Eagles vs. Saints 2019 Prediction: New Orleans Will Hold Off Nick Foles, Philadelphia In Playoffs

The Philadelphia Eagles are the biggest underdogs on the postseason schedule for a second straight weekend. After upsetting the Chicago Bears on the road, the defending champions hope they can do the same to the New Orleans Saints in the 2019 NFL divisional playoffs.

Dating back to last year’s Super Bowl run, Philadelphia has won four straight playoff games with the odds stacked against them. The Eagles haven’t been favored once with Nick Foles starting at quarterback in the last two postseasons.

New Orleans is laying eight points in Sunday afternoon’s game, according to OddsShark. Can Philadelphia keep their winning streak going against the NFC’s No.1 seed?

Nothing is impossible with this Eagles’ team, especially considering what they did at Soldier Field. Foles made big plays down the stretch against the conference’s best defense, and Philadelphia’s banged up secondary helped limit the Bears to just 15 points.

The Eagles’ defense slowed down the Los Angeles Rams’ No.2 offense on the road in Week 15, starting Philadelphia’s four-game winning streak. The No.6 seed has beaten three playoff teams and won three road games during that stretch.

Playing in New Orleans, however, will be Philadelphia’s toughest challenge. The Eagles know firsthand just how dominant the Saints are at home. New Orleans defeated Philadelphia 48-7 at the Superdome in Week 11. It was the second-biggest margin of victory for any team this season.

Carson Wentz was picked off three times in the loss, and this is a different Eagles’ team than the one that was struggling in mid-November. The Saints, however, remained consistent at home throughout the season until they rested Drew Brees and other starters in a Week 17 home loss to the Carolina Panthers.

The Saints fell victim to Ryan Fitzpatrick’s hot start in a 48-40 Week 1 loss at home. New Orleans went on to win their next six home games, defeating four of their opponents by double digits.

Brees would be the easy MVP choice if his road stats were comparable to what he did at home. The quarterback had a 133.3 passer rating with 21 touchdowns, one interception and 9.54 yards per attempt in New Orleans. Brees posted a triple-digit passer rating in every home game, leading the Saints to an average of 37 points per game.

The 39-year-old completed 22 of 30 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns against Philadelphia.

Maybe the Eagles will have some success slowing down a Saints’ offense that was held to fewer than 13 points in two of their last four games with Brees under center, but New Orleans is going to find their way into the end zone several times at home.

That means Foles will have to come close to matching last year’s playoff performances. By outdueling Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, Foles proved he can match any quarterback on a given day.

Philadelphia is still waiting for Foles to play like the Super Bowl MVP this season. He’s certainly had a few good games, though he’s only thrown for two more touchdowns than interceptions once in six starts. Foles was picked off twice on Wild-Card Weekend, giving him five interceptions since taking over for Wentz in Week 15.

The Saints aren’t a team like the Kansas City Chiefs or even the Rams that boasts a top offense but seemingly can’t stop anyone. New Orleans ranks in the top half of the league in both yards and points allowed. The defense improved as the season went along, only allowing more than 20 points from Week 8-16 to the Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Eagles should be much more competitive in their second trip to New Orleans, but their playoff magic is likely about to run out.

Prediction: New Orleans over Philadelphia, 27-20