Welcome back to the four most stressful months of the year!

The Birds are back!

But they’re playing the season opener on Friday and it’s in Brazil, and yeah it all feels a bit weird, but football is back and once 8 p.m. hits we’re going to be screaming like it’s a normal Sunday afternoon.

It’s hard to know how the Eagles will look, especially on defense, in Week 1, so that’s why it’s difficult to bet.

The Eagles are currently a two-point favorite, but we all know how much that means after the end-of-year debacle in 2023. It’s the defense-led collapse that could affect our approach.


Did the Birds improve at linebacker? And how much of an impact can Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean make in the secondary in their first games?

Green Bay has the more favorable player props on the board because of the matchup and the unknowns with Jordan Love’s set of pass-catchers.

When healthy, Christian Watson is the clear No. 1 target in the passing game, but his body was as reliable as the Eagles secondary in the second half of last season.

Watson only cleared his receiving yard prop of 39.5 three times in the 2023 regular season, but when he did, he soared over that number with games of 91, 94 and 71 yards. He’s the best value candidate on either team to ladder his receiving yards, and is anywhere from +250 to +300 to have 60+.

For reference, A.J. Brown’s receiving yard prop sits anywhere from 68.5 to 71.5, while DeVonta Smith is over/under 58.5 receiving yards.

Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave is worth targeting on the prop market as well. He had seven games with at least four targets and six games with at least 30 receiving yards last season. The Eagles were one of the 12 worst teams defending tight ends in 2023 and Musgrave’s receiving yard prop is over/under 24.5.

The Eagles offense is fairly easy to figure out. Brown and Smith will earn a bulk of the targets and Saquon Barkley should mix in well with a large amount of carries in his debut.

Green Bay gave up the 11th-most rushing yards to running backs last season and Barkley has a strong record of big Week 1 games. He went over the 100-yard mark in three season openers with the New York Giants.

Barkley had 86 yards and two scores off 20 carries against the Packers in Week 13 last season. I would think the over on 65.5 rushing yards is attainable based on that success and how much the Eagles want to get him involved.

For Pennsylvania sports betting, I would play Barkley 60+ rushing yards, Watson 40+ receiving yards, and Musgrave 25+ receiving yards for FanDuel’s No Sweat Same Game Parlay.

Barkley should be a top candidate for DraftKings’ No Sweat touchdown bet. A lot of people will choose Jalen Hurts for that promotion, but the Eagles may try to get Barkley involved right away in the red zone.

Brown and Smith’s receiving yard props are always going to be super sharp, but I would take a risk on Jahan Dotson’s props since they are so low.

Dotson sits at over/under 1.5 receptions and over/under 14.5 receiving yards. He is also +350 on FanDuel to have a 20+ yard reception. That might be the best market to approach Dotson if the Eagles want to use him for a big play or two.

bet365 is also offering a promo that ensures $200 in bonus bets with a $5 wager on the game.

Hopefully after Friday night we’ll learn more about Dotson and Barkley’s usage and how the defense will look with the season-long battle for the NFC’s top seed square in our minds.