Top-seeded Eagles a home underdog?
Oddsmakers have installed Falcons as 3-point favorites in playoff matchup
PHILADELPHIA – They won 13 games and earned the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Yet when the Philadelphia Eagles open their postseason on Saturday, they will be underdogs on their own turf.
Talk about disrespect — that’s never been the case for a top-seeded team.
“That’s what’s wrong with America, I guess,” cracked running back Jay Ajayi on Wednesday, when someone mentioned the historic significance of the betting line.
Players in their insulated NFL cocoons aren’t supposed to pay attention to point spreads, pundits’ picks or anxious fans dialing in to talk radio shows. The city could be buried under 3 feet of snow or a fugitive could be on the loose, but football mentality doesn’t waver. Ignore the noise.
“I know a lot of people don’t give us a chance, but I don’t really care,” tight end Brent Celek told USA TODAY Sports. “It doesn’t affect me.”
Oddsmakers have installed the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons as three-point favorites, which tells you a lot about the Eagles’ perceived chances with Nick Foles, who has been
so shaky since stepping in after star quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in Week 14.
According to The Washington Post, since the merger in 1970, there have been just five cases when the home team was installed as an underdog in the divisional round — and all of them were No. 2 seeds. Top-seeded clubs are always picked to win. Until now.
Even Celek acknowledges the weirdness. “I know,” he said. “But that’s life.”
What would it mean if the Eagles were favored?
“Nothing,” Celek shot back. “We’ve still got to play 60 minutes.”
That pretty much sums up the com- pany line from inside the team’s NovaCare Complex. Or as Alshon Jeffery, the big-play receiver, insisted: “I don’t care nothing about Vegas and being underdogs.”
As Jeffery spoke at his locker, he flashed a grin as wide as the Walt Whitman Bridge. Maybe that was some sort of hint. Whether they want to admit it or not, the Eagles should care that they are considered underdogs. This should be taken like a slap in the face.
If any team has a right to play the “respect card,” it’s these Eagles. I mean, the alternative would be to turn the other cheek.
“I think the word ‘underdog’ is probably being misused at this point,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox told USA TODAY.
He knows that the defensive line, arguably the best in the NFL, is capable of carrying the Eagles with a dominant performance.
A strong rushing game, fueled by Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount, and stellar special teams play would also reduce pressure on Foles.
For most of the season, it was Wentz — despite playing just 13 games, his 33 touchdown passes were just one fewer than league leader Russell Wilson — who lessened the load off the rest of the team as he positioned himself as an MVP candidate.
In the final two regular-season games with Foles, including the meaningless finale against the Dallas Cowboys, when Nate Sudfeld played the majority of the snaps, the Philly offense sputtered tremendously.
Foles threw four TD passes against the New York Giants in Week 15 but was unimpressive in a home-field-clinching victory over the Oakland Raiders and in his limited work against Dallas. He labored to create or extend plays and lacked rhythm with receivers on throws to the outside, finishing the season with an ugly passer rating of 79.5.
During the final three games, 45% of Philadelphia’s possessions went threeand-out (compared to a 29% rate with Wentz). The red-zone efficiency and point production plummeted, too.
“It’s not like we’re going to being ‘Eleven’ back from an ACL,” said Ajayi, referring to Wentz, who wears No. 11.
“(Foles), that’s our guy. We believe in him. We’re going to do our job, make his job easier. That’s our goal. He’ll make the plays when he makes them.”
Foles is what you might call the ultimate underdog, with his team hoping that he can play a role in what would now qualify as a historic upset.