The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots square off in Sunday NFL Week 1 action at Gillette Stadium. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Philadelphia Eagles Betting Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles racked up 14 wins and were the best team in the league for a majority of the season but came up just short in the Super Bowl. The Eagles now look to become the second Super Bowl loser to get back to the big game since 1994. Nick Sirianni enters his third season as head coach, and he has one of the best offenses in the league with a stacked offensive line, a star quarterback in Jalen Hurts who had his coming out part and a talented receiving duo in DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown. Defensively, the Eagles are loaded on the defensive line with Fletcher Cox and Josh Sweat leading the way, and you could do a lot worse than a cornerback tandem of James Bradberry and Darius Slay. The Eagles are set at all the key areas teams need to be to make a legit title run, particularly in the trenches. It’s not a surprise the Eagles are the current betting favorites to win the NFC and have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl at most books. 

Philadelphia Eagles Team Facts

• The Eagles have won each of their last nine games as road favorites.
• The Eagles has failed to cover the spread in nine of their last 10 matches as an away underdog when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• The Eagles have lost the first quarter in three of their last four road openers as favorites.
• The Eagles have scored the first touchdown in each of their last four games.
• The Eagles have won the first half in each of their last seven games against AFC East opponents.

Philadelphia Eagles Player Prop Facts

• Jalen Hurts has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Eagles’ last four Sunday road games.
• Josh Sweat was the only player in the NFL to record 10+ sacks and an interception last season

New England Patriots Betting Preview

The New England Patriots are coming off an 8-win season and hope to avoid back to back years without a playoff trip for the first time since 1999-00. A lot of this season is on the progress of quarterback Mac Jones, as he’s been hit or miss through 2 seasons, and it feels like everybody in the franchise isn’t on the same page. Owner Robert Kraft seems to support Jones, while there are reports that coach Bill Belichick would like a change. There’s been rumblings of trade rumors over the last year or so. The addition of offensive coordinator and quarterback guru Bill O’Brien could either make or break the situation. Defensively, the Pats were great against the run last year and that should continue with Lawrence Guy Sr. and Davon Godchaux up front. The Patriots do have to find a new QB of the defense with the retirement of Devin McCourty. For the first time in a long time, the Patriots have the worst odds to win the AFC East as they look up to the Bills, Jets and Dolphins.

New England Patriots Team Facts

• The favorites have won each of the Patriots’ last 10 games.
• The Patriots have failed to cover the spread in each of their last six games played as underdogs on the East Coast.
• The Patriots have won the first quarter in each of their last three games as underdogs against NFC opponents.
• The Patriots have scored the first touchdown in each of their last four Sunday home games.
• The Patriots have won the first half in 15 of their last 18 home games in September.

New England Patriots Player Prop Facts

• Ezekiel Elliott has scored at least one touchdown in nine of his last 10 regular season appearances.
• Ezekiel Elliott was the only player in the NFL to record a touchdown in eight consecutive games last season

Matchup/League Facts

• The Patriots were the only team in the NFL to rank top 5 for both interceptions and fumbles recovered last season
• The Patriots ranked 1st in the NFL in punt return yards per game (24.6) last season
• The Eagles ranked 1st in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (179.8) last season
• The Eagles were the only team in the NFL to have over 4,000 passing yards and fewer than 550 pass attempts last season

Randy’s Pick

The New England Patriots and points at home for a season opener has value because no matter what you think of the team, coach Belichick has had all year to put together a game plan. Still, the Pats have a serious quarterback issue and if the Eagles are able to pick up anywhere close to where they left off a year ago, they’ll be playing from behind a lot. The Eagles were a buzz saw last year, and they’re just so explosive and solid in the trenches. I’m not excited to step in front of the Eagles until they prove me otherwise. I’ll lay the chalk.