The Philadelphia Eagles were the only NFC East team to win in Week One, and they won big, rolling to a 32-6 thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons on the road. The team ran for a league-high 173 yards, and Jalen Hurts threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles’ defense stopped the Atlanta offense, including the fifth-most prolific passing game in the NFL last year. This week they welcome the San Francisco 49ers, who went to Detroit last week and put up a league-high 41 points. Jimmy Garoppolo threw a touchdown pass while stacking up 314 yards. However, the 49ers, who ended up as nine-point road favorites, ended up failing to cover when the Lions turned a 41-17 deficit in the fourth quarter into a 41-33 final score, thanks to a late rally.
Check out our NFL betting thoughts on this matchup of 1-0 teams.
NFL Preview: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, September 19)
When: Sunday, September 19, 2021, 1:00 pm ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TV: FOX
Radio: KNBR 680 AM San Francisco / WIP 94.1 FM Philadelphia
Live Stream: Hulu
NFL Odds: San Francisco -3 / O/U 50.5
Why should you bet on the 49ers?
Tailback Elijah Mitchell has emerged as a real find in his rookie season. When starter Raheem Mostert went down with a knee injury, Mitchell stepped up for 104 yards on 19 attempts, finding the end zone once. Deebo Samuel led the team with nine catches (on a dozen targets) for 189 yards and a touchdown. Trey Lance came on for one play in the red zone and threw a five-yard touchdown pass on his only attempt. So the offense was able to move at will.
On defense, the 49ers kept Detroit in check for over three quarters. However, Jared Goff was able to break through for a couple of late touchdowns, bringing the game into question before simply running out of time. Goff is a gifted quarterback — and so is Hurts, who has a number of weapons at his disposal. If you like the 49ers, you see their defense doing a much better job on Hurts and the Philly offense than Atlanta did, and you see the more balanced 49er offense sustaining drives.
Why should you put your money on the Eagles?
Last year, Philadelphia went to San Francisco and won in Week 4, 25-20. However, the Eagles still had Carson Wentz at quarterback, while the 49ers were missing Jimmy Garoppolo. The fact that the Eagles were able to win so emphatically on the road in Week 1 suggests that they have even more confidence this season. Hurts went 27 of 35 on the day, and he made several plays that extended key drives. He also ran for 62 yards on seven carries. DeVonta Smith caught six passes (on eight targets) for 71 yards to lead the wide receivers.
On defense, Philadelphia limited Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan to 164 yards through the air. Starting tailback Mike Davis carried the ball 15 times for the Falcons, but he only picked up 49 yards. If the Eagles’ front seven can bottle up the 49ers’ Elijah Mitchell and make Jimmy G beat them through the air, then this game could turn out similarly. San Francisco’s defense is better than Atlanta’s, but given that the Lions hung 33 on San Francisco last week, there are clearly issues to resolve.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
Until Jalen Hurts has a bad day, it’s hard to bet against him going against a team that does not really have an established quarterback situation yet. The tension for Trey Lance to start will begin to grow if Garoppolo starts to stumble leading the offense. I predict a final score of Philadelphia 24, San Francisco 20.
NFL Betting Odds
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