Eagles Falcons Line

Written by Steve Janus

While there are a ton of good games scheduled for week 2. The most anticipated game of the week is the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will make his first start at Atlanta since returning to the NFL. Vick will be trying to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 start after crushing the St Louis Rams 31-13. Atlanta will be looking to rebound from an embarrassing 30-12 road loss against the Chicago Bears. These two teams faced off last season in Philadelphia with the Eagles winning 31-17. It was the Eagles fourth straight win in the series and third in the last three seasons.

For those of you thinking about wagering on the game, week 2 NFL odds currently have Philadelphia favored by 2.5-points over Atlanta with the total set at 49.5 points.

Philadelphia Eagles:

While Vick let the Eagles to an opening week win, there is plenty of room for improvement moving forward. he completed just 14 of 32 for 187 yards against the Rams. He did throw for two touchdowns and rush for 97 yards, but that 44% completion percentage has to get better. There is no doubt Vick will be motivated to play extremely well in this game.

Wide out DeSean Jackson really played well against St Louis, catching a team-high six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Wide out Jason Avant (3) and running back LeSean McCoy (2) were the only other players to have more than one catch. One of McCoy’s catches went for a 7-yard score. McCoy did his part running the football, carrying the ball 15 times for 122 yards, including a 49 yard touchdown run.

The defense caught a break when Rams running back Steven Jackson was forced to leave the game with a quad injury. Jackson’s first carry was a 47-yard touchdown run, but was able to carry just one more time before sitting out the rest of the game. Cadillac Williams stepped in for Jackson and rushed for 91 yards on 19 carries and also caught six passes for 49 yards. The secondary played very well, holding Sam Bradford to just 188 yards on 17 of 30 passing.

Atlanta Falcons:

The Falcons have to a bit concerned with the way their offense looked in the opener. They didn’t score a single offensive touchdown, turned the ball over three times, and quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked 5 times. There is reason to not hit the panic button just yet. Ryan threw for 319 yards on 31 of 47 passing and running back Michael Turner carried it 10 times for 100 yards.

It will be interesting to see what plan of attack the Falcons take in this one. They gave up a lot to acquire rookie wide out Julio Jones, who had five catches for 71 yards in his debut. The problem is the Eagles are built to stop the pass with three outstanding corners. I believe the Falcons have to come out running the ball and stick with it. That also means they can’t afford to fall behind big early.

The Falcons defense sacked Jay Cutler four times and Kroy Biermann returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, but overall I was not impressed with Atlanta’s defense. They added veteran defensive end Ray Edwards, but didn’t do anything to improve a weak secondary that was torched by Cutler for 312 yards and two touchdowns. I think they are really going to struggle with the speed of the Eagles offense.

Betting Trends:

Philadelphia is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a road favorite of 0.5-3.0, but 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game.

Atlanta is 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game, but only 9-20-1 ATS in their last 30 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

If you are looking for an edge against the odds in week 2, be sure to stop back and see who Steve Janus has going in his premium NFL packages.

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