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Can the Eagles cover Saturday night against the preseason juggernaut Ravens?

Here's our best bet for the Philadelphia Eagles first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens looks on during the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 17, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens looks on during the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 17, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Read moreGregory Shamus / Getty Images
    by Tanner McGrath, Action Network
    Published 

There might not be a more dominant NFL dynasty than the preseason Baltimore Ravens under head coach John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh’s Ravens have won 23 consecutive preseason games, going 20-3 against the spread (ATS).

Overall, Harbaugh is 43-12 straight up (SU) and 36-18-1 ATS in the pre-season as the head coach of the Ravens.

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Harbaugh doesn’t just win in the preseason. He smashes opponents.

Per Jacob Wayne of Lineups, the Ravens have won their past 14 preseason games by an average of 14 points, covering nine of those spreads by double digits.

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It’s become abundantly clear that the Ravens care about the preseason. It can be hard to handicap motivation, but it’s not in this instance.

The Ravens should remain motivated in their first preseason game against the Eagles. They hired a new offensive coordinator in the off-season, Todd Monken from Georgia, and will need to continue installing the new scheme.

Baltimore has the quarterbacks to run the Monken offense against preseason defenses effectively.

Lamar Jackson won’t play, but Tyler Huntley is a rock-solid backup. He’s won games at the NFL level, and he’s proven he’s too good for second-string play, completing 76.5% of his passes for 814 yards and six touchdowns in his preseason appearances.

Once Huntley is pulled, the Ravens will turn to Josh Johnson and/or Anthony Brown. I’m fine placing my money with either of those guys in this meaningless football game.

While the Eagles are in a similar spot to the Ravens, with a new offensive coordinator (Brian Johnson) and a solid backup quarterback (Marcus Mariota), I don’t think Philly will show the same level of urgency. The Birds are 1-4-1 SU and ATS in six pre-season games underneath head coach Nick Srianni.

While we’re all eager to get back to betting on Eagles football, we’ll have to wait another week before we can back them. There’s no way I’m stepping in front of Baltimore’s preseason wagon.

The play: Ravens -4.5 (-110) | Play to -6.5 (-110)

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