Eagles open 2019 season as the biggest Week 1 favorites

The Eagles will be playing a real football game that actually counts for something in LESS THAN ONE WEEK. We’re now just six days away from Philadelphia’s Week 1 home opener against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field.

Isn’t it great?

Well, it could be better if time moved faster so we could get to Sunday sooner.

But that’s what you have Bleeding Green Nation for! It’s a great way to pass time, if I do say so myself.

There’s no shortage of reason to be excited about the Eagles’ Week 1 game. As of Monday, it’s been 232 days since the Eagles last played a football game that matters. Moreover, it feels like the 2019 season has the potential to be a special one. The Eagles’ roster is loaded with talent and the team is a conceivable championship contender. Unlike 2018, there’s no Super Bowl hangover or Carson Wentz lingering injury to worry about. Expectations are high, as they should be.

Evidence of such high expectations can be seen in the NFL odds. The Eagles opened Week 1 as the biggest favorites; Philadelphia is favored to beat Washington by 8.5 points. As seen on SB Nation’s odds page:

As you can see, the Eagles have grown as favorites since the line opened. This shows you that money is coming in on Philly.

It’s hardly a shock that people are willing to bet the Eagles to comfortably beat Washington. While the Eagles project to be a really good team in 2019, Washington does not. The Eagles’ Week 1 opponent is hardly devoid of talent; Washington held an NFC East lead for a good portion last year.

But Washington IS severely lacking at the most important position of all: quarterback. It’ll be Case Keenum starting under center when Washington visits the Eagles on Sunday. Keenum had a magical run with the Vikings in 2017, yes, but he struggled with the Broncos in 2018. Keenum is only 26-28 as a starter and his career passer rating is 84.5. I also probably don’t need to remind you that Keenum’s last start in Philly involved being on the bad end of a 38-7 beatdown in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.

It’s only natural to have some anxiety when you see your favorite team is projected to win easily because winning rarely comes as easy as expected in the NFL. But if the Eagles are truly as good as most believe they can be and Keenum struggles, well, the path is definitely there for Philly to open the 2019 season with a convincing win over an NFC East rival.

I like the Eagles as -9 favorites in this game. I think they can win by double digits. What say you?