The New England Patriots have had a bye week to regroup after their first loss of the season. They\u2019re schedule of cupcakes is over, though, as they have some challenging opponents coming up. It starts with the Philadelphia Eagles, who are also fresh off a bye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it\u2019s a rematch of Super Bowl LII, both teams are more focused on what this game means this season. Can the Eagles win or cover as a home dog in this spot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Patriots are not only coming off a loss, which will get them focused to begin with, but they have had two weeks to prepare for this game. They have covered four straight off a bye and are 30-12 straight up in their last 32 after an off week. Bill Belichick gets them ready and they will be relatively healthy after. Expect a crisp effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other part of this, however, concerns Philadelphia. The Eagles have been a hit-or-miss team in 2019. They lost by 18 to the Minnesota Vikings and by 27 to the Dallas Cowboys. They beat the Packers on the road and the 6-3 Buffalo Bills by 18 on the road. They also lost to the Atlanta Falcons, who have only two wins, and also lost at home to the Detroit Lions, who have only three wins. It is hard to know which Eagle team will show up each week, but erratic teams are not to be trusted against the class of the NFL, the Patriots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the Patriots just did lose and will be motivated to fix their problems this week, Philadelphia has a real chance to beat New England because it has the quarterback who can create matchup difficulties for the Pats. The Patriots have a very good defense, but the hype surrounding an \u201call-time great defense\u201d was not justified. As soon as New England ran into a good mobile quarterback who could make plays outside the pocket, the Patriots\u2019 defensive limitations were exposed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Eagles are also off a bye and they\u2019re also a team that plays well with an extra week to prepare. They\u2019ve won 26 of their last 33 off a bye. It really feels like the course of their season changed in their final two games before the bye as they earned wins over Buffalo and Chicago. This is a very talented team that has underachieved many times this season but it feels like those two wins signaled a bit of a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Super Bowl between these teams was a shootout. This game probably won\u2019t be high scoring, due to the Patriots\u2019 defense and the Eagles\u2019 noticeable offensive inconsistency. It\u2019s a far cry from the Eagles\u2019 finest moment as a franchise. Remember that deep threat DeSean Jackson is out and the rest of the receiving corps has been very inconsistent. Expect New England\u2019s defense to deliver a forceful and suffocating performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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