The New England Patriots will seek to gain a measure of vengeance Thursday when they take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in exhibition action as 3.5-point home favorites on the NFL preseason odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The memory of New England’s 41-33 loss to Philadelphia as 4.5-point chalk in Super Bowl LII remains fresh. However, New England has dominated in preseason meetings between these two squads, going 9-2 straight-up ahead of Thursday night’s Eagles versus Patriots betting matchup at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots opened their August schedule on a winning note last weekend, posting a 26-17 win over the visiting Washington Redskins as 2.5-point home favorites, which also marked their first preseason victory on home turf since 2016.
Overall, New England has proven to be an unreliable bet in preseason contests, going 6-5 SU in its past 11 such games overall, but covering just once in its past six overall, and it is 2-5 against the spread in its past seven preseason games at Gillette Stadium.
The Eagles opened their preseason schedule with a 31-14 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers as 3-point home favorites, but have been much steadier performers in August, going 11-4 SU and ATS in their past 15, according to the OddsShark NFL Database. They have, however, suffered SU and ATS losses in their past two August road dates.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is expected to see his first action of the preseason in Thursday’s contest. The 41-year-old sat out last week’s win over the Redskins while reportedly nursing a sore back but has kept busy at practice, familiarizing himself with a new-look receiving corps.
Brady will be aiming to build on an outstanding campaign in 2017, when he led the NFL with 4,577 passing yards, but he currently trails favorite Aaron Rodgers as a +800 bet on the 2018 NFL MVP odds.
Super Bowl hero Nick Foles is expected to see action under center for the Eagles early on in Thursday’s game. Foles earned Super Bowl MVP honors after leading the Eagles to their first-ever title earlier this year, but is expected to eventually return to his role as a backup to Carson Wentz, who is pegged as a +700 wager to garner NFL MVP honors this season.
While the Eagles take the field as reigning champions, their stock has dropped on the Super Bowl 53 odds, where they now sit alongside the Steelers at +1000, well back of the Patriots, who remain perched as +650 chalk. Philadelphia also has been eclipsed by the Los Angeles Rams, who are at +850 on the Super Bowl odds, and sit as +550 favorites to win the NFC.
