New England is back as the NFL betting favorites with Tom Brady at the helm, but the 2007 MVP won’t have a very big say in Thursday’s preseason game against Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. Instead, it’ll be the backups, and they’re nowhere near as good as the first team.Patriots vs Eagles Odds – Thursday, 7:30 PM ET
Yes, the Pats have Brady back, but coming off a serious knee injury, how long do you really expect him to be on the field on Friday? You shouldn’t need a sports betting system to figure out that he’ll play one series and be done. Matt Cassel is no longer in town, which means Kevin O’Connell will get the majority of the snaps. The second-year pivot has all the tools to be a solid player, and he’ll get to learn from the best in Brady, but he’s still learning. The Patriots are also bare at wide receiver outside of Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Joey Galloway, but they do have a wealth of running backs, which should aid their odds in the regular season when you’re betting online.
The Eagles were stunned by the death of longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, and they lost starting linebacker Stewart Bradley to a knee injury, so the defense will either be lacking or inspired. I’m going with inspired, especially in front of the Philly faithful, who are some of the craziest fans in the country. The Eagles will also get their first game action out of rookie LeSean McCoy, a Pennsylvania native who went to Pitt and was drafted to back up Brian Westbrook, who is often injured but plays through it. Hopefully, he can make it through the game unscathed because he’ll be crucial to the Eagles’ sportsbook odds.
The Eagles are favored by 2.5 points at home, and your sports betting software should recommend them to protect their homefield advantage. The Patriots have never really taken these preseason games series, while the Eagles will fired up, especially the defense. Brady won’t be on the field long, but don’t expect much as he may be a bit rusty. It doesn’t really mean much in the long run, but on Thursday, make Philadelphia one of your NFL picks.
