Falcons and Eagles Kickoff NFL 2018 Season

Eagles Open Defense of Super Bowl Championship

The Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles play their season openers Thursday Night. Lincoln Financial Field hosts the Week 1 contest. Kickoff is set for 8:20 pm EST on NBC’s Thursday Night Football. Oddsmakers opened the Eagles as -5.5-point favorites versus the Falcons, while the game’s total opened at 46.5. The game is now down to a PK and the total is down to 45. The Eagles have had a 6-month party since winning the city’s first NFL Championship.  They are ready to defend that title. The Eagles began their postseason journey last season with a 15-10 triumph over the Falcons in the NFC divisional round. They embraced the “underdog” role despite being the top seed. They played it to the hilt. Becoming David who kept knocking off Golaith’s.

Foles is Starting for the Eagles

Nick Foles has been named the starter for Thursday’s matchup. He famously relieved the injured Carson Wentz late in the season.  He steered Philadelphia to a 41-33 win over New England in the NFL’s signature game. Foles also garnered Super Bowl MVP honors in the process. He has a wide receiver corps in flux due to injuries to start the season. The Eagles scored a league third-best 28.6 points per game in 2017. That may not be possible early this season. They may need to rely on Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement and a ground game that ranked third with an average of 132.2 yards per contest. The Eagles boasted the NFL’s stingiest pass defense in 2017. Philadelphia became the 11th team in NFL history with three players score at least eight touchdown receptions last season. Zach Ertz led all NFC tight ends with 74 receptions and 824 yards to go along with a career-high eight scores. Alshon Jeffery had nine TDs. Wideout Nelson Agholor had eight TDs. Agholor is ruled out for Thursday’s contest as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Defensive end Brandon Graham had a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2017. He had a huge sack on Brady in the Super Bowl, as well as one in the last encounter against Atlanta. Linebacker Nigel Bradham also registered a sack in the last meeting versus the Falcons. He had a team-leading 88 tackles in the regular season.

Falcons Need to Have a Balanced Attack

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan  is a Philly area native. He followed his 2016 NFL MVP season by eclipsing 4,000 yards for his franchise-record seventh consecutive campaign. He signed a five-year, $150 million contract on May 3. Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones led the NFC with 1,444 receiving yards in 2017. He has four straight 100-plus receiving yard performances versus the Eagles. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman fueled Atlanta’s eighth-ranked offense last season. They kept defenses off balance by combining for over 2,100 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. Atlanta LB Deion Jones joined Carolina’s Luke Kuechly and Jacksonville’s Telvin Smith as the lone players to record 100-plus tackles and three-plus interceptions last season. PREDICTION: Falcons 24, Eagles 14

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Atlanta Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	21.61	15	18.16	4
Awy Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense	241.20	9	214.70	14
Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense	109.50	11	71.20	2
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	29.00	1	19.06	6
Hme Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense	223.10	19	226.10	14
Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense	128.10	9	111.90	14

Head To Head Summary

Head To Head Detail

NFL Betting Odds and Trends

Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games
Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Atlanta is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-12-1 ATS in its last 17 games when playing Philadelphia
Atlanta is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Atlanta’s last 13 games when playing Philadelphia
Atlanta is 1-7-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Atlanta is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta’s last 8 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia

Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia is 12-4 ATS in its last 16 games
Phil is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
Philadelphia is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Phil is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 12-4-1 ATS in its last 17 games when playing Atlanta
Philadelphia is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Philadelphia’s last 13 games when playing Atlanta
Philadelphia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Philadelphia is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia’s last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta

Atlanta Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles

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