Falcons open as 3.5 point favorites against Eagles in Week 1

Week 1 will be a battle of two teams undergoing major transition at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. The first is a new Eagles team with a new coach, new-ish quarterback, and a lot of new faces. The second is a similar-looking Falcons team with a fresh rookie class and new coaches.

With the game announced in the Week 1 slate, betting odds have already come out. Home teams are handed a three-point advantage, thanks to the home-field advantage. So if we take a look at the latest odds, we see how Vegas expects the Falcons to do in 2021.

Bettors aren’t optimistic about Atlanta yet.

Per Covers, the Falcons are 3.5 favorites at home against the Eagles. That over/under sounds low, but Week 1 is always a bit of an anomaly. Considering both teams are instituting new offenses, we could see a low-scoring game like this.

At a neutral playing site, the Falcons are only one-half a point favorites. That sure is underwhelming, however, Vegas has been right more often than not about the Falcons during the last few disappointing seasons.

At the same time, the Eagles appear to be undergoing much more transition than Atlanta. Weeks ago the Eagles refused to name a starter. Now Hurts should be it thanks to the Eagles striking out on top passers in the draft. The Falcons are returning Matt Ryan, who may or may not have Julio Jones. However, after that, both teams have questions on defense and along the offensive line.

Maybe Vegas has a point. Similar to bettors, fans certainly want to see more wins before they start getting their hopes up.