Crossing Broad
The Philadelphia Eagles opened as a slight 1.5-point underdog for their Super Bowl 59 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s nowhere close to the “No One Like Us, We Don’t Care” underdog status from Super Bowl 52, when the Birds were a 4.5-point dog against the New England Patriots.
Frankly, the line might move at some point in the next 13 days because the Eagles are a more complete team than the last time they played the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
That point is the one that should drive any bets on the Eagles now before a potential flip to a favorite.
Saquon Barkley is in Hall of Fame form, Jalen Hurts looked phenomenal on Sunday and not just A.J. Brown was involved in the passing game. DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert each made vital plays in the NFC Championship Game.
Defensively, it’s hard not to believe in Vic Fangio’s unit.
Jalen Carter is an absolute menace on the interior, Quinyon Mitchell keeps locking down opposing wide outs and Zack Baun is the ultimate free-agent signing.
The only overwhelming edge you can give the Chiefs right now is in special teams because Harrison Butker is far more reliable than Jake Elliott at the moment.
Sure, the Chiefs have the better quarterback and tight end, but we already saw Hurts raise his game to near Mahomes’ level two years ago in Super Bowl 57 and Goedert’s played at a high level all postseason.
Now, with all that being said, there are two key injuries to watch over the next two weeks that could impact the betting lines.
Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson are both banged up and how they recover before Super Bowl Sunday could determine how effective the Eagles’ rushing attack is against Chris Jones and Co.
The Birds effectively protected Hurts and Barkley with Jurgens and Dickerson as damaged goods against the Commanders, so the goal for them has to be rest and get a ton of physical therapy before the team departs for New Orleans.
The over/under currently sits at 49.5.
Fun fact: Each of the last eight Super Bowls closed with a total of at least 47.5 points, but the Under is 5-3 in that span and 5-1 in the last six Super Bowls, so keep that trend in mind if you’re betting the lines this week. Of course, this is the Super Bowl, so expect a huge amount of NJ sportsbook promos and PA betting promos to hit the books over these next two weeks.
The post Super Bowl 59: Eagles Open as Slight Underdog Against Chiefs appeared first on Crossing Broad.
