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Esquire Picks
Eagles vs Colts OVER 53.5 ($5,000) TOP NFL PICK OF THE MONTH -
Norm Hitzges
Eagles +3Comment
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Maddux Sports
10* Eagles/Colts over 53Comment
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PhillyGodFather
Colts -2.5Comment
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The Gold Sheet
Key Releases
INDIANAPOLIS by 12 over PhiladelphiaComment
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Vegas Sports Informer
3* indy-3Comment
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Jackpot Sports
Colts -3Comment
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BeatYourBookie
MONDAY
10* Play Philadelphia +3 over Indianapolis (Top NFL Play)
Philadelphia is 61-44 ATS when playing as a road underdog
Philadelphia is 91-76 ATS coming off an OVER the total in their last game
Philadelphia is 21-14 ATS when playing on a Monday NightmeComment
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Mike Davis
6*-over-53.5-philly-indyComment
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Robert Ferringo
2*-Eagles+3Comment
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Colts host Eagles on MNF
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
Line and Total: Indianapolis -3, Total: 54
The Colts attempt to avoid an 0-2 start when they host the Eagles on Monday night.
Philadelphia got into trouble in Week 1 with a 17-0 deficit to the 9.5-point underdog Jaguars, but came out a completely different team in the second half, scoring 34 straight points to win 34-17. The club cannot afford to fall behind by that much against Indianapolis, which is a way more talented offense than the Jaguars, so zero points in the second half for Andrew Luck and company is rather unrealistic.
The Colts trailed the Broncos 31-10 early in the fourth quarter of their season opener, but cut the lead to 31-24 with just over three minutes remaining. Luck threw for 370 yards with two touchdowns in the game, but was not able to bring his team back to tie it.
Indy would be wise to ground-and-pound a little against the Eagles, as slowing the game down could disrupt Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense.
Since 1992, the Colts are 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS (2-1 SU and ATS on road) versus the Eagles. Indianapolis is also 10-0 ATS in the past three seasons at home where the Total is at least 45.5 points. However, the Eagles are 21-14 ATS (60%) on Monday night since 1992.
On the injury front, Indianapolis lost LB Robert Mathis (Achilles) for the season, and might be without four other key defensive players on Monday who are all questionable -- LB Jerrell Freeman (hamstring), CB Greg Toler (ribs), DE Arthur Jones (shoulder) and DB Sergio Brown (shoulder). The Eagles placed a couple of offensive linemen on IR this week (OT Allen Barbre and G Evan Mathis), but there are no other significant injuries to their squad.
The Eagles pressed the snooze button early on against the Jaguars, but finally awakened in the second half. QB Nick Foles was a disaster early on with an interception and two lost fumbles in the first half, but he found his groove early in the third. Foles finished the game with 322 passing yards and two touchdowns, and should have success against a beatable Colts secondary that allowed 6.92 yards per pass attempt last year (21st in NFL).
Last season's rushing champ, RB LeSean McCoy, had 21 carries for only 74 yards (3.5 YPC) against the Jaguars, but did catch six passes for 41 yards in the passing game. New teammate RB Darren Sproles rushed for 71 yards on 11 carries (6.5 YPC) with a touchdown in the game, and also caught four passes for 14 yards. These two backs will see a lot of action against the Colts, whose rushing defense is prone to giving up big plays.
Philly's run defense was excellent versus the Jaguars, allowing only 64 yards on 25 carries (2.6 YPC). Where the Eagles will need to improve is their defense against the pass. They allowed Chad Henne to throw for 266 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in their opener, and Andrew Luck is a far superior quarterback that Henne is, and he will make them pay if they don’t improve their coverage.
QB Andrew Luck did everything he could to bring his Colts team back into the game against Denver in Week 1, but the comeback fell just short. The good news is that Luck was able to make a ton of plays in the passing game and also rushed for 19 yards and a touchdown on five attempts. He should have no problem lighting up a far inferior Eagles secondary. WR Reggie Wayne caught nine passes for 98 yards in his first game since undergoing surgery on a torn ACL. He should be able to repeat his success against Philadelphia’s defense.
One area that must improve is the rushing offense. The Colts are a team that likes to pound the ball, but RB Trent Richardson rushed for only 20 yards on six carries against the Broncos. Indianapolis will need to establish the rush early, so that it can slow down the Eagles offense and prevent Luck from carrying too much of a load for his team.
The Colts defense allowed only 102 yards on 32 carries (3.2 YPC) against the Broncos, and if they can do the same against LeSean McCoy and the Eagles then they should be in good shape. Covering the middle of the field will be crucial, because Nick Foles likes to go right at the opposing safeties with deep passes.Comment
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MNF - Eagles at Colts
By Kevin Rogers
The Eagles play their second straight interconference game to start the season, as Philadelphia hopes to duplicate its second half against Jacksonville and not repeat its first half effort that put them in a 17-0 hole. Indianapolis hopes to finish a possible comeback on Monday night, not to fall behind by 24 points like it did at Denver last Sunday night, as the Colts try to get into the win column.
Both the Eagles and Colts showcase terrific young quarterbacks fresh off playoff appearances last season, as Andrew Luck has been tremendous off a loss in his short career. Coming off last Sunday’s 31-24 defeat to the Broncos as eight-point underdogs, the Colts enter Monday’s action with a perfect 10-0 straight-up and against the spread record since 2012 off a loss. In this span, Indianapolis has knocked off San Francisco, Denver, and Green Bay in this situation, while the Colts have won five of their past seven games against NFC opponents.
The first half was pretty forgettable for the Colts at Sports Authority Field in Week 1, as Peyton Manning burned his former team for three touchdowns in the second quarter to give the Broncos a commanding 24-0 lead. Indianapolis scored a late first half touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-7 at halftime, but couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-goal in the opening minutes of the third quarter to get within 10 points. The Colts limited the Broncos to just seven points in the second half, as Indianapolis’ comeback ultimately came up short in the seven-point setback.
Philadelphia entered the season opener as the largest favorite on the board, laying 10 points against Jacksonville. The Jaguars put a scare into the Eagles by jumping out to a 17-0 advantage at halftime, but Philadelphia scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter to trim the lead down to three heading into the fourth quarter. Jacksonville backers still felt good with eight minutes remaining in regulation and the game tied at 17-17, as Nick Foles hit Jeremy Maclin on a 67-yard touchdown strike to give the Eagles the lead for good. A late defensive touchdown by the Eagles gave Chip Kelly’s team the fortunate cover in a 34-17 triumph, while the 34 points in the second half also cashed the ‘over’ of 49.
The last time the Eagles and Colts hooked up in 2010, Manning and Michael Vick were the quarterbacks at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia held off Indianapolis, 26-24, but the Colts cashed as 3 ½-point road underdogs thanks to a late touchdown run in the final two minutes of regulation. The Eagles are making their first trip to Lucas Oil Stadium, as Philadelphia lost in its previous stop to Indianapolis at the RCA Dome in 2006 by a 45-21 count.
Last season, Philadelphia put together a 6-2 record on the highway, but somehow allowed a whopping 100 points in the two losses at Denver and Minnesota. The Eagles struggled against AFC foes in Kelly’s first season, losing three of four interconference contests with the lone victory coming at Oakland, a 49-20 rout of the Raiders in which Foles tossed seven touchdown passes to officially nail down the job as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback.
The Colts have dominated at home since Luck became the starting quarterback in 2012, winning 14 of 17 games at Lucas Oil Stadium. This is the first home Monday night contest for Indianapolis since 2010, as the Colts lost their only Monday game last season at San Diego, 19-9. The Eagles have split their last six games on Monday night since 2009, as all three of those victories coincidentally came at Washington, including last season’s season opening victory.
Indianapolis opened as three-point home favorites and that number has stayed pretty steady for most of the week. The total is set between 54 and 54 ½ at most books, as the Eagles went 4-1 to the ‘over’ in five road games last season with totals listed above 50. The game kicks off at 8:35 PM EST and can be seen nationally on ESPN.Comment
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NFL
Eagles (1-0) @ Colts (0-1)-- Underdogs are 8-2 vs spread in Colts' non-divisonal home games under Pagano (5-5 as home favorite); Indy is 9-0-1 vs spread in game following a loss the last two years. Philly was down 17-0 at half to Jags last week, but stopped turning ball over and won/covered 34-17, getting defensive TD in last 2:00. Since '07, Iggles are 19-7 as road underdogs. Colts won four of last five series games; this is Philly's first visit here since '06. Eagles won last five road openers, scored 31+ points in five of last six- they're 9-4 as underdogs in road openers. Colts won eight of last 11 home openers, but covered one of last four as favorite in HO's; they covered five of last six Week 2 home openers.Comment
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Blue Jays prime fade material in series openers
Andrew Avery
The Toronto Blue Jays are struggling in series openers, slumping to a 2-10 record in their previous 12 series-opening games.
The Jays dropped eight-straight series opening games before going 2-2 in their previous four openers. That eight-game streak started with a 9-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre back on Aug. 5.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards will be the site for their next series with the opener coming Monday.
Oddsmakers have the O's as -125 home faves as they will send Wei-Yin Chen to the mound. The Jays will counter with youngster Marcus Stroman.Comment
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