Week 3 of the preseason is usually when we see the most from our teams’ presumptive starters, but if that’s your expectation when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to FirstEnergy Stadium to take on the Cleveland Browns, you might be disappointed.
Carson Wentz is still being held out by the Eagles and likely won’t even be ready by the start of the season. How about backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles? Well, he injured his shoulder in a 37-20 loss to the New England Patriots last Thursday. Word out of Philly is that he’s fine, but I’d doubt we’ll see him take the field against the Browns.
Speaking of Cleveland, Tyrod Taylor may be the supposed starter, but the fans are begging for No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to be handed the reigns for good. He’s outplayed Taylor in both the team’s preseason games and a couple more of those should make Hue Jackson’s decision a no-brainer.
Odds: Eagles at Browns (+2, O/U: 42.0)
Related: NFL Preseason Betting Guide
Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
Philadelphia dropped its preseason Super Bowl rematch with the Patriots, 37-20. Foles finished 3-of-9 for 44 yards before getting knocked from the game with an injury.
If you’re looking for a bright side, third-year pro Nate Sudfeld had an outstanding game for the Eagles, completing 22-of-39 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. He’ll likely go for at least the first half of Thursday night’s game, before tossing the keys to Joe Callahan.
While the offense won’t be at full strength in the first half, the defense needs to stay out there and get some work in Week 3. Tom Brady carved them up last week, completing 19-of-26 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Granted, it was Tom Brady, but this was pretty much the same unit that managed to slow him down significantly just a few months ago in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles have underperformed against the spread all preseason. In Week 1 they were a three-point favorite over the Steelers and were dominated, 31-14. Last week they were a 2.5-point underdog and ended up getting waxed by 17 points. While this is Week 3 and the starters should play more, without a full-go Foles I don’t see it making much difference.
Cleveland Browns (1-1)
The big news coming out of the Browns organization over the last week is that we’ve all been pronouncing Tyrod Taylor’s name wrong, even back when he was with Virginia Tech. It turns out it’s not TY-rod, but TUH-rod.
If Jackson really intends for Taylor to be his Week 1 starter, then we’ll see him for at least a half until Mayfield takes over. If Mayfield hits the field in the second quarter, especially if Cleveland’s offense has been stymied by the Eagles defense, Jackson could be coming around to the fact that’s obvious to everyone else who’s ever even seen a football — Mayfield should be the guy.
The oddsmakers have whiffed on the Browns in the first two weeks of the preseason. They were a 2.5-point underdog in Week 1 against the Giants and won that game 20-10. The books flipped in Week 2, giving the Browns two points over the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland lost that game by exactly two points, 19-17. They’re an underdog here once more, but I think they books have guessed wrong again.
Pick
With no Wentz and presumably no Foles, this game could be another classic Sudfeld-Taylor quarterback battle. The longer Taylor stays in, the more I like the Eagles. Unfortunately for Philly, I see Mayfield doing plenty here to get Cleveland the victory and to put together one more on-tape performance for Jackson to completely ignore. I like the Dawg Pound as dogs here to win, but with Foles probably out and Taylor playing a lot, the under is the way to go. Browns 20, Eagles 16
