Patriots Odds: Ready To Run Back ‘Under’ In Thursday’s Pats-Eagles Tilt

Don’t expect much offense between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night in the City of Brotherly Love.

Most American sportsbooks opened the Pats as a 2-point road favorite with a total of 38. Early money showed for the Eagles and the “Over,” so the market currently sits at New England -1 and O/U 38.5 at the majority of betting shops. But I believe the “Under” cash will show first thing Thursday morning.

It’s tough to envision a high-scoring affair when you parlay the Patriots’ defensive prowess in their preseason opener with the Eagles’ sluggish offense in theirs. I don’t necessarily love jumping to conclusions after one exhibition game, but New England is still a ground and pound football team that will win with ball control and defense.

And oh yeah, the Pats lead Washington 15-7 with less than two minutes to go.

“This is going to be the Patriots season,” NESN Patriots analyst Matt Chatham said Wednesday afternoon. “This is the style they’re going to push these games towards. (New England) will be a very efficient offense, but a time-sucker offense. And you can’t forget about the running game that started to rear its head a week ago.

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“I say wager on style with these guys,” Chatham added. “They’ll play good defense and the offense will continue to improve, but this isn’t a team to start guessing on them hitting in the mid-40s just yet.”

It’s almost a given that Patriots tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith will both be out and they’ll certainly be missed in those crucial third-and-short situations. New England might only dress one tight end in Devin Asiasi, which will force Josh McDaniels’ offense to use more receiver personnel. That’s not a good thing for an offense that hasn’t exactly hummed through the air.

On the flip side, Philadelphia really struggled to run the rock (52 yards) in its preseason opener against the Steelers and it’s not like life gets much easier against that revamped and motivated New England front seven. The Patriots also added plenty of athletic personnel that will combat what quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts do well. And once Hurts departs, we’ll likely get a heavy dose of quarterback Joe Flacco.

I keep coming back to a 17-14 final score either way and even if that’s a full touchdown off, 21-17 still isn’t enough to get you “Over” the number. Count me in on the “Under.”

Patriots-Eagles Under 38.5 points -110

RECORD: (45-44, -3.2)