What’s this? For one of the rare times this season, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants are moving the point spread at the same time.
New Jersey online sports bettors helped nudge the 4-6 Eagles up to -2 at DraftKings Spotsbook early Friday morning before the Birds host the 5-4 New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Big Blue bettors, meanwhile, jumped on the 3-6 Giants at +12 at DraftKings for their Monday Night Football appearance against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are 6-3.
Bettors shaved a couple points off the original line to back the G-Men, who have authored three straight covers and two victories in their last three games.
For New Jersey gamblers, who helped author yet another national record performance of $1.3 billion wagered at NJ sportsbooks in October, there’s meaning far beyond team records.
The Giants and Eagles are playing well enough to bet on the point spread. They are 5-1 combined against the number in their last six games.
Backing them has been a pathway to cha-ching.
The timing could not be better. The Giants and Eagles, who meet each other during NFL Week 12, have hit their best strides of the campaign.
How the Eagles and Giants enter the week
The Eagles ride the respect emanating from last week’s 30-13 pounding of the Denver Broncos, who thrashed the Dallas Cowboys the previous week.
Philadelphia enters the outside-looking-in bubble regarding the NFL Playoffs and play a game with post-season implications. The 5-4 Saints are in the postseason if that started now.
It’s early, but…
“This game is writing mostly Eagles right now,” Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, told PlayNJ. “The Eagles are playing better. They are running a little better and they are getting some respect.
“When I look at the teams that can jump up into a playoff spot, they are not one of them, in my opinion. But they can give you a run on any Sunday and they can play a solid football game. You can ask the Denver Broncos that.”
The karma and Kamara watch
The Saints are a different and potentially explosive team with Alvin Kamara in the lineup. He led the league in touchdowns last year.
Kamara is nursing a knee injury and sat out the team’s 23-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans last week. He did participate in practice Thursday, fueling speculation that he will play. He’s a big factor. Bettors will view his injury news intently close to game time.
As for karma, the Eagles haven’t won a home game this year. They are due. And the last game they did win here? It was last December, against the Saints. It was the first career start for Jalen Hurts.
Time to turn a page? Suddenly, he looks like he’s been in the league for at least a year.
Should NJ sports bettors run with the Philadelphia Eagles?
The Eagles, yes, these same Eagles ripped by critics all year for their under-used backfield a few weeks back, are leading the NFC in rushing yards per game. That’s right, they sit atop the circuit, even above the Dallas Cowboys.
The Birds average 144.5 yards per game on the ground, more than anyone in the NFC and third-best in the NFL behind the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, who are both averaging 154.1 rushing yards per game.
Go figure. The Birds also average 25.7 points per game, fifth in the NFC
Philadelphia had 216 yards on the ground last week with no 100-yard rushers. Fans love the combo of Jordan Howard and Boston Scott, even while bettors may be wary of their shared duty on individual props.
The waters could become muddied even more if Miles Sanders’ expected return occurs this week. Too many cooks spoiling the broth?
Nonetheless, the overall prop menu is rich.
DraftKings’ NFL Week 11 Philadelphia Eagles props
Hurts to throw for more than 204.5 yards is – 115 either way. Trevor Siemian of New Orleans has a 218.5-yard threshold, at -115 on each side.
Can Hurts throw more than 1.5 touchdowns? The over is +130 and the under is -170.
This reflects the expectation that the Eagles may be run-heavy in this game.
But the +140 is going to generate a long look from some bettors. Hurts threw two TDs to DeVonta Smith last week and had another dropped by Quez Watkins.
Smith’s over-under for yardage is 57. 5 at -115 either way.
Smith’s receptions over-under is 4.5, with the under at -165 and the over at +125. This is another opportunity for any bettor thinking the Birds will air it out.
Giants flying high into Tampa Bay
Off of the bye, the Giants try to make it four straight covers in the Monday Night game.
As of Friday morning, the Giants had corralled 61% of the DraftKings money at +11.
“The opening number was 12 and went down as low as 10.5 because the Bucs are not looking too good right now,” Avello said. “They are at home in the Monday night game and you can see why there is support for them, but the bettors like to take a shot with the big dog on the money line.
“At one point, you could have had $5 (or +500) on the moneyline for the Giants, but the bettors have gobbled all of that. We came down to +375 for them pretty past.
“This kind of support for the Giants is typical of our bettors.”
Giants vs. Bucs betting angles at Caesars Sportsbook
What will the first score of the game be? Here is the Caesars Sportsbook breakdown:
- Tampa Bay touchdown +107
- New York touchdown +310
- Tampa Bay field goal +375
- New York field goal +450
- Tampa Bay safety +2900
- New York safety + 3500
As far as total touchdowns in the game go, the number is 5.5. The odds are -125 on each side.
Monday Night Football odds at BetMGM
Here’s a probability boost to sweeten the financial pot via BetMGM.
The Giants are +400 on the moneyline. But if they win and each team scores at least 10 points, that goes to +450. There is only a smattering of games in which each team does not score 10 and none have happened this year on the Monday night stage.
Both teams to score 20 points is +115
And here’s an outlet for Tampa Bay bettors stuck on a -550 moneyline. If the Bucs win and both teams score 20 points, it returns +180. That’s a nice price for the Bucs on what could otherwise be an unplayable moneyline.
Bucs bettors who believe in a blowout can take Tampa and both teams not to reach 20. That’s -115 and constitutes a good way out for Tampa Bay moneyline bettors.
If the Giants win and each team scores 20 or more, it returns a whopping +750.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Related Articles
