Sports betting: Thinking Eagles over Giants? Think again

Taking a look at some of the props being offered for the Eagles-Giants game Thursday night:

*Eagles favored by 3. Tread lightly here. The trends are not in the Eagles' favor. Road teams are 0-5 straight-up on Thursday nights this season and 1-4 against the spread. Minnesota covered a 7.5-point line in a 38-31 loss at the L.A. Rams.

The Eagles, who were money ATS last year, have failed to cover their last four games. And finally. Road favorites are 4-4-1 on Thursday nights since 2017. All four of those losses were in divisional games.

It should be noted that the Giants are 0-2 at home straight-up and against the spread. They were underdogs each time, losing to Jacksonville and New Orleans.

*Carson Wentz passing yards – over/under 292.5. Wentz has averaged 329.5 and will have an unreliable running game to lean on. Three of the five QBs on the road on Thursdays this year cracked 300 yards (Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, Andrew Luck). Two did not (Matt Ryan, Sam Darnold). 

*Eli Manning touchdown passes – over/under 1.5: The Eagles are third-worst in the league at average yards per game allowed to wide receivers (yeah, they keep such a stat) and the Giants have arguably the most explosive with Beckham. In three games against the Eagles and defensive coordinator under Jim Schwartz, Eli Manning has targeted bell an astounding 43 times and Beckham has posted 24-275-4.

*Carson Wentz TD passes: 2

*Zach Ertz receiving yards: 67.5

*Eli Manning completions: 24.5

*Saquon Barkley rushing yards: 60.5

*Eagles points: 23.5

*Giants points: 20.5

*Leaders to score game's first touchdown:

Eagles – Zach Ertz (8-1), Alshon Jeffery (9-1), Nelson Agholor (10-1), Corey Clement (10-1), Dallas Goedert (18-1), Jordan Matthews (20-1), Carson Wentz (22-1)

Giants – Saquon Barkley (5-1), Odell Beckham (7-1), Sterling Shepard (12-1), Rhett Ellison (18-1), Cody Latimer (30-1)

Props provided by William Hill-NJ and Westgate-Las Vegas

When the Sharks made it 8-1 with 1:59 left in Tuesday's thumping of the Flyers, William Hill's New Jersey app offered in-game odds on the over/under at 9.5 of +$380 for the over. Then Wayne Simmonds scored 28 seconds later. The sportsbook responded by setting a line of +$525 for over 10.5. There were some threats, but the game ended 8-2.

Former NFL punter Sean Landeta will be at the Ocean Resort on Thursday in conjunction with the Eagles-Giants game. While Landeta, 56, officially is retired, he still makes appearances and has "20 different things to do everyday when I wake up."

Landeta, who played for both the Eagles and the Giants, married an Archbishop Ryan girl and settled in Bucks County.

"I'm surprised (sports betting expansion) didn't happen earlier," he said, "thinking of the hundreds of millions of dollars that states could have been bringing in for schools and parks and roads." he said.

Landeta was 8-6 against the Eagles when he was a Giant (1985-93) and 3-6 against the Giants when he was an Eagle (1999-02, 2005). His first NFL game was against the Eagles and he was victimized when Vai Sikahema returned a punt for a touchdown in 1992 and famously started punching the base of the Meadowlands' goalpost.

"All the years I played, I never heard any (teammates) talk about point spreads or gambling," he said. "The talent is so good in the NFL and every game is so close that once in a while you'll hear fans yell (that a game has been fixed), but the competition is so close."

Westgate Las Vegas opened it's baseball league championship series odds with both No. 1 seeds as underdogs. The Red Sox are +$105 against the Astros (-$125) while the Brewers are +$130 to the Dodgers (-$150). Westgate's odds to win the World Series:  Astros 2-1, Red Sox 9-4, Dodgers 3-1, Brewers 4-1 … John Brennan, the former Bergen Record reporter now with USBets.com, tweeted from this week's Global Gaming Expo that New Jersey's sports betting report for September will be released Friday. State director of gaming enforcement David Rebuck said it will be "stunning."

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