Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons Odds
The Philadelphia Eagles looked the part of a Super Bowl contender in Week 1 with a 31-13 win at St. Louis.
The Atlanta Falcons, who finished last regular season with the best record in the NFC, did not as they were defeated 30-12 at Chicago.
These two teams with Super Bowl aspirations are all set to meet Sunday night in Atlanta. Odds makers are expecting a close game but have given Philly the edge. The Eagles are currently listed as a 2.5-point favorite with the total set at 49.5.
Michael Vick is perhaps the biggest reason why Philly is considered among the top Super Bowl contenders. He only completed 43.8 percent of his passes against the Rams but threw for 187 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The most elusive quarterback the game has ever seen also carried 11 times for 97 yards.
Vick could be poised for a bigger day through their air against an Atlanta defense that allowed Chicago’s Jay Cutler to complete 68.8 percent of his passes for 312 yards last week.
The Atlanta defense was susceptible to the pass last season and may not have done enough to shore it up. The Falcons ranked 22nd in the league with 226.6 passing yards allowed per game in 2010.
Filling in for an injured Vick, Kevin Kolb completed 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in a 31-17 win against the Falcons last season.
With the addition of cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Philly pass defense has a chance to be the best in the league. It certainly got off to a good start by limiting St. Louis’ Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley to 18 of 35 passing for 209 yards with no touchdowns. The Eagles also sacked the two quarterbacks five times.
Rodgers-Cromartie is questionable Sunday with an ankle injury, which means Asomugha and Asante Samuel will be asked to carry the load against one of the best receiving units in the league.
Julio Jones was added via the draft to a unit that already boasted star wideout Roddy White and future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.
The key to slowing down this group is getting pressure on Matt Ryan. He threw for 319 yards against the Bears but was held without a touchdown and was sacked five times.
The Eagles have had Atlanta’s number to say the least. They have won the last four meetings and eight of the last nine.
They last visited Atlanta in 2009 and left with a 34-7 victory. Duplicating that performance won’t be easy as Atlanta has been one of the best home teams in the NFL the last few years. It went 7-1 at home during the 2010 regular season.
The Eagles are 9-2-1 against the spread in the last 12 meetings in this matchup, but keep in mind the Falcons are 10-1 against the number in their last 11 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game.
As far as the total is concerned, the under has brought home the bacon. The under is 6-1-1 in the last eight meetings and 5-0 in the last last in Atlanta.
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