The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens meet Friday in NFL preseason week 1 action at M&T Bank Stadium. Here’s a Baltimore Ravens vs Philadelphia Eagles Prediction. This article will include a Baltimore Ravens vs Philadelphia Eagles Pick.
Philadelphia Eagles Betting Preview
The Philadelphia Eagles have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and enter year four under coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles now look to win double-digit games for three straight years for the first time since 2002-04. The Eagles offense has the potential to be scary good, with Jalen Hurts blossoming into one of the better quarterbacks in the league and now having an elite running game with the addition of Saquon Barkley. A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith is a top-five wide receiver duo, and it maybe DeVante Parker or Parris Campbell can find a role. The Eagles have interior offensive line concerns, but the offense in terms of skill players is arguably the best in the league.
The Eagles defense has a new coordinator in Vic Fangio, and there’s a new linebacker group with the additions of Devin White, Zack Baun and Oren Burks. The Eagles were also defensive heavy in the raft by snagging Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Jalyx Hunt. Cornerback Chauncey Gardner-Johnson comes back to Philly after spending a year in Detroit. The Eagles have a lot of moving parts on the defense, and it could take time to really get rolling. Still, the Eagles have top-five Super Bowl odds for a reason. On paper, the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens Betting Preview
The Baltimore Ravens have made the playoffs in five of the last six years and enter year 17 under coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens have won double-digit games in nine of the last 14 years. The Ravens are a Super Bowl contender yet again as long as quarterback Lamar Jackson is on the field, now a two-time MVP at 27 years old. The addition of running back Derrick Henry adds some thunder to the Raven’s speedy offense. There are questions with the Ravens offensive line as John Simpson, Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses are gone, but Jackson under center masks a lot of issues.
Defensively, the Ravens lost some recognizable names, but guys like Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Not and Roquan Smith can fill in those shoes. Linebacker Chris Board comes over from New England and should see an expanded role. You can argue the Ravens have one of the best front sevens in the NFL, even with players like Jadeveon Clowney and Patrick Queen no longer around. Most books have the Ravens as a top-three contender to win the Super Bowl entering the season.
Baltimore Ravens vs Philadelphia Eagles Prediction
Preseason NFL betting should be focused on the backups, and that’s even more the case here because both teams are legit title contenders and know what they have. For me, almost all of my focus is on the quarterbacks. Unfortunately, the backup quarterbacks in this game leave a lot to be desired. The Eagles are throwing out Tanner McKee, Will Grier and Kenny Pickett, guys with no experience, little experience or spotty play overall. The Ravens have Josh Johnson, Devin Leary and Emory Jones, one guy who has been around since the Titanic sank and two guys who haven’t seen an NFL field.
Still, the difference for us could be Johnson, a veteran quarterback who was drafted in 2008 and has seen every sort of defense there is. If he gets the bulk of the reps, I’m going to assume he can find some success against backup defenders. Give me the Ravens and the points.