This week's NFL preseason action opens on Thursday night with the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots.
With neither team deploying their A offenses, I don't expect either to be firing on all cylinders in my Eagles vs. Patriots predictions and NFL picks for Thursday, August 15.
Eagles vs Patriots prediction
My best bet
Under 35.5 (-105 at FanDuel)
My analysis
We’re taking the Under on the total of 35.5 despite that number having risen two points since opening. We're doing this because of the potential for poor quarterback play.
The Philadelphia Eagles will likely see a lot of Tanner McKee and Will Grier, neither of whom is likely to cause the New England Patriots huge issues.
Given that Jalen Hurts didn’t step on the field during preseason last year, it seems very unlikely that we’ll see him at all until the regular season. That leaves the two previously mentioned QBs and Kenny Pickett.
The former Steeler had a hugely impressive game against the Ravens, completing 14 of 22 passes with a touchdown and no interceptions. He's expected to sit this week, which may be why the Eagles have gone from 3-point favorites to 2.5-point underdogs.
We didn’t see Grier at all last week and McKee only completed 6 of 16 attempts, and it’s hard to see either QB putting up big numbers against the Patriots' third-stringers.
As for the Pats, we saw Bailey Zappe take the bulk of the opener's snaps, going 12-for-20 for 108 yards while failing to throw a touchdown pass. The only TD through the air came via Joe Milton III, who went 4-for-6 for 54 yards in limited action.
We only saw three attempts for Jacoby Brissett, who’ll likely be held out of this game. However, we should see more Drake Maye this week. He barely saw the field last week and went 2-for-3 and 19 yards.
We should see a low-scoring game with unproven quarterbacks likely to see the majority of the drives against two reasonably good defenses, so grab that Under 35.5.
Eagles vs Patriots odds
Eagles vs Patriots live odds
Eagles vs Patriots opening odds
- Spread: Philadelphia -3 | New England +3
- Moneyline: Philadelphia -155 | New England +130
- Over/Under: Over 33.5 | Under 33.5
Eagles vs Patriots betting trend to know
The Eagles' win over the Ravens last week was just the second preseason victory for Nick Siriani, who now has a 2-6 record in exhibition contests. Find more NFL betting trends for Eagles vs. Patriots.
Eagles vs Patriots game info
| Location: | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, NE |
| Date: | Thursday, 8-15, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NFL Network |
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