NFL Football Betting: Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons

Sunday Night Football will hopefully be more competitive this week. It was a one sided blowout last week as the New England Patriots ripped the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-3. The Atlanta Falcons had rough start to the season as well as the Minnesota Vikings throttled them 28-12 in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates.

Philadelphia got their season off to a winning start with a 32-27 win over the Washington Redskins though they failed to cover the spread as -10 point home favorites. The good news: 436 yards of offense including 313 yards passing. The bad news: they allowed the Redskins to pile up 370 yards though the air. That was somewhat mitigated my an impressive rushing defensive effort which held Washington to 28 yards on the ground.

This game opened as a ‘PK’ but the Eagles have taken a little bit of money to move them to a -1 or -1.5 favorite. The total opened at 51 and has moved to 52.5 or 53. The Eagles have been very good in this price range–in games with a line of +3 to -3 Philly is 10-3 SU/9-3-1 ATS during the last three years. They’re also 10-7 ATS on the road and 17-12 ATS against NFC opponents.

The Falcons have become one of the biggest pointspread money burners in the NFL. During the last three seasons they’re 13-22 ATS overall though a more manageable 8-8 ATS at home. They’ve been horrible as an underdog going 3-7 SU/ATS during the past three seasons. The Eagles are on a 13-5 ATS run against Atlanta though the Falcons have split eight games at home. The Falcons have lost the last two in the series–both played in Philadelphia–with the Falcons averaging just 11 PPG in those defeats.

The Falcons came into the year with great expectations but I’m definitely not buying what they’re selling. The offensive line has shown some improvement but the question remains if the Falcons defense can do anything to slow down the Eagles’ offense.

BET PHILADELPHIA EAGLES -1 OVER ATLANTA FALCONS

About the Author: Jim Murphy

For more than 25 years, Jim Murphy has written extensively on sports betting as well as handicapping theory and practice. Jim Murphy has been quoted in media from the Wall Street Journal to REASON Magazine. Murphy worked as a radio and podcasting host broadcasting to an international audience that depended on his expertise and advice. Murphy is an odds making consultant for sports and 'non-sport novelty bets' focused on the entertainment business, politics, technology, financial markets and more.