Eagles-Lions Betting Preview: Can Wentz, Pederson Halt Ugly Trends?

The Eagles fell to 1-1 after dropping a gut punch of a 24-20 loss to the Falcons last weekend. The only thing worse than being an Eagles fan watching Nelson Agholor let the game quite literally slip through his fingers was watching him do it while also backing the Birds with your wallet.

Two weeks feels like forever ago with the borderline uncomfortable amounts of optimism about the 2019 Eagles now almost entirely replaced by concern and doubt about the team’s injury situation and opening quarter struggles.

Suddenly, the Eagles return home to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon in search of a much-needed (I won’t call it a must-win quite yet), and they’ll need to do it without the services of DeSean Jackson (and likely Alshon Jeffery) against a Detroit squad coming off an upset win at home against the Chargers.

Far from ideal.

Anyway, can the Eagles get it done and score the cover? We will get to that in a minute, but before we do, FOX Bet is now live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and it’s already one of the best apps on the market.

Once you are signed up, you’re going to want to make some money, so let’s take a dive into how to do just that in this Eagles-Lions betting preview.

Eagles-Lions Odds

Here are the current Eagles-Lions odds, courtesy of FOX Bet:

Eagles-Lions Game Preview

By the time Zach Ertz came up inches short on fourth down late in last week's loss to the Falcons, I didn't know if I should be impressed by the Eagles' ability to overcome a slew of pregame injuries and another sluggish start to even make it a game, or exasperated by yet another infuriating loss in which they came up just short.

It's now Friday, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.

One thing is for sure, Carson Wentz must start faster this week. While Wentz had a furious finish a week ago that featured several highlight reel plays, he was simply awful in the first half against Atlanta.

I mean, what is this?

Wentz completed only 6 of 16 first half pass attempts as the Eagles continued their troubling trend of slow starts. They again failed to score in the opening quarter, and this time the slow start bled into the second half.

The Eagles have to hope that a week of practice (if you want to call it that) between Wentz, Mack Hollins and J.J. Arcega-White, along with the the rest of the Eagles' first-team offense will help the team pick up where it left off late Sunday night this week against a Lions defense that yielded only 10 points to a typically high-powered Chargers attack a week ago.

Speaking of Detroit, while the Lions did score an upset win to shake off a disappointing Week 1 tie after blowing a second half lead in Arizona in their opener, they needed a lot of help to do it.

The Chargers, as they often do, repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with a series of miscues.

Los Angeles foolishly rolled the dice by allowing punter Ty Long to handle field goal duties as kicker Michael Badgley deals with a groin injury. Long missed from 39 and 41 yards, and those misses could also help explain why with just over a minute remaining quarterback Philip Rivers took an ill-advised shot at the end zone down on 3rd and 19 from the 28-yard line down only a field goal:

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler's goal line fumble also aided the loss despite the fact Los Angeles out-gained Detroit both on the ground and through the air. The Chargers were also better on third down and held an edge in time of possession in what was a totally on-brand loss.

If the Eagles don't replicate those same self-destructive tendencies this week, they should find a way to win.

Big if, I know.

Eagles-Lions Betting Trends

• Watch the line in this one, particularly if it gets back to the 6.5-7 range. Home favorites of at least 6.5 points against a team coming off a cover are 15-8 ATS and 3-0 ATS in September dating back to 2003.
• When teams that fail to cover its first two games of the season play a team coming off a cover at home, they are 8-4 ATS.
• Matthew Stafford is 2-7 ATS when he starts as an underdog of 7-10 points on the road and 4-9-1 ATS when an underdog of seven points or more.
• When the game total closes between 46-48 points, Stafford is 4-11-2 ATS on the road and 2-7-1 ATS as a road underdog. It's down to 45 right now, so keep an eye on this.
• Carson Wentz is 1-6 ATS as a home favorite dating back to last season.

Eagles-Lions Prediction

You may call this weak on my part, but I want no part of this game.

With a quick turnaround and tough road game in Green Bay looming on Thursday night, this is about as close to a must-win situation as a team can face in Week 3, so the Eagles should be motivated, particularly on the heels of an excruciating loss.

The above trends also tilt the scale in the Eagles' favor, but there are some concerns. The Eagles have struggled since the start of last season as a home favorite, and the injuries to Jackson and Jeffery are enough to give me pause. I'll take the Eagles to win, and while I could certainly see a cover, I'm not willing to lay the six points with a short-handed offense.

Eagles 23, Lions 19