The (0-2-1) Philadelphia Eagles head to Levi’s Stadium to face the (2-1) San Francisco 49ers. The boo-birds have been out in full effect over Carson Wentz’s lack of production through the first three weeks and Doug Pederson has had his hands full “uncluttering” the young quarterback’s mind. At this point, if there isn’t a win against a battered 49ers team, Wentz could potentially lose his starting job.
The 49ers, who haven’t had an ideal start to their season after losing starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo to an ankle injury ,have found a way to a 2-1 record. Although those wins are against teams with losing records, it still shows the resilience of the 49ers to bend but not break after the injury bug strikes.
With three defensive players added to the injury list and not expected to play on Sunday, can the 49ers pull out their third-straight win? Can the Eagles finally grab their first victory even while traveling West? More importantly, who should you put your money on?
Philly Not Looking So “Special” This Season
The former Super Bowl Champion Eagles look more like a college football team right now. Wentz has looked rattled all season, and the head coach hasn’t seemed to offer much guidance. Philadelphia faced Cincinnati last week (a team that is in the process of building around superstar Joe Burrow), and although the Eagles tied, Wentz looked awful.
The good news for the Eagles is they have a chance to rebound against a severely damaged 49ers team. With plenty of players out on defense, maybe Wentz will settle down and get the morale boost he needs. He’ll have to do this without two starting wide receivers though as DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery have both been ruled out of Sunday’s game.
49ers Battling Through Injuries
There’s no guidelines on how to prepare for the number of injuries the 49ers have suffered. San Francisco has still managed to start 2-1 though. It seems like the 49ers have bought into the “next man up” mentality and are ready to tackle the challenge in front of them.
The importance of perseverance is no stranger to a 49ers team who in 2018 lost their starting quarterback after just three games. Now they face a similar situation with Garoppolo out with an ankle injury and Nick Mullens getting the nod under center.
The 49ers are also the better team against the spread so far this year, with a 2-1 ATS record versus the Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 ATS record. Considering that both sides are dealing with injuries on offense and defense, this game will likely be a lot closer than expected.
Battle Between Battered Teams
This one is challenging for bettors to decide, as both teams come in with a full injury list. The spread still favors the 49ers -7.5 though, which is a pretty large margin for a team led by a backup quarterback.
You have to take the team that has battled through their injuries, and has a head coach that knows how to scheme against an adversary. The 49ers have shown through these first two weeks that they have what it takes to compete, even when faced with a laundry list of injuries. Take San Francisco -7.5 in this one.
