The New Orleans Saints present the worst-possible matchup right now for the struggling Philadelphia Eagles defense.

That’s the grim reality we’ve all been living in since the fourth-quarter collapse against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

The Saints are a three-point favorite for Sunday afternoon’s Week 3 battle, and no one will debate the merit of that point spread.

Hell, it’s hard to argue against the over/under of 49.5 given what we’ve seen out of the Saints offense and Eagles defense through two weeks.

New Orleans ranks fourth in the NFL in total yards and rushing yards, and they’re 12th in passing yards, one spot behind the Birds.


Vic Fangio’s defense allowed the third-most total yards among teams that have played two games. New England and the Jets obviously have higher totals because they played on Thursday. The Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts are the only two worse defenses than the Birds among teams playing on Sunday.

The Eagles are one of five teams who have already allowed 280 rushing yards to opposing running backs, and, well, that’s quite frankly terrifying with Alvin Kamara lining up for the opponent on Sunday.

Kamara averaged more than five yards per carry in each of his first two games against the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. He looked even stronger against Dallas, and because of that, I would expect Kamara’s over 65.5 rushing yards to not just be the most popular prop from the Eagles-Saints game, but for all of Sunday’s slate.

New Orleans receiving props will be popular as well. Chris Olave is listed at over/under 62.5 yards. He had 81 yards on four catches last week. Rashid Shaheed’s prop is over/under 49.5. He can clear that in one catch. Shaheed has touchdown catches of 70 and 59 yards already in 2024.

So you’re not totally wrong if you think the Eagles are screwed, but there is a path to victory.

The Saints conceded the third-fewest rushing yards to opposing running backs in Weeks 1 and 2. The caveat there is Carolina and Dallas do not have established top-tier running backs and Saquon Barkley could change that.

New Orleans has allowed 362 of its 420 passing yards to opposing wide receivers, so that’s small positive for DeVonta Smith, and maybe this is finally the Jahan Dotson breakout week?

Britain Covey got more action in A.J. Brown’s spot on the outside in Week 3, and I don’t think that will change, but the Eagles may be forced to get Dotson involved out of the slot to have more potential for big plays.

Dotson was on the field for 79 percent of the snaps on Monday. Covey was only on the field for 32 percent of the offensive snaps. I don’t foresee that changing much, so Dotson’s involvement depends on how much of the offense he’s picked up and how much Jalen Hurts trusts him. I’d personally stay away from the Dotson props until it’s proven he’s a target, but the risk might be worth it on Sunday just because of the matchup.

For online sports betting in NJ, and PA, DraftKings is offering an All-Parlay NFL Boost and a Touchdown Parlay boost with a bigger boost for every TD prop added. FanDuel is offering a 100 percent straight money line boost for any NFL Sunday game.

BetMGM still has its offer available to get your cash back on First Touchdown Scorer props if your player scores the second touchdown.