January 10, 2019
Gamblers love underdogs and you can expect them to back the underdog Philadelphia Eagles Sunday as they visit the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Divisional Playoff round.
The Eagles have now won five straight games SU as playoff underdogs and they get 8 points, according to sportsbooks such as BetOnline.ag. And overall, Philly is riding a 9-1 ATS streak as a playoff dog as we dig into the Eagles vs Saints betting preview.
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The Eagles, even without injured QB Carson Wentz, are a far different team than the one that suffered a 48-7 mashing here in November. Several injured defensive starters are back. Tackle Jason Peters is back. RB Darren Sproles is back. Nick Foles is sprinkling his playoff pixie dust again.
New Orleans has been an offensive juggernaut and are rested, but were not super impressive down the stretch. They also have a spotty 3-6 ATS mark the past nine times they were favored by a TD or more.
Of course, the Saints could cruise to another rout here and easily cover 8 points. They boast a 6-2 ATS mark head to head against Philly over the past decade and haven’t lost at home against an NFC East team since 2012 (7-0 SU, 5-1-1 ATS).
But the big reason they could cover the spread here is something the Eagles don’t do very often – blitz. When Drew Brees has time in the pocket, he can pick apart any defense. And the Eagles still have some very junior corner backs.
When Brees has struggled, its been against teams that bring blitzes and create pocket pressure. Don’t tell Brees because he hates to hear it, but he is not a tall guy and pressure in his face causes problems seeing down the field.
Eagles vs Saints Betting Pick
We are not convinced that the Eagles won’t win outright here. But unlike last week when we bet the moneyline, we are happier taking the eight points this week.