Baltimore Ravens (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
NFL Week 2
Date/Time: September 16th, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
TV: Fox
by Jeff Hochman, Pro Handicapper, JHSportsline.com
Point Spread: Balt -2.5/Philly +2.5
Over/Under Total: 46.5
The Baltimore Ravens fly into Philadelphia off a short week win on MNF for this week two match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams won last week but in very different ways. The Eagles escaped with a 17-16 victory over the Browns as 9-point road chalk. Philadelphia out-gained the Browns 456-210 and Michael Vick threw for over 300 yards, but also threw 4 critical interceptions. Vick hurt the Eagles most when he threw his fourth interception early in the fourth quarter and it was returned 27 yards for a touchdown by Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who somersaulted the final few yards into the end zone as Cleveland fans celebrated. But with the Eagles down 16-10, Vick marched them 91 yards for the go-ahead TD on his career-high 56th pass. As for the Baltimore Ravens, they crushed division-rival Cincinnati 44-13 as 7-point home favorites. Joe Flacco looked awesome as did the new look offense. Flacco and the offense worked this summer on running plays without a huddle, and when it came time to put that new scheme into action, the results were amazing. The Ravens amassed 430 yards, didn’t commit a turnover and punted only twice.
The big questions for me in this game, Can the Baltimore Ravens run their no-huddle offense with precision coming off a short week? Will the Philadelphia Eagles play two error filled games in a row? They committed 5 turnovers and still won. Very rare for sure. The Eagles do have a nice streak that suggests they are a good team. Philadelphia has out-gained their opponent in nine straight games which includes the preseason. They have also won all nine of those games. Baltimore is 5-5 in the stats their last 10 games, but those games did not feature this new offense.
The Eagles defense completely shut-down Trent Richardson limiting him to just 39 yards on 19 carries. The secondary picked off Brandon Weeden four times and held him to just 12-of-35 passing. Philadelphia now faces a much tougher test as the Ravens talent exceeds the Browns talent. Baltimore will face a much better secondary and you know the Eagles will be practicing at defending the no-huddle run and gun offense. The Ravens have a tough game next week at home against New England and might get caught looking ahead.
This game might come down to who makes the last stop and special teams play. Both teams looked good on special teams last week but the Eagles played a better game on defense. Philadelphia allowed Cleveland 210 yards of offense with 99 yards coming from their ground game. The Eagles surrendered no red zone touchdowns in two tries by the Browns. Baltimore allowed Cincinnati 326 offensive yard with 129 coming from their ground game. Look for the Eagles to run the ball a lot against a run defense that looked lost at times last week. LeSean McCoy led the team on the ground with 110 yards rushing on 20 carries. I would expect more of the same in terms of carries, as the Eagles will try to shorten the game and keep the Ravens offense off the field.
Baltimore is 4-1-1 SU and 4-1-1 ATS vs. the Eagles since 1988. The last game was a 36-7 home win by the Ravens, as 1-point chalk in Nov. of 2008. The Ravens are 10-5 SU and 10-5 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. The Ravens are 11-4 SU vs. the NFC East since 1993. The Eagles are 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS as a home favorite of 3 points or less. The Eagles are 7-14 ATS against the NFC North since 1993.
Jeff’s Pick to Cover the Spread: Pass!
There are too many unknown factors that makes this game very difficult to predict. Ed Reed is ? for the Ravens and will be a game time decision. This will be a good game to just watch and enjoy stress free. Better games to play than this one. Stay away!
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