Eagles Host Panthers on Monday Night Football
Can Mark Sanchez lead the Eagles to a Monday night victory over the Panthers?
Monday Night Football emanates from the City of Brotherly Love tonight as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Carolina Panthers in a clash of postseason hopefuls.
Kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
The matchup pits one of the league’s best home teams against a side that has struggled on the road, but with injuries playing a part in the script this game could go either way.
The Story So Far
Philadelphia (6-2, 4-0 home) has emerged as the form team in the NFC East following a solid first half to the season, albeit one that has been helped somewhat by scheduling.
So far, the Eagles have earned quality wins over the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, as well as victories over less stellar opposition that includes the Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams.
Road losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals are nothing to be embarrassed by, but Chip Kelly will want his team to fend better heading down the stretch.
A week ago the Eagles managed to couple together a win over the Houston Texans, despite losing starting quarterback Nick Foles to a collarbone injury. Early suggestions have the third-year quarterback out for six weeks at least. Now the team will look to earn a prime time victory without their starter under center.
Carolina (3-5-1, 1-2-1 road) opened the season looking like a contender before the schedule – and particularly a run in with the AFC North – got the better of the team.
Ron Rivera’s side has posted just one win in its last seven games, a stretch that includes losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints, and a tie with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The solitary win during that stretch came against the Chicago Bears.
Last week’s loss to the Saints on Thursday Night Football saw the Panthers relinquish their slender lead at the top of the NFC South but it’s not all doom and gloom for the sub-.500 Panthers.
The Charlotte Observer ran a piece last week detailing the five things the Panthers need to do to reach the playoffs, a selection of sensible suggestions that begins with beating Philadelphia.
Even Monday’s game against the Eagles doesn’t represent a do-or-die situation for Cam Newton and Co. The Panthers still have four games left against division opponents and a good run could see the team sneak a division title and enter the postseason that way.
Were the Panthers to make it to the playoffs, it would be the first time in the team’s 20-year history it had made consecutive postseason appearances.
Right now though the playoffs are a long way off and the Panthers will be focused on Monday’s trip to Philadelphia.
Head-to-Head
Philadelphia leads the all-time head-to-head series 5-3 and owns a 3-2 advantage in games played in the City of Brotherly Love.
Carolina earned a 30-22 victory the last time the two sides met, a November 26, 2012 clash in Philadelphia. The Panthers’ only other road win over the Eagles came in the NFC Championship Game following the 2003 season.
Philadelphia had won three straight games prior to Carolina’s 2012 victory.
Injury Report
With Nick Foles sidelined with a collarbone injury, the Eagles will once more turn to Mark Sanchez at the quarterback position. Sanchez was 15-of-22 passing for 202 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions after replacing the injured Foles in last Sunday’s win over Houston.
Running back LeSean McCoy has suffered an illness this week but is expected to play on Monday.
Carolina has a number of players listed as questionable heading into the game, including left guard Amini Silatolu (calf), left tackle (Byron Bell (knee / elbow) and safety Thomas DeCoud (hamstring).
Check out the full injury list
Will DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers resurrect their playoff hopes?
Betting Report
Below you’ll find Betting Sports’ breakdown of odds and betting trends.
Carolina Panthers vs. Philadelphia Eagles odds for 11/10/2014
Moneyline: Philadelphia (-265) opened as the favorite over Carolina (+235) on the moneyline.
The Panthers were victorious the last time the two sides met but have never won back-to-back games in the series.
The Eagles had won three straight prior to losing in 2012.
Spread: The spread opened at 5.5 in favor of the Eagles.
Both Philadelphia (6-2-0 ATS) and Carolina (5-4-0 ATS) sport positive records against the spread this season, although there is a distinctive advantage that goes to the Eagles.
Philadelphia is 3-1-0 ATS at home this season and 4-1-0 ATS when considered the favorite. Carolina is 2-2-0 ATS on the road and 3-3-0 ATS when playing as an underdog,
Philadelphia is 4-2-0 ATS in its last six games against the Panthers.
Total: The total opened at 48.
Both Philadelphia (5-3-0 O/U) and Carolina (5-4-0 O/U) have marginally favored the over this season. The total has gone over in five of the last seven head-to-head meetings between the sides.
The over has also paid out in eight of the 10 games played on Monday nights this season.
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