October 04, 2020
The 2020 season couldn't have started much worse for the 0-2-1 Philadelphia Eagles, who are dealing with a mountain of injuries, statistically the worst quarterback in the NFL in Carson Wentz, and a head coach in Doug Pederson facing significant criticism for the first time since his first season in 2016.
Can the Eagles rebound? Is it even worth it if they do to some degree? They'll have another chance to come away with the first win against the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles and 49ers are two of the most injury-ravaged teams in the NFL. The Eagles are particularly banged-up along their offensive line, as they are missing three starters, plus Jason Peters. Conversely, the Niners' defensive line is depleted, as they are missing a slew of edge rushers. The Eagles are also hurting badly at the wide receiver position, and coincidentally, the Niners are short on cornerbacks. You can find the full injury report here.
In our five matchups to watch, the expectation is that the Niners will try to work the middle of the field with their creative rushing attack, and their All-Pro tight end George Kittle. The Niners' brand of offense could be a brutal matchup for the Eagles' linebackers, most notably Nate Gerry. The Eagles are going to have to get a bigtime performance out of the defensive line to have a chance in this game.
Betting lines opened with the Eagles as 3.5-point underdogs, but that spread almost immediately moved higher. It is currently Niners -9, according to TheLines.com. Here are our staff writer picks, and who some others around the country are picking. For the gambling enthusiasts, you can find my Week 4 picks here and some over/unders for Sunday right here.
Feel free to discuss the game in the comments below the live tracker:
This content and the links provided are sponsored by thelines.com and playpennsylvania.com, PhillyVoice.com’s Official 2020/2021 Betting Odds Partner, independently created by PhillyVoice.
