Eagles open as touchdown favorites over Doug Pederson’s Jaguars

In Week 3, the Eagles faced their former franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz and emerged victorious.

In Week 4, the Eagles will face their former head coach. The only Super Bowl-winning HC in franchise history: Doug Pederson.

Will the Birds be able to beat Dougie P as well?

They’re certainly expected to do so. The Eagles are seven-point home favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming Sunday, according to the opening lines at DraftKings Sportbook.

But beating Pederson could prove tougher than beating Wentz.

The Jags are off to a 2-1 start after routing the Los Angeles Chargers in California on Sunday afternoon. Jacksonville was undoubtedly aided by Justin Herbert playing through a rib injury. Not to mention the absences of Joey Bosa, Rashawn Slater, Keenan Allen, Corey Linsley, and J.C. Jackson.

Still, dropping 38 on the Bolts was a good look for the Jaguars. And so is the apparent progress that Trevor Lawrence has made. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft has completed 76.8% of his attempts for 497 yards (7.2 average), five touchdowns, and zero interceptions over the past two weeks.

Knowing how Pederson connects with his players, one can be sure the Jags will be wanting to get him this win over the team that scapegoated him following a disappointing 2020 season. It was Pederson who took a disproportionate amount of blame for how things went wrong while Wentz was too easily forgiven in the moment.

But we don’t need to re-litigate all of that.

While Pederson will have the Jags putting their best foot forward, it still might not be enough to beat the Birds. The Eagles are looking pretty, pretty good right now with Jalen Hurts making the leap and the defense tightening up after a leaky Week 1 performance.

I feel confident about the Eagles winning the game. I feel less confident about the Eagles covering a full seven point spread. I think this one could be close.

What say you?