NFC East Bettor’s Playbook: Eagles Giants Showdown Entering NFL Week 12 Betting Spotlight

Welcome to the homestretch. Who is ready for a season-ending NFC East round robin featuring the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team? New Jersey online sports bettors are for sure.

It’s a multi-week party, stretching to Jan. 9 – NFL Week 18.

The 5-6 Eagles, winners of two straight, play five of their last six against NFC East opponents. That includes two games against the Giants and Washington, one against the Cowboys. The other is next weekend versus the New York Jets.

Other division teams have a similar dynamic, although Dallas plays out of the division Thursday against the Las Vegas Raiders. And Washington hosts the Seattle Seahawks Monday night.

Eagles vs. Giants odds at NJ sportsbooks

How NFC East teams enter Week 12

The red-hot Eagles visit the New York Giants Sunday as a clear favorite. They may leave MetLife Stadium at .500.

The Giants, 3-7. have covered the spread in three of the last four games. But they looked flat in Monday’s 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 7-3 Cowboys have lost two of three and are battling injuries. However, they find a perfect tonic in Thursday’s Thanksgiving afternoon matchup against the reeling and disoriented 5-5 Raiders.

Washington has two straight wins and is playing its best ball of the season. But its matchup against Seattle is a walking advertisement for legalized sports wagering.

Who else but gamblers will watch teams with a combined 7-13 record (Seattle is 3-7, Washington 4-6) on the league’s highest stage?

The league has put up a weak marquee matchup, but bettors will bail them out.

NFC East betting by the numbers

Here’s the betting performance record of the teams, using DraftKings Sportsbook odds at kickoff.

Philadelphia:

• 5-6 on the moneyline
• 6-5   versus spread
• 6-5  on the over

New York Giants:

• 3-7 on the moneyline
• 5-4 versus spread
• 3-5-1 on the over

Dallas:

• 7-3 on the moneyline
• 8-2   versus spread
• 5-5   on the over

Washington:

• 4-6 on the moneyline
• 3 -7 versus spread
• 5 -5  on the over

Eagles rolling in right direction

Two consecutive wire-to-wire victories. They did not trail either the Denver Broncos or New Orleans Saints in consecutive double-digit victories. The Eagles have scored 138 points in the last four games, nearly 35 per clip.

Philadelphia may try running the ball until the Giants take that away. The Birds gashed New Orleans for 242 yards on an eye-popping 50 rushing attempts. The Eagles are the NFC’s best rushing team and coach Nick Sirianni calls them “nasty.”

Look out now that Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, Hurts and Boston Scott can share the football. Scott had the least number of touches with six rushes and two receptions last week. The Eagles have exceptional balance.

As we previously noted, however, it’s hard to zero in on individual backfield props. None of the Eagles rushers exceeded 100 yards against the Saints. The Eagles had three offensive touchdowns, all rushes by Hurts. What’s bad for opposing defenses also is tough on prop bettors.

Keep in mind: Jake Elliott had a season-high four field goals against the Saints. That’s what playing from in front can encourage.

DeVonta Smith remains a viable betting option, especially if the books adjust to the Eagles’ ground effectiveness.

DraftKings over bettors went 1-for-2 on him last week. His 61 reception yards exceeded the 57.5-yard standard. His four catches were just below the 4.5 number put up by the book, which had Smith pretty well projected.

The over-under total is right about where this game sits. No implied advantage. The Giants are a low-scoring team. The mid-20s would be high for them.

Big Blue takes a step back

Unfortunately, quarterback Daniel Jones looked like his old self in tossing two picks, one in which Tampa Bay defender Steve McClendon looked like the target.

The Giants looked overmatched Monday night. They went into the Week 10 bye playing their best football and came out of it playing their worst. And of Tuesday, the team fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Watch for the props on Jones interceptions. It is tough knowing who to trust for Giants offensive props because the team has been hurt.

Raiders vs. Cowboys odds at NJ sportsbooks

Dallas injuries impact props

Bettors will watch the injury reports to see if receiver CeeDee Lamb plays Thursday. He suffered a concussion near the end of the first half in Sunday’s 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and did not return.

Reports indicate he was progressing and could play Thursday. But the Cowboys have a substantial division lead and can afford to sit him four days after the concussion. It would lead to a break of 11 additional days, by which time he’d return. Tough call.

Monitor Zeke Elliott, who tweaked an ankle injury early and did not look like himself after returning.

Elliott has reduced effectiveness because of the time-sharing role with Tony Pollard. But Dallas does try to feed him the ball as a first-time scorer.

Amari Cooper tested positive for COVID-19 and did not play and left tackle Tyron Smith missed his third straight game. Their status Thursday will be important.

Watch Dalton Schultz on the props. He’s a potent tight end. This might be his kind of game.

The Cowboys continue to coast through the middle of the season. Their mid-season funk includes the weird 19-9 setback against the Chiefs on Sunday. So weird that the vaunted Cowboys were the only NFL team not to score a touchdown in Week 11.

FanDuel Sportsbook bettors thought they had a +430 prop in their pocket. It called for every NFL team to score at least one TD. The Cowboys were the last team anyone expected not to fail.

Raiders vs. Cowboys props from Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook has an interesting prop for Thursday’s game in which NJ bettors can ponder how many quarters will the Raiders win. Here are the options:

• 1 +106
• 2 +17
• 3 +1000
• 4 +4000
• 0 + 390

The consensus is leaning on the Raiders to win one quarter. The wild card here is any quarter that ends in a tie. That’s essentially a loss on this wager, except for the 0 number.

Want some action right away?

Take a look at the outcome of the first drive.

Dallas:

• Punt +150
• Touchdown +165
• Field goal attempt +350
• Turnover +575

Las Vegas

• Punt +101
• Touchdown +290
• Field goal attempt +360
• Turnover +460

That’s two available bets on the first two possessions of the game.

Seattle vs. Washington odds at NJ sportsbooks

Could the Washington Football Team make it three in a row?

Yes, the Football Team joins the Eagles in the quest for three straight triumphs. Washington has looked good in knocking off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.

The biggest area of improvement is finishing. Instead of stalling inside the red zone, Washington has found paydirt with receivers Terry McLaurin, DeAndre Carter and Cam Sims.

Washington did the Eagles a favor in knocking Carolina from the final playoff spot. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke is playing with some attitude and has become this team’s leader.

AP Photo/Chris Szagola