NFC East Week 6 Bettor’s Playbook: Tom Brady And The Super Bowl Champs About To Touch Down In Philadelphia

Written By Dave Bontempo on October 12, 2021
NFC East Brady-Eagles

NFL Week 6 provides contrast for New Jersey online sports bettors regarding the popular NFC East.

For the Philadelphia Eagles, fresh off a 21-18 victory against the Carolina Panthers, it will be a short but enjoyable turnaround. The Eagles launch NFL Week 6 by hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday night.

For the New York Giants, the 12th man may be a doctor. Several key players were lost in their 44-20 setback to the Dallas Cowboys and now they must host the Los Angeles Rams.

For the Washington Football Team, a leaky defense will be tested again. After collapsing in a 33-22 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Washington is home to the Kansas City Chiefs.

And for the Dallas Cowboys, it’s the first roadshow after three convincing home romps, including Sunday’s against the Giants. The Cowboys invade New England.

With kickoff approaching, here is a look at some takeaways and glances ahead for each team.

NFC East standings through NFL Week 5

  • Dallas 4-1
  • Eagles 2-3
  • Washington 2-3
  • Giants 1-4

2021 NFC East records vs. NJ sports betting lines

Here are the current NFC East team records on the moneyline, spread, and over-under (using DraftKings Sportsbook figures at kickoff).

Dallas:

  • 4-1 vs moneyline
  • 5-0 vs the spread
  • 4-1 on the over

Philadelphia: 

  • 2-3 on the moneyline
  • 2-3 vs spread
  • 2-3 on the over

New York: 

  • 1-4 on the moneyline
  • 2 -3 vs spread
  • 3-2 on the over

Washington:

  • 2-3 on the moneyline
  • 1-4 vs the spread
  • 4-1 on the over

 

Eagles highs and lows through five games

Speedy receiver Quez Watkins showed up in two major instances Sunday. The first was when QB Jalen Hurts did not see him late in the first half on what may have been a touchdown. However, the second time was a different story as Hurtts and Watkins connected on a 53-yard pass play that changed the game. That led to the Eagles’ first touchdown by Hurts, which cut the lead to 15-13.

Watkins needs to be utilized more often as a deep threat. He had a 79-yard touchdown in the preseason and a 91-yard reception in Week 2.  He’s an excellent weapon and a game-changing wide receiver.

On a special edition of Why Eagles Why, former Eagles great Brian Westbrook told Pete Amato that the youthful Eagles will provide unexpected highs and lows throughout the season.

That was never more evident than in this game. The Eagles did everything to bury themselves in a 15-3 hole but came back to right the ship just in time.

On a day when much went wrong, Jake Elliott drilled a 58-yard field goal just before halftime, Hurts made some big plays and the maligned Eagles defense stepped up.

The same group that was strafed for 83 points in the previous two weeks made three picks against Panthers QB Sam Darnold, two by Darius Slay.

Think of what they overcame to win:

  • A touchdown nullified by penalty
  • 88 first-half yards
  • 1 fumble

And yet, they blocked a punt when trailing by five points late in the game. That led to a touchdown, two-point conversion, and the INT to seal the day.

They are up. They are down. But they show heart. Just like Westbrook said.

Bucs vs. Eagles odds at NJ sportsbooks

Thursday night showdown versus Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champs

You can’t have everything. Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s  45-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The team had 558 yards. They are the Super Bowl champs and have weapons galore.

Nobody said this was going to be easy. The Eagles’ best chance will be to keep Brady off the field. It will be difficult to match the Bucs score for score.

As far as this week’s Eagles odds go, the majority of NJ online sportsbooks have Philly getting seven points at the Linc.

The total points line is 51.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook (as of Tuesday morning).

Rams vs. Giants odds at NJ sportsbooks

Giants showing a ton of heart, but hurting

Is this even fair?

In one half Sunday, the Giants lost a group of key players.

It started with star back Saquon Barkley, who rolled his ankle after stepping on the foot of a Cowboy defender.

Receiver Kenny Golladay left the game with a knee injury too.

Big Blue also lost quarterback Daniel Jones just before the half when he took a vicious shot trying to score a touchdown.  Unfortunately for the Giants, he suffered a concussion and walked off the field like a guy leaving a bar at 5 a.m. Mike Glennon did a strong job in relief of Jones and the Giants did show the next-man-up mentality throughout the game. They simply ran out of men.

The G-Men already were missing Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton.

It’s hard to remember any team losing so many key players in such a short time.

To their credit, the Giants fought the Cowboys all the way. But they are severely depleted.

Chiefs vs. Washington odds at NJ sportsbooks

Washington: The defense rests

The Football Team gave up a Hail-Mary touchdown to close out the first half against the New Orleans Saints.

Seriously?

Nobody on the team even leaped up to try and stop it.

Washington also got scorched on a 72-yard-deep pass from Jameis Winston for New Orleans’ first score.

Quarterback Taylor Heinicke also hurt this team with two horribly-timed picks. One was an interception near the end zone as they were about to go in to break a 3-3 tie. At least three probable points were lost. He tossed a second-half pick deep in his own territory that led to an immediate touchdown.

Two bad tosses, a turnaround of 10 points in a game Washington led by 11. The defending division champs don’t scare anybody.

Gamblers will take an early look at this over and consider it. This can pertain to offensive numbers from both teams. Suddenly, Washington doesn’t look formidable. Suddenly, the Eagles look like the second-best team in the NFC East.

Cowboys vs. Patriots odds at NJ sportsbooks

Dallas Cowboys continue to be NFC East team to beat

This team has the right balance between quarterback Dak Prescott, the running-back committee of Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard, and an excellent receiving corps. Dallas also has an exceptional offensive line.

It didn’t matter in the end, but Trevon Diggs of Dallas got away with one, pushing off a Giants receiver before notching an interception when Dallas led 24-13.

Betting nugget for in-game gambling: The Cowboys are not only 5-0 against the spread, but they are 4-0-1 in the second half of all their games.  If the contest is reasonably close at halftime, they have been money on second-half wagers.

They face a New England team that overcame a 22-9 hole and tenaciously fought back to outlast the Houston Texans. New England will definitely try ball-control to contain a Dallas team that notched 515 yards against the Giants, 201 on the ground.

AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio

 

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Dave Bontempo

Dave Bontempo, a multiple national award-winning boxing commentator and writer, authors NFL betting columns for the Press of Atlantic City and others. He writes about all major sports in the booming legal New Jersey sports betting industry. Dave also hosts the Why Eagles Why podcast. Dave is a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame and the Atlantic City International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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