Point spread: Philadelphia -1 Over/Under: 50.5 |
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Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles pay a visit to Vick’s old stomping ground, the Georgia Dome, this upcoming Sunday night to tangle with the Atlanta Falcons in an early season showdown between two division winners from a year ago. The opening kick-off is slated for 8:20 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
Philadelphia comes into this one fresh off a 31-13 rout of St. Louis as a 4.5-point road favorite. The total ended as a ‘push’ with a closing line of 44. Things did not start out well for the Eagles after Steven Jackson went off-tackle on the Rams’ first play from scrimmage for 47 yards and a score, but they used some offensive fire power of their own to build a 10-point lead at the half.
Vick did not look especially sharp throwing the ball; completing less that 50 percent of his passes, but he picked up close to 100 yards with his legs and made the big plays when he had to. The back-breaker for St. Louis in this game was LeSean McCoy’s 49-yard burst for a score early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
The overall statistics paint a different picture, but the scoreboard said it all in Atlanta’s 30-12 loss to Chicago as a three-point road favorite. The total in this game went just ‘over’ the 40.5-point line. Matt Ryan threw for 319 yards and the Falcons’ rushing attack averaged 7.9 yards a carry and 110 yards on the ground, but the only points the offense could muster were two Robbie Gould field goals. The other score for Atlanta was on a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown once the game was pretty much decided.
Eagles betting is 4-1 straight-up in its last five road games and the total has gone ‘over’ in six of its last seven games on the road. Atlanta is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home and the total has gone ‘over’ in nine of its last 13 games overall.
The Eagles have beaten Atlanta eight of the last nine times they met straight-up and are 10-1-1 against the spread in the last 12 meetings. The total has stayed ‘under’ in the last five games played in Atlanta and in seven of the last eight games overall in this series.
Vick will be making his first appearance in the Georgia Dome since his playing days in Atlanta, but the reception from the hometown crowd will be anything but warm. None the less, you get the feeling that he is going to light things up in prime time against his former team as the Eagles roll to a lopsided victory to remain undefeated on the year.
The Pick and Betting Prediction: Philadelphia 34 Atlanta 21
