Public likes Eagles as slight favorites vs. Patriots, but recent history doesn’t

The quest to get back to the Super Bowl — and this time win it — starts Sunday for the Eagles with a road game in Foxborough, Mass., where future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady will be honored by the Patriots ahead of the 4:25 p.m. kickoff.

It’s another season with big expectations for the Eagles, who are favored to win the NFC.

But even though the Patriots missed out on the postseason in 2022-23, the Eagles are a short road favorite for the season opener.

Here’s a look at Eagles-Patriots Week 1 lines.

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Odds are current at the time of publishing and are subject to change.

This line has moved a bit since it opened in May when the NFL schedule was released. Back then, the Eagles opened at -4.5.

FanDuel has the number down to just -3.5, while others have settled at -4.

According to Action Network, 65% of point-spread bets are on the Eagles as of Tuesday morning.

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It’s an interesting line. The Eagles, on paper, are much more talented than New England. Once again, the Patriots will be bolstered by one of the league’s best defenses, but they have a middle-of-the-road quarterback in Mac Jones while the Eagles have MVP hopeful Jalen Hurts leading a high-powered offense.

If you like looking at recent data when making your pick, the Eagles don’t have great recent history as road favorites.

Last season, the Eagles were 2-5 against the spread as road favorites, though they did win straight up all seven times they were favored on the road.

The two times they covered were as seven-point favorites vs. the Giants (48-22 win) and 5.5-point favorites vs. Washington (24-8 win).

What does that mean for Sunday? Not a whole lot, but it’s certainly worth mentioning.