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America’s Game of the Week featuring the 49ers-Eagles matchup Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App) is one of the most anticipated NFL games of the year, and not just because it’s a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game.
Everyone is talking about the point spread.
Despite the game being in Philadelphia, the 8-3 49ers are actually favored by 2.5 points over the 10-1 Eagles.
That is literally unprecedented in the Super Bowl era. Per FOX Sports Research, a 10-1 team has never been a home underdog in the regular season during that span, until the Eagles in this game.
This is why the spread is getting a lot more attention among NFL fans and media than it normally would, even for such an anticipated showdown. When asked about the topic this week, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he has no explanation for why his team would be favored.
“I mean, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I don’t really know how that stuff works,” Shanahan said. “So, I don’t really know why. It is random.”
However, Shanahan’s Eagles counterpart, Nick Sirianni, is more than happy to explain why his team should have an underdog mentality despite owning the league’s best record.
“We just worry about going to work for ourselves,” Sirianni said. “I think going into the last year and the year before, no one really thought we would be any good. I think it’s OK to be the underdog.”
Sirianni then went on to evoke another famous Philadelphia underdog.
“I said on the radio the other day, before I ever stepped foot in the city, all I knew about this city was Rocky versus Apollo Creed,” Sirianni said, referencing the 1976 classic film. “The city plays the underdog well.”
Despite the Eagles having two more wins than the 49ers, the “Undisputed” panel of Skip Bayless, Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Irvin agree that San Francisco is the better team — and deserve to be treated as such.
Johnson pointed to the 49ers’ recent winning streak as proof, especially their blowout wins on the…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/should-the-san-francisco-49ers-be-road-favorites-vs-the-philadelphia-eagles
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Publish date : 2023-12-01 02:47:07
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