Philadelphia Eagles underdogs against Jaguars for NFL Preseason Week 2

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars for the second week of the NFL Preseason.

Last week’s showing wasn’t very promising if you put your money on the Philadelphia Eagles. For week one of the 2019 NFL Preseason, the Eagles hosted the Tennessee Titans. As expected, they allowed most of their second-stringers to start the game off and gave the starters a night off.

This week, we’re in a similar predicament as Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson refuses to offer any insight on who is playing and who is not. For fans, it leaves everybody in suspense. For bettors, it leaves everybody frustrated as they aren’t sure what to do.

Betting on preseason is tough. As starters typically sit out for most of the game during weeks one, two, and four, it makes it very difficult to put money down with the unknown depth players in the mix. If you’re an Eagles fan, betting against the Birds is though — but it’s not wrong.

This week, the Eagles travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. They will compete on the road for the first time this preseason. While home-field advantage doesn’t play much of a factor in the offseason, the Eagles are jotted down as the underdogs for Thursday night’s matchup.

Looking at the line:

According to Bovada, the Eagles are listed at +3 (O/U 33.5). After last week’s showing by their backups, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Week one, they lost to the Titans 27-10. While the game was kept close early on as the Eagles starting defenders for the night did well, it all collapsed as their back-end players eventually appeared on the field in the second quarter.

With the defensive line causing little-to-no pressure on the opposing QB, the secondary got exposed. Then, on the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles struggled to move the ball after Nate Sudfeld exited with an injury late in the second quarter. This week, the Eagles haven’t ruled out Carson Wentz, but it is believed he won’t make a preseason debut this week.

If that’s the case, we can expect other starting veterans such as DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and Nelson Agholor to sit out as well. Not to mention, Zach Ertz and last week’s star Dallas Goedert won’t be participating as well. That leaves the offense led by Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson. Seeing how they played last week, the underdog line doesn’t come as a surprise.

However, on the flip side, the Jaguars got smoked by the Baltimore Ravens 29-0. Seeing how lousy JAX’s offense played, the Eagles backup defense might have a much easier matchup this time around. Not to mention, it has already been made clear that Jags’ starting quarterback, Nick Foles will not play against his former team this week. Taking the Eagles as underdogs isn’t a bad bet, but the under is probably the best bet for those focusing on the totals.