All is not well in Eaglesland.
The Philadelphia Eagles lost a close one at home to the Detroit Lions by a final score of 27-24. While of course there are going to be negatives in a loss, it is important to also take a look at some of the positives from the game, and of course, how it all affected gambling.
Eagles don’t cover the spread
The Eagles ended the first quarter up 10-7, and it looked like covering the spread of 4.5 points was more than in play. Interestingly, the line opened at -7 and by game time it had fallen 2.5 points. Apparently bettors saw value in betting the underdog Lions to move the line, and that instinct turned out to be correct.
The second half was close, but in the end it was +4.5 Lions bettors and Lions moneyline bettors (+180) who cashed out. The Lions remained undefeated at 2-0-1 and the Eagles fell to 1-2.
What happened in Eagles vs. Lions
Quarterback Carson Wentz threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, but the offensive MVP may have belonged to rookie running back, Miles Sanders. Sanders had 13 carries for 53 yards and he added 2 receptions for 73 yards for a grand total of 126 yards. A lost fumble marred his day, however.
Tight end Zach Ertz has yet to find his rhythm this season, which can be another reason that the Eagles failed to not only not cover the spread, but win at all. Ertz needs to get on track soon if the Eagles want to keep their Super Bowl aspirations alive, especially with how good the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott have looked.
For the Lions, quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Marvin Jones connected six times for 101 yards and a touchdown, but the play of the game was when kick returner, Jamal Agnew, returned a kick for 100 yards for a touchdown. That return was the first kick off return for a touchdown this season.
What’s next for the Eagles
The Eagles have a short week as they play Thursday night against the 3-0 Green Bay Packers and the current spread on that game is Packers -4.5.
Updates should come shortly on the status of wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery, who missed the Lions game with injuries.
