Philadelphia Eagles are underdogs in divisional round versus Atlanta Falcons
The Philadelphia Eagles are home underdogs in the divisional round of the playoffs.
2017 has been a season where the Philadelphia Eagles exceeded expectations all year. Most had no idea that the guys in green, black, white and silver would fight their way to a 13-3 regular season record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Well, if they’re going to advance to the NFC Conference Championship, they’ll need to exceed expectations once again.
Despite earning the top spot in the conference and the right to play at least one playoff game at home, Philly’s getting no love, especially from the guys in Las Vegas. The Eagles have made history yet again, albeit for the wrong reason this time. They’re home underdogs to the sixth-seeded Atlanta Falcons. According to Sportsbookreview.com, they’re anywhere from two-and-a-half to three-point underdogs as of 12:30 AM on Monday morning.
What are the oddsmakers saying exactly?
More from Inside the Iggles
- Eagles LB Nakobe Dean jokingly makes his pitch for an assistant GM role
- Eagles captains earn high praise on roster blending veteran leadership, youth
- How former Eagles star Cre’Von LeBlanc helped Renegades upstage Cowboys
- Eagles 2023 schedule: Every WR duo Darius Slay, James Bradberry will battle
- Imagining better names for Jason Kelce’s Good Guy Award
No number-one seed has ever begun their quest for a Lombardi Trophy and been named the underdog in their first game since the NFL began basing home-field advantage on each playoff teams’ regular-season winning percentage in 1975. The last time a number-one seed was the underdog in the divisional round was 1970.
That’s obviously not the kind of history that the Eagles are looking to repeat.
What will Philly need to do to eek out a win?
With every NFL team being conditioned to play games on Sundays, the Eagles being forced to play on Saturday night means everything’s been moved up a day. Practice will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Now, things are a little different than they were a week ago. They’re well aware of who their opponent will be. The game plan we can expect on Saturday can be installed. Everyone’s heard the rumors that quarterback Nick Foles may struggle with cold-weather environments. Whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess.
Next: Eagles need Nick Foles to be at peak performance
In the meantime, the coaches have been exploring his past and are looking for ways to instill plays, reads, and concepts that will maximize his skill set. If you’re an Eagles fan, you have to hope it works. That’s all you can do at this point.