A battle of birds closes out NFL Week 2, as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.
The pregame narrative: A key injury on the Eagles’ side makes me particularly bullish about a certain Saquon Barkley prop. I’m also looking for a bounce-back effort from Kirk Cousins.
Check out my Falcons vs. Eagles prop picks for Monday Night Football Sept. 16.
Falcons vs. Eagles prop picks
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Best Bet: Barkley over 19.5 receiving yards (+114)
Jalen Hurts has never supported a prominent pass-catching running back in his NFL tenure, but he’s also never worked with a guy like Barkley.
With Hurts at the helm in Philadelphia, the Eagles have yet to see a tailback log even 260 receiving yards in a season.
Barkley, meanwhile, has cleared that total in each of his five full seasons.
In his Eagles debut last week, Barkley only saw two targets from Hurts. But he did as much as he could with that small volume, catching both passes for 23 yards and a score.
Based on that performance and his pass-catching pedigree, Barkley has earned more opportunities in the receiving game.
Keep in mind that A.J. Brown (hamstring) is out, too. That should free up some targets for Barkley and co.
Key stat: Barkley has averaged 20.2 receiving yards per game since the beginning of last year (15 games).
Quick pick
Cousins over 229.5 passing yards (-105): This is a tough one to feel good about after Cousins laid an egg in his Falcons debut in Week 1. But the matchup is awfully compelling.
The Eagles allowed the second-most passing yards per game last year (252.7). Cousins was one of the guys who did the most damage against them, throwing for 364 yards on 31-of-44 passing.
That was pre-Achilles injury, mind you… and Cousins was employed by the Vikings back then, not the Falcons.
So there are a few variables here that muddy the waters a bit. But at its core, this bet is about fading a questionable Eagles secondary with a quarterback who has historically cleared this number with ease.
Cousins averaged 240-plus passing yards per game in each of his previous nine seasons.
Picks made at 1:25 p.m. ET 09/15/2024.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.