Getty The Eagles will open as an underdog in the NFC Championship.
The Philadelphia Eagles take on the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship. According to OddsShark, the Vikings will open as 3.5 point favorites, the line moving slightly in favor of the Eagles from the 4.5 point potential spread OddsShark reported 24 hours ago. The Eagles will be a home underdog, and would have been an underdog against the Saints as well. Philadelphia would have been a 2.5 point underdog against the Saints. The NFC Championship takes place on Sunday, January 21, and kicks off at 6:40 p.m. Eastern on Fox.
Opening lines for AFC and NFC Championship Games:
Patriots -9.5 vs Jaguars
Eagles +3.5 vs Vikings
Odds via BetOnline @DaveMasonBOL
Lookahead NFC Championship lines from BetOnline:
Eagles +4.5 vs Vikings
Eagles +2.5 vs Saints
It will be the first time this season the two teams square off, and the head-to-head series is tied at 13. The two teams last played in October 2016 as the Eagles came away with a 21-10 victory. It looked as though the Eagles would face the Saints, but a miraculous pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs punched Minnesota’s unlikely ticket to the NFC Championship.
The Eagles grinded out a win over the Falcons in the Divisional Round, despite Carson Wentz being sidelined for the rest of the season. Philadelphia has been known for their explosive offense, but it was the Eagles defense that came up big with a goal line stand. The Eagles held the Falcons to just 10 points on their way to the NFC Championship.
Here’s a look at how the two teams performed this season.
Vikings vs. Eagles: By the Numbers
This season, Philadelphia has wins over the Panthers, Rams and Cowboys. The Eagles are 14-3, and have performed almost as well in Vegas. Philadelphia is 11-6 against the spread. The Eagles are 8-4 against the spread as the favorite, and 3-2 against the spread as the underdog. Philadelphia is 6-3 against the spread at home, and 5-3 against the spread on the road.
Minnesota is 14-3 this season, and 11-6 against the spread. The Vikings went 5-3 against the spread in road games, and were 9-5 against the spread as favorites. The Vikings have wins over the Rams, Saints and Falcons.
Both teams had top 10 ranked offenses during the regular season, but it is important to note the majority of the Eagles stats were based on Wentz playing under center. The Eagles ranked No. 3, putting up 28.6 points per game. Minnesota’s offense ranked No. 10 averaging 23.9 points.
The Vikings and Eagles also have top five ranked defenses, a typical attribute of successful playoff teams. Minnesota’s defense led the league giving up just 15.8 points per game. Philadelphia’s defense ranked No. 4 allowing 18.4 points per contest.
Heading into the season, it would have been hard to fathom that either Foles or Keenum would be the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. Both players started the season as backups, but were inserted into the lineup after the starters sustained serious injuries. Keenum has played the majority of the season as the starter. In 15 regular season games, Keenum completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
For Foles, it marks his second stint with the Eagles, as Philadelphia traded him to the Rams in 2015. Foles signed with the Eagles again this off-season, and became the starter late in the regular season when Wentz sustained a season-ending injury.