Philadelphia Eagles: Favorite to Become 2022 NFC Champions at +350

Birds bettors, this is unprecedented euphoria.

DraftKings listed the Eagles, who put their 3-0 record up against former coach Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at -6.5, as the +350 favorite to be in the Super Bowl this week.

Eagles…..National Football Conference…Chalk.

It was not legally possible to say this before. Sports betting beyond four states did not exist amid the clamor of 2017 when the Birds picked up momentum for their Super Bowl run.

Now, millions of people can bet on the NFL. From the tablets to the apps, from the desktops, and across all gambling venues, the message resonates: the Eagles are the NFC team to beat.

Eagles NFC Favorite

And look at the overall company they keep. Check out the Super Bowl futures at DraftKings:

The Buffalo Bills are the favorite at +400.
The Kansas City Chiefs are second, at +750.
Iggles fans, here are the Eagles Super Bowl Odds

You can appreciate that more deeply by looking at those who trail them.

Consider these powerhouses, ranked behind the Birds.

The Green Bay Packers are +900.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are +1000. Didn’t the Bucs destroy the Eagles in the playoff opener last year? Yup, but look at these numbers now
The defending champion Los Angeles Rams are +1500.
And, for those who want to crank up a laugh regarding this rivalry, the Dallas Cowboys are +3000.

Yes, the numbers look good for the Philadelphia Eagles 2022 team. And yes, all the early-season euphoria could crash with one loss.

But we live in the moment. And Eagles fans can savor this for as long as it lasts.

The Roots of Optimism

The Eagles’ lofty perch did not develop overnight. It usually takes a couple of dominating performances and then something demonstrative to vault a team all the way to the top.

For the Iggles, the capper was the nine-sack demolition of the Washington Commanders in a 24-8 triumph last week that jump-started the action.

Since last Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff, the Birds received a book-leading 21% of the DraftKings handle to become Super Bowl champions for +800.

And Jalen Hurts, their leader and +600 MVP candidate, earned 21% of that handle.

Can They Keep it Going?

Now comes a reunion Philly fans will appreciate. Dougie P is back, and the matchup features two over-achieving teams.

The Jaguars were expected to win roughly seven games, according to the sportsbooks. The Eagles were pegged for nine at Draft Kings before the number was pushed up to 9.5 by the first wave of summer betting.

So here stand the Eagles at 3-0 and the Jags 2-1. It’s a matchup of teams surpassing expectations, and it’s the return of Doug Pederson, the coach who brought them their only Super Bowl championship.

You want Philly Philly?

Eagles fans will undoubtedly give Pederson a warm reception at the Linc. Not only does he bring back warm memories, but Pederson’s work ethic will strike a chord in Philadelphia.

Points to Ponder Regarding Jacksonville.

*In the past two weeks, the Jags have yielded just 10 points, shutting out the Indianapolis Colts and holding the Justin Herbert-led Los Angeles Chargers to 10 points. That’s even fewer points than the Eagles allowed over the past two weeks, which was only 15 to the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders.

*The Jags led the league in scoring last week with 38 points and some FanDuel bettors were ecstatic. Jacksonville was the longest shot on the board at +5000 or 50-1. The Jags outscored the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs and even the Eagles.

*The Jags have used a ground-and-pound style the past two weeks. James Robinson reached 100 yards for them against Los Angeles and delivered a critical 50-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Jacksonville also relies on Travis Etienne.

*Trevor Lawrence is showing maturity in his second year. Better decision-making, more patience and the ability to find the right receiver have helped him.

What happens if the Eagles’ defense rushes him with the ferocity they have shown in the past two weeks?

We can’t wait to find out.

Points to Ponder regarding the Eagles

Who will Jalen Hurts’ favorite targets be? It’s whatever the defense gives them now because opponents must cover A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but that’s hard for bettors to predict.
What happens if the Eagles step on the gas for all four quarters? At times, this team looks like it can score 50.
Is the defense really THIS good?

Some early props are up at DraftKings

Will the Eagles score more than 3.5 touchdowns? The Over is +125 and the Under is -165.

The Eagles have an over-under of 27 .5 points. The Over is +105 and the Under is -125.

Although the Eagles have gone over that total only once, they have notched 24 first-half points in all three of their games. That may prompt some bettors to seek the Eagles’ over-under of 13.5 points for the first half. It’s not a great price, with the Over at -125 and the Under at -105.

The total touchdowns of 2.5 might be more attractive, as gamblers can take both teams. That price is -115 either way.
Hurts’ over-under for passing yards is 245.5. It’s -115 either way.
The total for Trevor Lawrence is 243.5. Same numbers, just depends upon what kind of game it is.
Lawrence to throw two or more touchdowns is +105.

Watch for the anytime and first TD scorers if you want to take a pop.

We mentioned Dallas Goedert’s number of +950 at DraftKings here last week for him to score first, which he did. That was one of the better payoffs at DraftKings last week.

Here’s a unique bet linking to the Eagles’ dominance to date:

Will the Jaguars score first and lose? That’s +250.

The Eagles haven’t trailed since the second quarter of Game 1. This is Game 4.

Might they yield a cheap early field goal and then win? Should that happen, the bettor with this ticket would not have to worry about the spread.

Here are three fun facts that Iggles.com backers can relate to either betting or chest-pounding.

The Eagles went five quarters _ in the second half against the Minnesota Vikings and the first three quarters against the Commanders _ without yielding a point. That’s hard to match. It’s also one of those distinctions reserved for elite teams.
Twice this season, the Eagles have scored 24 points in one quarter. That’s more than Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers have scored in any game this season.
Twice this season, the Eagles have scored three touchdowns in the second quarter. That’s the exact number of TDs, three, that the Bucs offense has tallied ALL season.