The Philadelphia Eagles came down the stretch with quite a rush, winning five of their last six games when their backs were to the wall. Before that, however, they took a horrific beating at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, and now they have to return to the scene of that "crime" with an opportunity to erase that painful memory and advance once step closer to a return to the Super Bowl at the same time. Kickoff at the Superdome is scheduled for 4:40 PM ET on Fox Network, and BetAnySports customers will have the chance to place wagers on this game while it is happening, as they access what is available through Live Betting Ultra.

One thing that will be on the minds of a lot of people as they handicap this game is the first meeting that took place between these two, which took place a week before Thanksgiving. The Eagles, after a loss to Dallas, were in a position where they had to start winning if they wanted to keep themselves relevant, and instead they took a 48-7 pasting in the Superdome. They gained just 196 yards, compared to 546 for the Saints.

There are some differences between "then" and "now." Carson Wentz was Philadelphia's quarterback in that massacre, and he has since gotten hurt and replaced by Nick Foles, last year's Super Bowl MVP. The Eagles have also gotten healthier and have answered the call, with six wins in seven games, including the 16-15 victory at Chicago last week, so they are entitled to think of themselves as a different team.

Another thing to keep in mind from the New Orleans perspective is that their defense, which was so maligned after the opening 48-40 loss to Tampa Bay, has been pretty formidable down the stretch, allowing just 102 points in the last seven meaningful games (we leave out the finale against Carolina, which came after they clinched the home field advantage).

And does the extra week of rest for the Saints mean something, after the Eagles played a physical game against the Bears?

In the NFC playoff betting odds that have been placed on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Saints are laying more than a touchdown:

New Orleans Saints -8
Philadelphia Eagles +8

Over 51.5 points -110
Under 51.5 points -110

Should folks look upon the Eagles as a major threat to repeat, based on what they've done lately?

Well, they are potentially dangerous, especially as they scored wins over Houston and the L.A. Rams (who they'd have to visit again if they won here) down the stretch. The sense we get from that win over the Bears was that they were able to use their experience against a team with a young quarterback and taking the playoff ride for the first time together.

Such a thing doesn't exist against Drew Brees and the Saints. And there are no "elements" to play a factor either. Brees shined in all the statistical categories; he was 74.4% accurate with 32 TD's and just five interceptions, had 8.2 yards an attempt and was sacked just 17 times. The Eagles have gone through a lot of injuries, all over the place, but the secondary has been an area of concern all year. You can add the defensive line to that as well; even though defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is something of a wizard when it comes to rotating his linemen, the Eagles have still allowed 4.7 yards a carry, and they are next to last in "Rushing Marginal Explosiveness" as well as "Big Play Rate," as is established by analytics guru Bill Connelly.

What this means to us is that the Saints' ground attack, well-supplied with Alvin Kamara (883 yards) and Mark Ingram (645 yards) could become a very prominent part of the proceedings. And we have been saying for some time that with so much focus on Brees and the offense, the strides the defense has made have been overlooked by many.

There could be a real "strength vs. strength" battle in the red zone, where the Saints are in the top five offensively and the Eagles' defense is the absolute best in the NFL when it comes to touchdown percentage. So perhaps on some of these drives it's not as easy for New Orleans to put the ball over the goal line as usual. Yeah, that previous result is staring us in the face, and we would probably shade toward Sean Payton's team, but we'll look to the UNDER with a little more attention, considering also that these are two of the slowest-paced teams in the NFL when they have the ball.

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