Online sports betting
handicappers are going to get a chance to see quite the improbable NFC
Championship Game this Sunday in the Eagles
vs Cardinals matchup.
Last year, the No. 6 seed New York Giants won the Super Bowl
so on some levels, it shouldn’t be overly surprising that the No. 4 seeded
Cardinals will host the No. 5 seeded Eagles in the Championship game. But it’s
hard to fathom as the Cardinals finished the season on a 2-4 stretch with the
four losses coming by an average of 24 points per game and the Eagles at one point
tied the lowly Cincinnati Bengals and benched quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Sportsbook
odds have the Eagles as a three-point favorite on the road in this contest as
the public still doesn’t believe the Cardinals stand much of a chance in this
contest. These two teams met in Week 13 when the Eagles dismantled the
Cardinals 48-20. The problem for the Cardinals is that the Eagles are just the
exact type of defense that is perfectly tailored to foil them.
Those who bet online
know that strength of the Eagles defense is two-fold: rushing the passer and
the secondary. With defensive coordinator Jim Johnson’s complex blitz schemes,
the Eagles always find a way to get to the quarterback. The Eagles had 48 sacks
on the year (3rd-most in the NFL) even though they didn’t sack
Warner in the Week 13 meeting.
Secondly, the Cardinals are a pass first, pass second, pass
third offense. That seems to work well for the Eagles, who ranked third in the
NFL in pass defense. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals defense is a
good matchup for the Eagles offense. The Eagles are also pass-happy and no
defense allowed more passing touchdowns in the NFL than the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are at home but they just aren’t on the same
level as the Eagles. Unless the Eagles make plenty of mistakes likes the
Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons, the Cardinals won’t be advancing to
the Super Bowl.
Bet on
the Eagles to cover the spread and advance to Super Bowl XLIII.