Sports betting: New Orleans Saints are trending in the wrong direction
The Saints staggered in the final month of the season and also have had trouble covering lines as big as the eight they're laying to the Eagles.
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The big, bad Saints have been neither big nor bad when it comes to covering the spread. It’s possible New Orleans peaked at Thanksgiving, the week after throttling the Eagles.
The Saints won three of the next four after beating the Eagles to secure the No. 1 seed, but covered only once in that span; and that took a 17-point fourth quarter to pull away from Tampa Bay. They managed just one touchdown against Carolina and Dallas and needed a late touchdown to rally past Pittsburgh.
And, to be clear, this isn’t counting the Week 17 loss to Carolina when most of their top players did not play.
The Saints were 6-1 in meaningful home games, but 4-3 against the spread. The Eagles have covered in three of their four road games since getting lumped up by the Saints in Week 11. The one road game they failed to cover was the overtime loss at Dallas.
The Eagles are getting 8 or 8.5, again the largest point spread of the weekend. The Saints have covered just three of eight this season when they’ve been favored by more than six.
By the time Sunday rolls around, it will have been 21 days since Drew Brees last took a snap. If the Saints start slowly, that will be pointed out. But the fact is they’ve been sluggish since late November.
Checking lines
While the Eagles-Saints lines are holding steady, it’s worth noting that FanDuel is offering the area’s best money line on the Eagles at +320.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday ... Bettors must be physically in New Jersey to play online at Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, MGM and William Hill.
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