Eagles open as significant road underdogs to Buccaneers

The Philadelphia Eagles opened as seven-point underdogs in their wild card road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to DraftKings Sportbook.

The Eagles as underdogs. In the playoffs. Against Tom Brady.

Hm. Why does that sound familiar?

We’ll see if Nick Sirianni goes with the “nobody believes in us” messaging that served the Eagles well under Doug Pederson once upon a time. Maybe they’ve still got some dog masks laying around at the NovaCare Complex.

It’s hardly shocking to see the Bucs favored in this matchup. Again, they’re going up against Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champs. There’s a pretty decent chance the Eagles won’t win.

But seven points?

The Eagles only lost by six points the last time these two teams played in Philly. The score looked a little closer than the game was since there was a garbage time touchdown in there. But that game also took place before the Eagles shifted to the run-heavy approach that’s led to their second-half success.

Even if you don’t feel great about the Eagles winning, you would think they can at least keep it competitive. Right? The Bucs haven’t been so great lately and they’re missing some key contributors (see: Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette).

Tampa does have one of the NFL’s best records against the spread this season. At 6-2, their 75% cover percentage is only behind four other teams. The Eagles, meanwhile, are 2-2 as road underdogs. The Birds are also curiously 0-2-1 ATS with a rest advantage, which they’ll have in this playoff matchup having played on Saturday and having rested their starters.

Relatively small sample sizes here, though. Methinks the Eagles have what it takes to make it a game.

What say you?