Steve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” will impart his gambling wisdom on the Eagles and where the smart money is going on various pro football games each weekend this season. Maltepes is one of the nation’s hottest sports betting experts who appears weekly on national radio and has his own website, www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com].
Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) at Dallas Cowboys (9-3), 8:20 p.m. Sunday
The Line: Cowboys minus-3.5/Total: 52
What is the line telling you:
The look ahead line on this matchup had the Dallas Cowboys a small one-point home favorite, but after the 49ers dismantled the Eagles last Sunday, the market reopened the price of this game at Cowboys minus-3. Immediately, the sharp money started to enter the market on Mike McCarthy’s team, which forced bookmakers to move off that key number to where it currently sits with the Cowboys being a 3.5-point home favorites. This is a revenge spot for the Cowboys and a bad spot for the Eagles. Dallas is coming into this game well rested and hasn’t played since Nov. 30th. The Cowboys will be the much fresher team on Sunday night.
The Eagles’ pass defense is the weakest link on this team and even though the Cowboys lost the last time these two teams met in Philly, Dak Prescott threw for 375 yards and 3 TD’s and could have an even bigger game this time around.
Anytime you play a top-10 physical defense (SF ranks 6th in opponent yards per play) like the 49ers the following week, your offense never produces at an optimum level and that’s a big problem going up against this Cowboys’ defense that ranks 4th in the NFL in sack percentage, and 5th overall in opponent yards per play.
The Eagles rank 17th in the league in opponent yards per rush attempt so Tony Pollard should have a big day running the ball, The Eagles will also need Jalen Hurts to use his legs more in this game against a Cowboys defense that ranks 6th in opponent yards per pass attempt. I also expect the Cowboys to come out extremely fast as they have all season, Dallas ranks #1 in 1st half scoring this season.
Bottom line: Prescott is now the odds-on favorite to become this year’s MVP at plus-220 and he has a massive game on Sunday. Buy the half point and take the Cowboys minus-3, and also bet them in the first half minus-2.5 and minus-160 on the moneyline.
Eagles game props
Jalen Hurts anytime TD -135
Tony Pollard over-57.5 rush yards
First Dallas Cowboys drive will result in a TD +155
What is the line telling you:
The Eagles are a tired team. The Cowboys are not.
AROUND THE NFL
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) at Cleveland Browns (7-5), 1:00 p.m. Sunday
The Line: Browns minus-3/Total: 32.5
What is the line telling you: With all the injuries on this Jags team this is a really bad spot heading into Cleveland to play a Browns defense that might be the best in the NFL. The Browns have also played lights out this year going 5-1 at home compared to their 2-4 record on the road.
Bottom line: Take the Browns on the moneyline minus-160 full game and in the first half minus-2.5.
(Betting lines are subject to change.)
The Philly Godfather can be followed on twitter @Phillygodfather [twitter.com] & his website is www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com]. Watch the best gambling show there is, The Sports Betting Show, 6 pm-8 pm ET live every Thursday available on Jakib YouTube, Action YouTube and Sirius XM channel 159.
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
