Philadelphia Eagles are road underdogs versus Cowboys in Week 3

Nearly everybody is betting against the Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 3 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. But who doesn’t love a good underdog story?

According to WynnBET, the Eagles are four-point underdogs against the Cowboys on the road in Arlington.

A quick search on Google will reveal many other predictions for the game, almost all of which favor Dallas. ESPN gives Philly a 32.4 percent chance to win, as does FiveThirtyEight.com (though ever so slightly less at 32 percent).

Ben Rolfe at Pro Football Network gave a more detailed analysis for his reasoning as to why the Birds may falter (or succeed) this game:

"The range of outcomes in this game includes everything from a low-scoring tight affair to a high-octane shootout. Both offenses have proven they can pile on the points, but both have also been shut down.However, neither team’s defense is good enough to hold down an opposing offense for an entire game, so we should see second-half fireworks. The Cowboys should have enough at home, but the Eagles winning in a last-second manner is very much in the cards with Jalen Hurts under center."

Rolfe may be right about each team’s offensive firepower, in particular.

On the Eagles side, Philly boasts the dynamic offensive scheme of Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and Miles Sanders, each of whom has recently made their mark in Eagles history.

Everybody believes Philadelphia Eagles will lose to Dallas Cowboys in Week 3

Hurts is coming off a deflating Week 2 showing against the 49ers, but there’s still hope he can bounce back in Sirianni’s extra-cautious offense.

According to NFL NextGenStats, Hurts has been throwing mostly easy, short-range passes out wide as opposed to riskier downfield attempts. His throwing chart (based on two games) reveals a donut-shaped hole in the middle of the field — that’s how infrequently Hurts targets the middle of the field.

Sirianni has said in the past that the Eagles’ offensive scheme is tailored to Hurts’ strengths, but right now, it seems more tailored to ensuring Hurts doesn’t fail. Come Week 3’s game against Dallas, the training wheels might need to come off. We could get to see Hurts dial into the big-time performance his team needs from him this season.

But the Cowboys are riding off a tsunami of momentum after their Week 2 victory, and keep in mind this game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

From a bystander’s perspective, yes, we can perfectly see why the Eagles will be on-the-road underdogs against the Cowboys this week. The Birds’ offense still needs work, their defense recently lost key players, and the franchise as a whole seems to be in a rebuilding era.

We also know there’s nothing more passionate or true-hearted than an Eagles fan, and to that select breed of people, football is more religion than a sport. Underdogs or not, this Eagles team will have their fans’ faith on their side as they try to overcome all odds against Dallas. A little prayer goes a long way.