Another preseason game, another preseason win for Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots got their preseason off on the right foot with a 26-17 win over the Washington Redskins in Week 1. It seems like whether it’s the regular season or the preseason, all the Patriots do is win. Now they’ll turn their attention to the Philadelphia Eagles, the team that beat them in the Super Bowl last season. Had this been a regular season game, there might be more excitement surrounding this game but with so many regulars out, the hype is somewhat muted. Nonetheless, let’s take a closer look at this matchup and see where the betting value lies.
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots Odds
Spread: Patriots -2.5
Total: 40.5
Preseason Coaching Records
Belichick registered his 41st preseason win last Thursday, moving to 41-34 for his career in the exhibition games. That is the most wins among active coaches and among the best winning records. However, keep in mind that he’s now 13-7 in Week 1. That’s his best week of the four as he’s just 10-8 in Week 2, 9-8 in Week 3 and 7-11 in Week 4. As for Doug Pederson, he’s 2-0 in Week 2 and 2-0 in Week 3, but a combined 1-4 in the two weeks. Overall, he’s now 6-3.
It seems like both coaches put some weight into these games but the Patriots seem to win Week 1 more than any other week, so keep that in mind.
Rotations
The main quarterbacks on both sides are in different states of injury, so it will be interesting to see who suits up. Tom Brady is reportedly fighting a mild back injury, so if he does play, it won’t be long. Nick Foles has a neck injury and returned to practice on a limited basis on Saturday, so his status is up in the air. Carson Wentz remains out for now too.
Looking back to Week 1, the Eagles quarterbacks struggled, passing for just 219 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Patriots have the better backup in this game as Brian Hoyer is a veteran with starts under his belt. He was 16-of-23 for 144 yards in his preseason debut last week and the numbers show he looked fairly comfortable. We’ll give the edge to the Patriots here.
At running back, the Eagles have decent depth with Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood behind Jay Ajayi. However, the Patriots unit gets the edge here too as Jeremy Hill and Mike Gilislee – two former starters – are battling for a job. Rookie Ralph Webb is in the mix too and he had 46 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the opener. The Eagles backs know their roles; the Patriots backs are fighting for their jobs, so we should see more effort out of them.
Outlook
The Patriots are laying some points here but they look like the play. For starters, they seem to care about these preseason games. They scored 23 of their 26 points after the half in Week 1. Keep in mind that most teams start to mail it in at that point. Secondly, the Eagles are missing their top two quarterbacks, so they’ll delve into their depth much sooner. Lastly, the Patriots running back situation looks strong. They pounded the rock 40 times in Week 1 and should ride those backs to a win again in Week 2.
Pick: Patriots -2.5
