Ricky Dimon
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Divisional-Round action in the NFL playoffs continues on Sunday afternoon with the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Los Angeles Rams. Neither team had any issue advancing last weekend. Philadelphia, seeded second in the NFC, cruised past the Green Bay Packers. In a more surprising result, Los Angeles destroyed the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 in a neutral-site game in Glendale, Arizona.
Here is my Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which get underway at 3:00 pm ET on NBC. Also be sure to check out our full Eagles vs Rams predictions.
Eagles -6.5 (-105)
Kyren Williams Over 73.5 rushing yards (-113)
Matthew Stafford to have more passing yards than Jalen Hurts (-146)
Parlay odds: +802
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. At the same time, plays that aren’t correlated drive up the overall payout of the parlay. The latter is the entire plan here, as Kyren Williams and Matthew Stafford racking up their fair share of yards don’t exactly work well with a win and cover by Philadelphia. But even if that happens, there is no reason why the Eagles can’t take care of business. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Eagles -6.5 (-105)
The Rams are a nice story given the unfortunate recent circumstances in Los Angeles involving all of the fires. That disaster forced last week’s Wild Card game against Minnesota out of L.A. and to Arizona. It was no problem for the Rams at the time, but those are a lot of moving parts to deal with; it couldn’t have been an easy heading into what is now the most important week of the season for all remaining teams. It also doesn’t help that the Rams are playing on short week, as their win over the Vikings was a playoff installment of Monday Night Football. Philadelphia is playing on normal rest after drubbing Green Bay last Sunday. The Eagles are 13-1 in their last 14 games and 10 of those 13 victories have come by at least 6 points. This hot streak includes a 37-20 beatdown of none other than the Rams in Week 12, and that was in L.A. All things considered, this a great spot for Jalen Hurts and company at home.
Kyren Williams Over 73.5 rushing yards (-113)
Williams rushed for 72 yards in the regular-season game against Philadelphia, an impressive number since he got only 16 carries during what was a negative game script for Los Angeles. He should get more touches than that in the rematch. After all, the Eagles are incredible against the pass. They were #1 league in that department this season (174.2 yards per game allowed through the air) by a country mile and also by far #1 in yards per pass attempt allowed (6.0). The Rams have all the more reason to keep the ball on the ground because it is going to be snowing in a major way on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia. Count on Williams once against having success against the Eagles.
Matthew Stafford to have more passing yards than Jalen Hurts (-146)
I’m not going to mess with individual passing or receiving props since the weather could wreak havoc. However, a QB-to-QB comparison is safer since both signal-callers will be dealing with the same conditions. You can remove a variable from the equation with a prop that includes both Stafford and Hurts. Yes, the Rams are going to run it a lot — but so are the Eagles. After all, Saquon Barkley went batshit crazy against L.A. in Week 12 (255 yards and 2 TDs on 26 carries). Barkley is absolutely on fire right now, so the home team should continue to feature a steady diet of him toting the rock. Moreover, the visitors figure to be playing from behind – which will force Stafford to hit the airwaves later in the game. That’s why this play actually correlates nicely with Eagles -6.5. In the regular-season matchup, Stafford passed for 243 yards to Hurts’ 179. For a multitude of reasons, let’s roll with Stafford.
