Eagles vs. Patriots prediction, pick, odds for Thursday’s NFL preseason Week 2 game

Eagles vs. Patriots Odds

Thursday, Aug. 15

7 p.m. ET

NFL Network

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NFL odds here.

This spread has been all over the place. It opened at Eagles -3, but quickly shifted toward New England. It has moved 5.5 points since open, as of Tuesday night, with the total also rising from 33.5 to 35.5.

Eagles vs. Patriots Betting Trends

• 64% of bets and 64% of the money are on the Eagles to cover the spread.
• 53% of bets and 37% of the money are on the over.

All data via Action Network's public betting percentages and as of Wednesday evening.

John LanFranca's Eagles vs. Patriots Preview

Eagles' Young Defense Needs Reps

The Patriots and Eagles have battled throughout the week in joint practices and, by all accounts, it has been a disaster for the Patriots' offense. New England's offense has plenty of kinks to work out, but it appears Philadelphia's starting offense will have the night off.

All signs point to an ugly, low-scoring game on Thursday night. 

You might be thinking Philadelphia's defense won't play its starters in this game after the unit got significant looks during the joint practices. It's worth noting, though, that new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio implementing a new system.

The Eagles offense may be on cruise control heading into the regular season, but the defense still has some work to do. The starting unit may not play many snaps, but there are plenty of new contributors who still need to gain experience in this system, including free-agent acquisitions in linebacker Zack Baun and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, along with rookies in cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Even the players further down Philadelphia's depth chart should provide a stout test for this version of the Patriots' offense.

Patriots Offense Needs To Improve

Establish the Run's Brandon Thorn ranks the Patriots' offensive line 31st in the league. Both offensive tackle spots seem to be in complete turmoil, so critical reps still need to be had for many.

One Boston reporter singled out projected starting left tackle Vederian Lowe as a glaring weakness during live drills against the Eagles. However, Lowe was not the only player who struggled in pass protection. According to reporters, Brissett and Maye were sacked 15 times on just 40 dropbacks.

Speaking of Maye, the third overall selection from this year’s draft played just six snaps with the top offensive line in his preseason debut a week ago. The Patriots offense doesn't have the luxury of resting too many starters on offense, but that doesn’t mean they are ready to put up points. This is a very young offense and one that struggles to protect.

Brissett will start this game, but Maye and fellow rookie Joe Milton III should see extended looks. Last week against the Panthers, New England averaged just 4.3 yards per play on 64 offensive snaps. The passing game garnered just 5.0 yards per attempt and completed 56.2% of passes.

New England's defense will be the side of the ball responsible for keeping it in games — and that goes for the preseason, as well. The Patriots defense has depth and allowed just 2.9 yards per play on 51 defensive snaps last week.

New head coach Jerod Mayo’s defense will be up to the task of limiting an Eagles offense that should be led by Kenny Pickett and Tanner McGee. Those two quarterbacks combined to average a putrid 3.0 yards per attempt last week, while the rushing attack wasn’t much better at 3.8 yards per rush.

How to Watch Eagles vs. Patriots: Start Time, Channel, Location

Eagles vs. Patriots will be live on NFL Network and streaming on NFL+, as well as various streaming services like YouTube TV. Eagles-Patriots is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday night.

Eagles vs. Patriots is being played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

My Eagles vs. Patriots Prediction

Both of these teams saw the under hit in their first preseason games, and I'm going to make these offenses prove they can put up points before betting anything but the under.

The Patriots offensive line lacks the talent and depth to consistently move the ball, while the Eagles ran 78 plays last week but only gained more than 10 yards once.

The under is the play between these two teams on Thursday night.

Eagles vs. Patriots Pick

Pick: Under 35.5 (-105)