The NFL is back for week 2 of the 2023 season as the Philadelphia Eagles play host to the Minnesota Vikings, looking to make it back-to-back wins to open the campaign.
The Eagles had a phenomenal season in 2022 but fell short in the final game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs back in February, while the Vikings crashed out in the Wild Card stage of the playoffs against the New York Giants.
Both teams will look to be in the win column after week 2, and we'll break down the match up between the two sides while trying to earn you some extra cash with our best free NFL betting picks.
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Philadelphia Eagles vs Minnesota Vikings information
- Thursday, September 14th 2023
- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 20:15 ET kick-off
Pre-season round-up and season so far
Despite coming into the season as one of the favorites for the crown, the Eagles have had a horrible pre-season without a win in any of their three games against the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns or Indianapolis Colts.
A back-and-forth opener against Baltimore saw them lose 20-19 despite a decent showing, before fighting back in the fourth quarter against the Browns to earn an 18-18 tie. The final game saw them lead 10-7 heading into the second quarter, but they managed just three points in the game and none in the second half as the Colts ran rampant to claim a 27-13 win.
Last weekend we saw them open the season against the New England Patriots and cruise to a 25-20 win after taking a 16-0 lead in the first quarter. The Patriots battled back with 14 unanswered points in the second quarter, but the Eagles scored three points in the third quarter to stretch their lead before a tied fourth quarter meant they claimed the win.
The Vikings on the other hand couldn't have had a worse start to their 2023 season, with four consecutive losses since the end of the last campaign.
Their pre-season saw them suffer a 24-13 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks in their first game, before a 16-24 loss against the Tennessee Titans in game two the following week. They ended their preparations with a close-fought 18-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and then opened their 2023 NFL season with a 20-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was a close game, but a third-quarter collapse saw them concede seven points unanswered and gave them too big a gap to try and close in the final quarter where they could only make up four points and fell to defeat.
NFL Picks: Philadelphia Eagles -7 @ -110
The Eagles are a much better team than the Vikings, no matter which way you try and look at it.
They’re at home, have a way more talented defensive unit giving them the advantage there and they will want to make a statement in their first home game of the season in front of their own fans.
This spread is relatively big for a week 2 fixture, but when you look at the performances of these teams in week 1 and then against each other in the 2022 season in week 2 it's clear that the bet that makes the most sense is to back the team who has potential to score a boat load of points against the other.
I think that the Eagles’ high-powered offense will simply prove to be too much for Flores and the Vikings.
By all accounts, Jalen Hurts has looked better than ever this preseason and training camp, and there are a lot of predictions that he will go out and win the MVP award this season. The Eagles know how important a game like this might be later in the regular season and I don’t expect them to come out slow, which could immediately see them rattle off a couple of touchdowns early on.
Philadelphia were the best first-half team in the NFL last season and if they continue that trend this year, they should pull away heavily in the opening two quarters. Minnesota will likely try to stage a comeback in the second half but the Eagles are solid defensively and should hold out for a comfortable win, making this a fairly obvious pick at a good value price.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
NFL Picks: Under 49 total points @ -110
Another pick that looks pretty easy to make is to back the Under total of 49 for this game.
Both teams played three pre-season games and have their 2023 NFL season opener under their belts already, and across those eight games none of them finished up with 49 points or more.
The closest any of the games came to hitting that total was Philadelphia's 20-25 win over the Patriots last weekend, but the Patriots are a better unit than Minnesota. The Vikings are unlikely to score as many and will probably give up more points themselves, but expect a similar total in this game for this one to land.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
