Philadelphia Eagles (5-8 SU, 5-8 ATS) vs. Baltimore Ravens (7-6 SU, 6-7 ATS)
NFL Week 15
Date/Time: Sunday, December 18th 2016 at 1:00 PM EST
Where: M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD
TV: CBS
by Keith, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: PHI +6/BAL -6
Over/Under Total: 40.5
On the Week Fifteen schedule, a cross-conference clash between the NFC Easts Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC Norths Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland with a 1:00 PM scheduled kick-off. The game is set to be aired on CBS with regional coverage. The Eagles enter off yet another loss, which now brings their losing streak to four in a row. The most recent Philadelphia culprit was the Washington Redskins who edged the Birds 27-22 in Philadelphia. As for Baltimore, the Ravens come in off a 30-23 defeat on Monday night when they headed up to Foxborough to take on the team with the best record in the NFL, the New England Patriots.
In the early going, we have seen early action come in on the Ravens likely as a result of the apparent comeback they pieced together on Monday night against New England on the road. While Baltimore lost the game, they were in fact down by 20 at one point before getting the game to within three. However, New England miscues paved the way for Baltimore to get back in to the game and it was no reflection of Baltimores prowess as a football team. There was some questionable play calls by Jim Harbaugh and as a result Baltimore lost even when New England played one of their worst games in terms of execution in recent history. The Eagles are taking back a touchdown in some markets. The Eagles are 1-6 ATS in their previous seven.
The Eagles best win and their last win for that matter was a 24-15 home win against Atlanta. Since then it has been all downhill for the birds from the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles have lost their last four and have been defeated in six of their last seven after starting off at an impressive 4-1. While there is a lot of be concerned about, there is also a lot to be hopeful about. Philly quarterback Carson Wenz continues to mature in his rookie season and he seems to play better week by week. To bolster some of Philadelphias accolades this season, the Eagles also beat Minnesota 21-10 at home as well.
The Ravens continue to show their invalidity as a playoff contender mostly through the play-calling and lackluster performances we see this team put together. The Ravens are inconsistent and their offense is extremely maligned despite tremendous talent in their ranks. The Ravens have a receiving corps consisting of Mighty Mouse Steve Smith, 60 Minutes Mike Wallace and Kamar Aiken. The high mark for the Ravens offense came when they scorched Miami for 38 points but that is not a tremendous feat considering the Dolphins defense is reminiscent of Swiss cheese.
Its hard to look at this one and encourage or admonish a play on either team. Truth be told both these teams have had moments where they looked outright awful. With that being said, the economical selection is here to take the points. The Ravens offense is extremely inconsistent and with that being established, they are a risky play given the amount of points they are spotting here. Sure, it can be inferred that the Ravens defense will be a challenge for a rookie quarterback. However, the Ravens offense once again does not look the same in the post-Mark Trestman era and simply put they cannot be trusted. Much of the public is enamored with the Ravens because they are the team that looks like a lesser of two evils in this market as Philadelphia has been a bit off the rails as of late to say the least. This is a matter of taking a contrarian angle to an overreaction of what was seen on Monday night. Although Baltimore lost, it might as well have been treated as if they had won. But as we have championed here, the Ravens were benefactors of some terrible execution by New England. Even with this being said, New England was never in true danger of losing the game they just let the Ravens hang around longer than they should have. Significant chance for an overlay here.
KEITHs Pick to Cover the Point Spread: PHILADELPHIA +6
Fast payouts, 19 and 20 point teasers, pleasers, 25 team parlays, progressive parlays, live betting, online poker and discounted odds on sides and totals! Find all this and more at the web’s BEST bookmaker: 5Dimes!
