Philadelphia (1-0) at New England (1-0)
When: Thursday, August 15th 2024
Where: Gillette Stadium,
Foxborough, MA
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: NFLN
Opening Odds: Philadelphia -2.5/33.5
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Week 2 of the NFL preseason schedule starts off on Thursday night with the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Both teams are coming off wins in their season openers and will look to gather momentum as the regular season approaches. The Eagles went on the road and beat the Baltimore Ravens 16-13, while the Pats easily dispatched of the Carolina Panthers 17-3 at home last week. New England comes into this contest as a 2.5-point favorite with a total pegged at 36.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni is just 2-6 straight up and 2-5-1 against the spread in his preseason career, while this will be the second game for New England’s first time head coach Jerod Mayo. The Eagles enter the 2024 season at +1400 to win the Super Bowl on the NFL futures board, while the Pats are +15,000. Philly is a -120 favorite to win the NFC East and their win total is set at 10.5. New England has the longest odds to win the AFC East at +2500 and their win total is set at 4.5.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t play at all last preseason and don’t expect him to be on the field in Thursday’s contest either. Kenny Pickett received the majority of the snaps in last week’s win over Baltimore. He finished 14-of-22 for just 89 yards and a touchdown. Tanner McKee was 6-of-16 for 39 yards. Pickett will be Hurts’ backup this season, while McKee will be No. 3 on the depth chart. Kenneth Gainwell, who is expected to be Saquon Barkley’s backup this year, had 23 yards on four carries last week.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Four quarterbacks – Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe, Jacoby Brissett and Joe Milton III – all took snaps under enter in Week 1. Maye, the 2024 third overall draft pick, played just one series in the first quarter, completing two passes for 19 yards. Zappe got the bulk of the playing time and was 12-of-20 for 108 yards. Expect Maye, Zappe and Brissett to split snaps over the next two games to see who will get the Week 1 start. No. 1 running back Rhamondre Stevenson had one carry for 11 yards and probably will sit out this week.
I like the QB rotation for the Patriots in this one, as each of them can conceivably be the Week 1 starter, which means they have something to prove. New England’s defense was terrific last week and I don’t see Pickett and McKee carving them up. I’ll take the Pats.
Week 2 Preseason Staff Selections
