out of the question at this point.
As of now, Cam Newton is the starter in New England, but Patriots rookie Mac Jones should see a lot of time under center in this one. Jones was impressive in the Patriots’ first preseason game, going 13-19 for 87 yards, leading many to think that he could leave camp as the starting quarterback. Jones will be going up against a Philadelphia defense that allowed over 400 yards of offense last week, so he should be able to get some things done.
Key Matchups
One key matchup to watch is the Philadelphia wideouts against New England’s secondary. The Eagles traded up in the first round to take Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. Smith has missed a lot of camp due to injury and doesn’t figure to play in this one. Second-year wideout Quez Watkins has been impressive in camp and played well in Philadelphia’s first preseason game.
New England had secondary issues last season. Stefon Gilmore missed some time last season and has missed time in camp. The Patriots will be looking for secondary depth and to see if anyone in camp can solidify a roster spot.
Player to Watch
Behind a very strong offensive line, rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson had a stellar Week 1. It looks as though Bill Belichick has found another player that others overlooked. Stevenson had 127 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries. He’ll be going up against a suspect Philadelphia defense that gave up over 150 rushing yards to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
Betting Numbers
The New England Patriots are 1.5-point favorites in this one. The over/under has been set at 36.5. With neither team’s defense playing particularly well early in the preseason, we could see a lot of points being scored. The Patriots are 6-1 in their last seven games against the spread. The Eagles are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 preseason home games. We’re going to go with the Eagles at home in this one.
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