'This Is A Day For Eagles Offense To Get On Track': SportsLine Analyst Larry Hartstein Breaks Down Eagles-Bengals Matchup
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The first two weeks of the season have not been a pleasant experience for the Eagles or their fans. With the team's record of 0-2 after losses to the Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams, there are serious questions about their postseason hopes and the play of its star quarterback.
But, the good news is, just the panacea the team needs may be on its way to town this weekend in the form of the similarly 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals. With a rookie quarterback and a leaky defense, the Bengals could be just the team the Eagles and, more specifically, quarterback Carson Wentz, to get right.
"This is a great opportunity against a Bengals team that gave up over 430 yards to the Browns 7.5 yards per play," said SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein. "The Browns did whatever they want, through the air and on the ground even though Joe Burrow played well. This is a day for the Eagles offense to get on track."
The Eagles offense showed the ability to move the ball in Week 2 against the Rams, amassing 363 yards, but they had several drives ended by turnovers for the second straight week. Wentz has played a part in that tossing four interceptions and losing a fumble so far. Those mistakes will need to be cleaned up in order to earn a result Sunday because even though the Bengals are 0-2, they have hung tough in their first two games losing by 3 and 5 points to the Chargers and Browns respectively.
That fight, combined with the Eagles poor play, likely plays a part in why the line on the game favors the Birds by just 4.5 points. Still, Hartstein offers some good news for those thinking of rolling with the Eagles in Week 3. He says that teams who have been favored in their first two weeks only to lose outright have generally performed exceedingly well against the number in Week 3.
"Historically if you have backed these teams in Week 3, teams that have under-performed in the first two weeks, you're doing really well. 22-7 against the spread the spread the last four years," said Hartstein. "That's 76% and 63% the last ten years simply backing the teams that have under-performed in the first two weeks."
Whether or not the Eagles fit that trend will have to wait until kickoff Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS.
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