49ers Eagles Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The Philadelphia Eagles look to get back on track this Sunday when they host the San Francisco 49ers. Philly has lost back-to-back games to drop to 1-2 on the season, while the 49ers picked up a big road win last week to get to 2-1 on the year. These teams will meeting up for a fourth straight season in what has been a one-sided series of late. The Eagles were victorious 27-24 on the road in 2010, and they’ve won all five meetings with San Francisco dating back to 2005.

Odds makers have listed the Eagles as a 9-point home favorite with a total set of 44 points.

Philadelphia

The so-called “dream team” lived up to their nickname in their opener, topping the St. Louis Rams 31-13. They appeared to be headed to a 2-0 start with a 10-point lead on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 before Michael Vick went out with a concussion. Atlanta rallied for a 35-31 victory, and the Eagles would suffer a hangover last week, losing 29-16 at home to the New York Giants. Vick was originally diagnosed with a broken hand in the loss, but tests later showed that it was just a bruise. Vick is expected to give it a go against the 49ers this Sunday.

Philly has not dropped three straight regular season games since 2007, and to avoid that disaster, Vick is going to need to play like his old self. He has thrown for a pedestrian 605 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions thus far, completing just 59.0 percent of his passes. He also has 153 yards on the ground, but has yet to rush for a touchdown. LeSean McCoy ranks second in the NFL with 345 rushing yards and a league-high five touchdowns. Jeremy Maclin leads all Eagles receivers with 19 receptions for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He is listed as day-to-day with a hamstring injury, so Vick will hope he has his favorite target come Sunday.

The biggest concern for this team is on defense, where they spent a lot of money to bring in the likes of Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Eagles have allowed a combined 64 points over their last two games, which is the most they’ve given up since 2006 in a two-game stretch. For the season, they rank a respectable 12th in total defense (329.0 yards/game). The Eagles are 6th in total offense (413.3 yards/game) and 2nd in rushing offense (182.0 yards/game), so moving the ball has not been an issue.

San Francisco

The 49ers opened their season with a 33-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in a key NFC West showdown. San Francisco appeared headed for an upset over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, but let a 10-point lead slip away over the final ten minutes of the fourth quarter. They would eventually lose in overtime by a final of 27-24. San Francisco showed their resiliency last week, winning in Cincinnati 13-8 behind a dominant defensive effort. They gave up just 228 total yards to the Bengals,

Offensively, no team has been worse than San Francisco. The 49ers rank 32nd in the league in total offense (213.7 yards/game), including 30th in rushing (69.7 yards/game). That’s pretty surprising considering they have Frank Gore, who has been held to 148 rushing yards and a touchdown on 59 carries (2.5/rush). Gore injured his ankle in their win over the Bengals, and is questionable heading into this one. Head coach Jim Harbaugh believes he will play Sunday.

Alex Smith is completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 504 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Tight end Vernon Davis remains his favorite target, catching 15 balls for 179 yards. San Francisco is lacking big plays in the receiving game, which is something that has haunted them over the last few years. Their defense has been spectacular thus far, currently ranked 7th in total defense (306.4 yards/game). They are extremely tough against the run, ranking 3rd in rushing defense (62.7 yards/game) while allowing just 2.9/carry.

Betting Trends

San Francisco is 0-5 SU & 0-5 ATS in their last five meetings with Philly. Their last win against the Eagles came back in 2003. The Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.

The Eagles have been very good the week following a bad loss. Philly is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a double-digit loss at home. They are, however, just 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as a home favorite.

The 49ers are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall, and 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0. San Francisco is just 1-9-2 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win, and 1-6-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a S.U. win.

Follow the advice of expert handicapper of Jack Jones throughout the rest of the 2011 NFL season if you are looking to take your bankroll to new heights.

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