October 09, 2024
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have had two weeks to regroup from a demoralizing blowout from the Bucs.
The Eagles are gearing up to get back at it this Sunday at the Linc – either in front of a Philly crowd that will be amped up or dour depending on how the rest of this week goes for the Phillies.
The last time we saw the Birds, two weeks ago down in Tampa, they were a mess. The defense's soft coverage got torn apart by Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, the offense – down A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Lane Johnson – could barely move the ball, and the special teams left the disastrous 33-16 loss needing to thoroughly re-read the rulebook.
The Eagles looked awful, and exactly like that team that imploded last year against Tampa in the playoffs, which understandably, left a lot of fans infuriated and wanting head coach Nick Sirianni straight back on to a scorching hot seat.
But the team has had two weeks now to regroup, get healthy, and form a plan to get back on track, and maybe just as much to their benefit, their opponent this week, the Cleveland Browns, might be even more of a dysfunctional mess.
The lines are definitely leaning heavily toward the Eagles approaching Sunday. Here's a look at the odds across several sportsbooks:
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -8.5 | CLE +340 PHI -440 | 43.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -8.5 | CLE +350 PHI -450 | 43.5 |
| BetRivers | PHI -9.5 | CLE +320 PHI -420 | 43 |
| BetMGM | PHI -8.5 | CLE +350 PHI -450 | 43.5 |
| Bally's | PHI -8.5 | CLE +320 PHI -420 | 43 |
Brown, Smith, and Johnson are all expected to be back for the Eagles, which should be a massive boost for an offense still trying to shift into full gear.
Jalen Hurts and co. were supposed to be a high-powered group coming into 2024, but with the exception of star running back Saquon Barkley, who has been everything as advertised since signing, the rest of the unit just hasn't gelled in the way most expected.
The O-line, especially with Johnson in, is still one of the strongest in the league, but Hurts is still turnover-prone, the whole operation has been struggling to get going out of the gate (the Eagles haven't scored in the first quarter four games in), and coordinator Kellen Moore's playcalling gets stuck in the mud until a big run from Barkley or improvisation on a broken play by Brown or Barkley saves everything.
It's how the Eagles pulled off each of their two wins so far, but also how they fumbled Week 2 against the Falcons and had Week 4 in Tampa blow up in their face.
As for the defense, it'll be looking to rebound from a performance plagued by easily exploitable coverage, horrendous tackling, and a front seven that continues to pull a disappearing act.
Look, there really wasn't much good to pull away from that Bucs game two weeks ago.
The good heading toward Sunday against Cleveland though? The Browns are terrible.
They're 1-4, just got thrashed 34-13 by Jayden Daniels and a Commanders team tapping into their potential early, and all with perhaps the defining moment of how much of a disaster the Browns have been: quarterback Deshaun Watson, on a trade and contract that still boggles the mind, just giving up.
So, this is what happened. Watson realized too many players on the field in the huddle. You will see Cooper counting them as well. Watson knew they were not burning a second timeout. He's frustrated. Kevin is too. Walks over to his assistant coaches to say something. Gross stuff… pic.twitter.com/pOSKJb6Mw4
— Jake Burns (@jake_burns18) October 6, 2024
If the Eagles want to bounce back this Sunday, they have to tee off here.
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