At the start of the season this matchup had all the makings of a potential Super Bowl battle. Instead it’s turned into a cruel joke. It’s been a real downer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who came within 10 minutes of the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance last season. Long the punching bag for anything that negatively impacts the club, Blake Bortles was exiled to the bench last week, and it just proved that he isn’t entirely the problem. Should Bortles return to start behind center he won’t have the home fans breathing down his neck since this “home” game is actually thousands of miles away in London.
Watch this Week 8 regular season matchup live on Sunday, October 28, at 9:30 a.m. ET at Wembley Stadium in London.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Philadelphia Eagles -3.5
Jacksonville Jaguars +3.5
Over/Under 41.5
Bortles isn’t completely to blame for the Jags sudden decline, but when the team fails to score points and the quarterback is turning the ball over with regularity, a change is necessary. And the Jags made a change last week just to make a change. Cody Kessler isn’t going to light the scoreboard and he too had a case of the giveaways. The reality is that the Jags are stuck with Bortles after signing him to an extension during the offseason.
And it’s not like we haven’t seen spotty play from the former first-round draft pick. He had issues last year and was benched during the preseason, only to get the starting gig back and put together his finest season as a pro. However, Bortles isn’t the type of player who can win games on his own and the injury concerns surrounding the team are too prevalent.
It started when Marqise Lee went down for the year in training camp and extended to Leonard Fournette’s hamstring concerns at the start of the regular season. The offensive line is a mess and undrafted free agent David Grinnage started at tight end last week after making his debut just two weeks earlier. This is currently an offense Tom Brady would struggle to have success with, and that’s saying something.
We shouldn’t expect a lot from the group when it takes on the Eagles in London in Week 8, therefore playing the under on the Jags scoring total might be a worthwhile wager at BookMaker.eu. As is the case most times when things go this badly, expect the Jags to simplify their offensive game plan. We will see more from the ground game and Carlos Hyde should provide some relief to T.J. Yeldon, but it’s unlikely to be enough to seriously impact the total.
The Eagles are facing problems of their own, but at least they have the personnel to overcome what has otherwise been a slow start from the offense. Carson Wentz hasn’t been nearly as good as he was last season and he could still be bothered by the reconstructed knee. But that has nothing to do with the defense forfeiting a 17-point fourth-quarter lead in a loss to the Panthers last week.
Wentz had a solid game against Carolina throwing for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he will continue to throw the football against a Jags team that has looked average. Tight ends have been a big part of Philly’s passing game with Zach Ertz catching nine balls for 138 yards and Dallas Goedert catching a scoring pass. Look for Wentz to strike first with a touchdown pass against a spiraling Jaguars defense on the live betting feature at BookMaker.eu.
Eagles vs. Jaguars Live Betting
With all of their problems moving and scoring the football, the Jags still have one of the top defenses in the NFL. Not as a bad ass as it was last season, but still capable of winning games. The group has gotten little help from the offense and there was reportedly a blowout in the Jags locker room following their loss to the Texans last week. This could go one of two ways for the Jags so pay close attention to how they start against the Eagles. The flared tempers mean they are frustrated, but do they use that to change things on the field? A hot start is a good sign so start pounding the Jags on the adjusted spread and total on the live betting feature at BookMaker.eu.
NFL Betting Odds
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