Monday Night Football – Eagles vs Saints Betting
Headline: The Disappointment Bowl – Eagles face Saints in Week 9
There is no shortage of NFL fans that had Monday, November 5 circled on their calendar as one of the most anticipated games of the season for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints. It’s too bad that Monday night’s showdown will be a battle for respectability rather than one of potential playoff teams.
Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) vs. New Orleans Saints (2-5)
Date/Time: Monday, November 5, 8:30 PM ET
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Broadcast: ESPN
Eagles vs. Saints Betting Lines from Sportsbook.ag
Spread: Saints -3 1/2 (-110)
Moneyline: Eagles +165: Saints -190
Over/Under: 52 1/2 points
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It looks like Michael Vick will get one more chance – three straight losses has critics circling the wagons and calling for the benching of Mr. Vick and the firing of Andy Reid. To say that things are unsettled in Philadelphia is a colossal understatement – losing is inexcusable for the rabid Philadelphia fans. This week the Eagles have the honor of playing a Saints defense that has stopped absolutely nobody and a team that is arguably more disappointing than themselves.
Turnovers have been the story for the Eagles this year – Vick has 9 fumbles (5 lost) and eight interceptions all by himself. They have a minus nine turnover ratio – not nearly good enough for a team that was supposed to contend. Blame Michael Vick, blame the play calling, blame the defense or blame Andy Reid – the Eagles are in complete disarray.
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Philadelphia enters Monday night’s game with the 15th ranked passing game. WR DeSean Jackson has 34 receptions for 524 yards and one touchdown. WR Jeremy Maclin claims to be 100% recovered from his hip injury but we will see on Sunday – an effective Maclin seems to be paramount for the Eagle’s offensive success.
Perhaps the recipe for Eagles’ success is getting LeSean McCoy involved. McCoy and the Philadelphia rushing attack are ranked tenth in the NFL averaging over 115 yards on the ground a game. McCoy is half-way to a 1,000 yard season with 504 yards on 127 carries and two touchdowns rushing along with 3 TD’s receiving. Leaving him out of the offensive scheme seems to be a crime doesn’t it?
The Eagles defense is middle of the pack in almost every category – their problem has been the lack of pressure that they generate on opposing offenses. Jason Babin leads the team with just 2.5 sacks and as a team they only have 9 total sacks, ranking them 31st in the NFL in that category.
Now for the equally disappointing Saints. They have two problems that have plagued them all season long – huge problems! First there is a lack of a running game. New Orleans is dead last in the NFL in rushing with an average of – get this – 72.57 yards per game. Ugly indeed. Drew Brees and the passing game have been getting it done –they are #1 in the NFL with an average of 316 yards per game through the air. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The other issue for the Saints – defense! It doesn’t matter what the offense does, this team simply can’t stop their opposition! There hasn’t been a team in NFL history that has given up more yards through seven games. The Broncos gained 530 total yards against the Saints making them the second team in as many weeks to gain over 500 yards on the New Orleans defense. The Saints allow 30.86 points per game (30th), 170.14 rushing yards per game (31st) and 304.57 yards passing per game (30th). Nuff said!
Betting Prediction:
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games on the road
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games when playing New Orleans
• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Philadelphia’s last 8 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
• Philadelphia is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing New Orleans
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
• The total has gone OVER in 10 of New Orleans’s last 12 games
• New Orleans is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games at home
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games at home
Desperation will be the name of the game in this one. The Eagles appear to be the more desperate team on more levels at this point in time. The bottom line is that the Eagles defense will get the occasional stop – they don’t have to be great in this game. The Saints on the other hand won’t stop Philadelphia’s offense at all. Who score more usually wins and in this case it will be the Eagles that stop the bleeding and get the win.
Pick: Philadelphia Eagles +3 1/2
