Once widely considered the stiffest division in the NFL, the NFC East has degenerated to the bad and the ugly as of the 2020 season. With a 2-4 record by the Dallas Cowboys accounting for the top of the division, the battle for contention on Thursday Night Football between the host Eagles and visiting Giants makes for an oddly intriguing start to Week 7 as we utilize Awesemo’s OddsShopper tool to find best bets available.
As quarterback Carson Wentz shoulders the burden of the blame via media scrutiny, he’ll look to reposition the Eagles in the standings to leapfrog the downward-spiraling Cowboys and reclaim control of an NFC East division in shambles. In parallel, Daniel Jones is seeking an identity for this Giants offense without Saquon Barkley for the remainder of the season, and getting their first win last Sunday against Washington was a start. Who will come out of tonight’s matchup with one step closer toward surpassing the Cowboys in the division? Let’s find out, but only after we make our NFL picks for Thursday Night Football first.
* NFL Odds as of writing. Click HERE for up to date odds using the OddsShopper tool.
NFL Picks + Odds Shopping: Thursday Night Football Best Bets | Giants vs. Eagles
NFL Pick: WR DeSean Jackson, OVER 34.5 Receiving Yards (-112, SugarHouse & DraftKings Sportsbook)
To say that the Eagles are riddled with injuries on offense would be a vast understatement at the very least. Wentz has not only been losing offensive linemen as if there were an unbeknownst player strike, but his receiving corps has been dashed as well, including the tight end tandem of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. After missing the past three games with a lingering hamstring injury, wide receiver DeSean Jackson will be a welcomed re-addition to the depleted weapons available to Wentz.
The Giants defense has allowed 165.5 receiving yards per game to the wide receiver position this season, with a proven weakness in defending against opposing slot receivers. Jackson splits his time evenly between the outside and slot on both sides of the field, but it will be slot routes where he may find the most success on Thursday Night Football. With rookie slot cornerback Darnay Holmes questionable with an ailing neck injury suffered in his last game against the Washington Football Team, Jackson will draw instances in slot assignments against third-string defensive back Madre Harper or the hobbled Holmes.
Not only will Wentz be limited in the passing game (in contrast to having a healthy Ertz/Goedert/Jeffrey), but he’ll also be without his star multi-talented running back Miles Sanders, with Boston Scott and Corey Clement as his functioning backfield duo in Sanders’ relief. Wentz has a history of reliance on Jackson’s receiving versatility, with Alshon Jeffrey absent due to injury as often as he is. Jackson has yet to tally a season in his career with fewer than 47.7 receiving yards per game on average, with the only instance being 2020 at 40.3 receiving yards per game where he played just 2.5 games (didn’t play second half against Cincinnati due to injury, notching 11 yards to drag down his season average).
With Travis Fulgham, John Hightower and tight end Richard Rodgers vying for targets, the only difficult factor to determine is how the targets will be distributed as recent leading target Fulgham will take the field alongside Jackson for the first time this season. The absence of the only two other contenders for top target shares in Ertz and Goedert bodes well for both Fulgham and Jackson, and exceeding 34.5 receiving yards against the 25th-ranked defense against wide receivers appears to be one of the best bets you can find on OddsShopper for Thursday Night Football.
Ben Rasa's Bet of the Day Awesemo's sports betting expert Ben Rasa pours over the day's betting lines and breaks down the best bet of the day for you to build your sports betting card around.NFL Pick: Philadelphia Eagles, Point Spread -4.5Â (-107, SugarHouse)
Let’s be honest; the NFC East storyline for Week 7 Thursday Night Football is the most attractive element to what we’ll be seeing on the field tonight. With an offense in the Giants led by Daniel Jones, they’ve managed three passing touchdowns all season and have a slew of injuries of their own (most obviously the ACL tear to star Saquon Barkley). The Eagles, as discussed at length, have been decimated at nearly every position with nobody in the public eye but Wentz to look to for the hopeful turnaround.
While digging deeper through available player props using the OddsShopper tool, there are several entertainable bets with potential, but the lofty amount of house juice in said wagers makes for a big ask on a bigger “if” considering the surrounding pieces in play. If there’s one consistency that’s priced down, it’s against the Giants, who would’ve been coming into this game with a zero in the win column if not for Kyle Allen botching a 2-point conversion to beat them less than a week ago.
The Eagles are as many days removed from nearly unseating the Ravens while coming back from a major deficit to only lose 30-28, and with a number of dropped touchdowns by Wentz’s potential receivers (Sanders’ bobble stands out). I’d be willing to believe there’s a margin of relief in Wentz’s mind given the return of Jackson, who has a history of shredding this Giants defense in years past (how noteworthy that is in 2020 has yet to be seen). Philadelphia has only intercepted opposing quarterbacks twice all season and are a minus-7 on the season’s turnover differential, but facing Jones (six interceptions) could provide ample opportunity to improve that number.
Although the Eagles are 0-3 against-the-spread as betting line favorites in 2020, the decreased juice at -107 on less than 5 points against this Giants team is too enticing of a line to say no to, especially considering the stakes in the NFC East. The division is up for grabs with a 2-4 Cowboys team in first place.
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