It’s not quite what Chip Kelly envisioned when putting his 2015 Eagles team together and the fans in Philly are so desperate they’re asking the Pope for help. Philadelphia’s late season struggles last year have carried over, despite the turnover in personnel, leaving the Eagles at 1-5 both SU and ATS in their last six games.
The Jets are an early-season surprise after knocking off the Colts rather easily on Monday night, but are they for real with Ryan Fitzpatrick running the show on offense?
ODDS
The Jets opened as a 2-point favorite and the line was quickly wagered to -2.5. The total surfaced at 48 and plunged a point to 47 after both teams struggled mightily moving the ball and scoring last week.
KEY INJURIES
Kiko Alonso – is out for Sunday’s game and reportedly has a small tear in the AC ligament in his left knee. It’s the same knee he had surgically repaired that forced him to miss all of last season.
Cedric Thornton – Broke a bone in his hand last week and is out for Sunday’s game. The starting defensive tackle is expected to miss several weeks.
Mychal Kendricks – The Eagles’ linebacking corps took another hit when he left with a hamstring injury. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday.
Eric Decker – May need a week or more of rest, but no surgery is required on his ailing left knee. The Jets receiver limped off the field in the fourth quarter of Monday’s win over the Colts, saying he landed “goofy” on an incomplete pass. Chris Owusu or Quincy Enunwa would join Brandon Marshall in the starting lineup, though Owusu is battling injuries himself.
KEY MISMATCH
The Jets don’t have a franchise quarterback, but they believe there is enough talent around Ryan Fitzpatrick to beat the teams that do have an elite signal caller – and they proved it Monday. When their defense dominates the way it did against Andrew Luck, the Jets can beat anybody. Their mega-bucks secondary locked up the Colts receivers, frustrating Luck for the entire game. Darrelle Revis was in lockdown mode and came away with three takeaways by himself. The Jets recorded five takeaways, bringing their season total to 10 in two games – only three shy of last season’s total. The Jets have to play this way if they hope to challenge for a playoff spot, because Fitzpatrick and the offense won’t put up crazy numbers. And through two games it looks pretty good to be a J-E-T-S fan.
KEY STAT
+8 – The Jets’ turnover margin through two games. New York has 10 takeaways in its first two games, a team record, after recording just 13 takeaways all of last season. The Eagles have turned the ball over five times this season.
BETTING ANGLE
It’s not good to have the boss come out and say he’s embarrassed by how his group performed. Eagles’ coach Chip Kelly did just that, and rightfully so, after Philly was, well, embarrassed, by the Cowboys last week. “I don’t know how the players feel, but I was embarrassed,” Kelly said. And it was a pathetic display for a group that was supposed to be running and chucking the ball all over the yard. The Eagles ran for a total of seven yards against Dallas, their lowest output since 1961. Tony Romo had 12 rush yards, outgaining the Eagles by himself. That’s how bad it was. As part of his motivational tactic, Kelly won’t be making changes to the lineup, leaving it up to his players to get the job done and put the blame for the team’s failures on his and the coaching staffs shoulders.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Kelly and the Eagles are stuck with what they have, so they better make the most of it. The Eagles coach was embarrassed by his team’s performance last week when they managed just seven yards rushing and 226 total. And this came from an offense that was going to shatter all kinds of records. Well they better start because the defense took a big hit with three starters going down and that could be damning even against the offensively-challenged Jets. It’s too early to give up on the Eagles and their offense will find traction, but does it come against the Jets? New York’s D was all over the place Monday, stymieing Luck and the Colts, but the NFL is about adjustments. I like the Eagles to make theirs, improve the running game and use Bradford’s short passing game to evade the blitz packages that worked so well for New York.
Philadelphia 26, New York 20
BookMaker sent out the NFL odds for this Sunday game at New York -2 with a total of 48. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next quarter. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets will take place Sunday, September 27, 2015, at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium. The contest will be broadcast regionally on FOX.
