The Philadelphia Eagles have had everything go wrong this season, dealing with a mountain of injuries on the offensive side of the ball and a tough early schedule to start the season with just one win through six games. The New York Giants have had everything go wrong his season, losing their best offensive player to injury early in the season and struggling to find their footing in the first season under new coach Joe Judge while picking up just one win through six games.
Despite all that, both teams are right in the thick of the NFC East divisional race, which currently has the 2-4 Dallas Cowboys at the front of the pack. You know what happens in the tale of the tortoise and the hare, but who’s comes out on top in a race between four tortoises? Tonight’s matchup could go a long way toward determining that.
We’re going to get you ready for the matchup on the gambling side of things in this space, including what you need to know about each aspect of the game from a betting perspective. All odds via William Hill Sportsbook.
What picks can you make with confidence in Week 7? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which NFL teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from the model that is up over $7,800 on its top-rated picks.
How to watch
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Penn.)
TV: FOX, NFL Network | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Giants at Eagles (-4.5)
This line reopened at Eagles -5.5 on Sunday night and quickly bumped up to -6, but Philadelphia’s continued injury issues, which include losing Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz for this game, dropped them all the way down to -3.5 by Monday afternoon. That line was too low for the market, as it rose a half-point on Tuesday and another half-point on Wednesday.
A big positive for the Giants is their ability to cover away from MetLife, as they’re on a run of seven straight covers away from the stadium. They’re also 15-4 ATS on the road over the last three seasons, the best mark in the NFL. However, Doug Pederson has been unstoppable on Thursdays, going 5-0 SU and ATS on that day of the week in his career. Another plus for the Eagles: Daniel Jones is 0-3 ATS in primetime in his career. The Eagles have won seven straight games against the Giants but are just 3-4 ATS during that stretch, per CBS Sports research.
Pick: Eagles -4.5. I’ve been impressed with the resilience of the Eagles offense this year. Yes, they’re 1-5, but they just put up 25-plus points in three straight games against the 49ers, Steelers and Ravens with Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce and the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on offense. It appears Lane Johnson is going to try and gut this one out, but the Eagles O-line could be a problem here. But if they can get a rally together against the Ravens, they shouldn’t have an issue doing it against the Giants. On the other side of the ball, the Giants have their own offensive line issues at tackle and I have much less confidence in them moving the ball consistently. So I’ll take the Eagles here, but the number is about where I think it should be so this isn’t a strong play.
Over/Under 45 points
This total opened at 45 and endured a similar story as the spread, dropping down to 43.5 before gradually working its way back up, hitting 45 again by Wednesday evening.
Pick: Under 45. These teams have been better defensively than offensively this year, and while Overs seemed to be free money early in the season, the Unders roared back in Week 6 to the tune of a 10-4 showing. So I feel a little better about playing Unders in spots where they make sense, as I think it does here with the state of these offensive lines.
Player props
Daniel Jones
O/U 20.5 completions
O/U 34.5 attempts
O/U 231.5 passing yards
O/U 1.5 passing TDs (Under -170)
O/U 0.5 interceptions (Over -180)
O/U 28.5 rushing yards
While 231.5 passing yards seems like a really low number, it’s one we should considering taking the Under on. Jones hasn’t topped that total since Week 2, and the Eagles pass rush should make things difficult for him all night. He’s only had three passing TDs all year and just one since Week 1, so the Under on 1.5 would be worth considering as well. Jones has also rolled up at least 45 rushing yards in three of his last four games and Philadelphia struggled to contain Lamar Jackson last week, so Over 28.5 rushing yards may be the strongest play of the bunch.
Carson Wentz
O/U 22.5 completions
O/U 34.5 attempts
O/U 244.5 passing yards
O/U 1.5 passing TDs (Under -125)
O/U 0.5 interceptions (Under -145)
O/U 17.5 rushing yards
Start with the rushing total, as Wentz has topped that number in five of his six games this year. Remember the Eagles will be without Miles Sanders, so Wentz may have to create more yards on the ground than he would otherwise. The Over on 34.5 attempts also looks like a strong play as they’ve routinely had to throw the ball more than that all year. While this matchup could be different if they can get out to a lead against a bad team, it’s also possible that the Eagles dial up more short passes as an extension of the run game with their star back sidelined and the offensive line in tatters.
More props to consider
DeSean Jackson Over 34.5 receiving yards
The Eagles have been taking shots downfield despite their issues on the O-line, and Wentz has connected on a long pass of at least 35 yards in each of his last three games. With John Hightower dealing with drops, isn’t Jackson the perfect candidate to take over that deep role in his first game back? I don’t think he even has to play the entire game to hit this number, and the targets should be there whenever he’s on the field.
Travis Fulgham Over 4.5 receptions (-120)
Fulgham has become the focal point of the passing offense over the last two weeks, racking up 16 receptions on 23 targets in that span. The return of Jackson is more than balanced out by the loss of Sanders and Zach Ertz in this offense. I think Fulgham will be the guy the Eagles lean on in the short and intermediate part of the field on Thursday night, and five receptions seems more likely to hit than not if that’s the case.
Darius Slayton Under 49.5 receiving yards
This might be a little counterintuitive — who else is Jones going to throw to? But Slayton’s been limited in practice all week due to a foot injury, and that could limit his effectiveness against a solid Eagles secondary. I’d expect the Giants to focus more on feeding Evan Engram while Slayton is held mostly in check.
