An Eagles-Patriots point spread just went up in New Jersey: Dig out the dog masks
The Eagles are 1-point underdogs for the Nov. 17 game at the Linc, which will be Carson Wentz's first head-to-head test against Patriots head coach and defensive wiz Bill Belichick.
PointsBet, an online sportsbook licensed in New Jersey, has put out early lines for Week 11. They opened the Eagles as 1-point underdogs to the Patriots.
New England has rolled out to an 8-1 record, but six of those wins have come against teams with a combined record of 7-34. The Patriots have played two teams who currently have a winning record, holding on to win by six at Buffalo in Week 4 and losing at Baltimore on Sunday, 37-20.
The Eagles and Patriots each are off this week.
“We’re not overreacting to the Pats having one bad game against a unique opponent," PointsBet USA’s Patrick Eichner told the Inquirer. "Their defense and Tom Brady still get the respect of being favored over what’s been an inconsistent Eagles team all season, with a secondary that Brady and Belichick should be able to exploit coming off a bye.”
The game on Nov. 17 at Lincoln Financial Field will be their first meeting since the Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 when the Eagles were 4-point underdogs and dog masks were all the rage in the Philadelphia region.
The Eagles, who were playing with Nick Foles at starting quarterback in place of injured Carson Wentz, were underdogs in their two NFC playoff games despite being the top seed in the conference in 2017. That’s the only time that’s ever been the case.
This season, Philadelphia is 5-4 overall and 2-2 both straight up and against the spread as an underdog. New England had covered four in a row before Sunday night’s loss to the Ravens.
New England has been favored in 55 of their 57 regular-season games dating back to the 2016 opener when they were 9-point underdogs at Arizona and won the game outright. They were also a pick 'em that season in a game against Houston and won that, too (27-0).
This will be the first time Wentz faces Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He lost a game earlier this season against Detroit, which is coached by former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
PointsBets’ odds opened at Eagles +1 at even money, Patriots -1 at -120.