LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Eagles looked as if they were ready to return to the Super Bowl last season after beating the Bills 37-34 in overtime to move to 10-1.
Then Philadelphia fell apart, losing six of its final seven games, including a 32-9 stinker in the playoffs to the Buccaneers.
But now the Eagles are back to form — or at least many bettors are banking on it.
Joey Feazel, head football trader for Caesars Sportsbook, said those placing bets believe not playing a first-place NFC East schedule should help the Eagles. He also pointed to the arrivals of coordinators Kellen Moore on offense and Vic Fangio on defense as reasons to believe both sides of the ball will improve.
Division rival Dallas is playing a first-place schedule, and Feazel said that coupled with the Cowboys being noticeably quiet during the offseason has bettors going the other way on Big D and toward the Eagles.
“If the Cowboys regress significantly, which is what the sharps (professional bettors) are perceiving, the division’s not going to be a problem,” Feazel said. “It’s going to put them in that prime spot to win that division and go for that one or two seed (in the NFC).”
The Eagles are -150 favorites at Caesars to win the division, meaning a $150 bet would pay $100. Dallas is next at +185, which means a $100 wager would pay $185.
Lions and Packers and Bears
The NFC North figures to be one of the more competitive divisions. Detroit is the +130 favorite at DraftKings, followed by Green Bay at +230 and Chicago at +280.
There are arguments for each team.
The Lions made the NFC championship game last season, the Packers came on strong late behind quarterback Jordan Love, and the Bears drafted quarterback Caleb Williams No. 1 overall this year to go with some quality weapons.
“People think that (the Lions are) going to have one of those spectacular years again, and they might,” DraftKings race and sports operations director Johnny Avello said. “There are three teams right there that are all in the hunt to win that division.”
The Packers are known as a public team, meaning they draw heavy wagering almost no matter what the circumstances.
Avello said the Bears have a similar core audience.
“There are Bears fans all over the country, so they take money when people have low expectations for them,” Avello said. “People are looking for a new Bear team that maybe doesn’t win it this year, but on the rise to better things to happen in the future.”
Boost in scoring?
Feazel said some bettors expect an increase in scoring because of the new rule that encourages more kickoff returns, but Caesars is taking more of a wait-and-see approach.
He said that while the expectation is teams will receive about a four-yard drive advantage, there could be more punts that pin opposing offenses deep when those series stall.
“So we’re not overreacting,” Feazel said. “I think it might increase the (point) totals, but we saw such low totals overall last year. It will be interesting to see if that really does make an impact this year because we saw so many unders last year.”
Quiet on KC
Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City will try to make history by becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls, but the Chiefs aren’t getting a lot of betting action.
“You get some fans that say Mahomes can do it again, but that’s usually coming from Chiefs fans,” said Jay Kornegay, Westgate Las Vegas vice president of race and sports operations. “You get regular football fans out there that are betting other teams.”
Award favorites
The favorites for the major awards at BetMGM Sportsbook are:
1. MVP: Mahomes, +500
2. Offensive Player of the Year: San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey and Miami’s Tyreek Hill each at +750
3. Defensive Player of the Year: Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt at +550
4. Offensive Rookie of the Year: Chicago’s Williams at +130
5. Defensive Rookie of the Year: Indianapolis’s Laiatu Latu and Minnesota’s Dallas Turner each at +400
6. Coach of the Year: Los Angeles Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh and the Bears’ Matt Eberflus each at +900
7. Comeback Player of the Year: New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers at +175