NFL Week 18 Special Props: Eagles Pursue Sacks Record

The Philadelphia Eagles host the New York Giants on Sunday and while the Giants have nothing to play for with the No. 6 seed in the NFC postseason locked up, Coach Brian Daboll claims his starters will play. We shall see if that’s the case for the entirety of this NFL game.

We know the Eagles starters will play as long as necessary because Philadelphia for a third week in a row will wrap up the NFC East title and the conference’s top seed with a victory. The Eagles lost the past two chances to do so playing without injured starting QB Jalen Hurts, but he will return Sunday.

While Hurts is certainly a big part of the team’s NFC-best 13-3 record, don’t overlook the historic campaign by the defense – which doesn’t exactly have a big-name superstar like an Aaron Donald or TJ Watt or Micah Parsons.

Philadelphia leads the NFL with 68 sacks, tied with the 1985 New York Giants for the fourth-most sacks by a team in a season in league history. There are a few special props regarding Philly sacks on Sunday. Let’s break them down.

Chasing Monsters Of Midway

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Hasson Reddick (7) rushes during an NFL Football game against the Houston Texans on Thursday, November 3, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

The NFL sacks record of 72 was set by the Chicago Bears in 1984 – not by the 1985 team that is considered perhaps the greatest of all time defensively. Eagles linebacker Hasson Reddick (16 sacks), end Brandon Graham (11), end Josh Sweat (11) and tackle Javon Hargrave (11) each have at least 10 sacks, making Philadelphia the first team with four players each with at least 10 in a season since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.

That the Eagles get at least five Sunday to break that Bears record is +145 with no at -185. The Giants have allowed 47 sacks this season, behind only the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams for the most in the league.

And that’s with the very mobile Daniel Jones at QB for New York. What if he’s benched around halftime Sunday and so are most of the starters on the offensive line with the game out of hand? Again, New York has nothing to play for, and it’s vital to keep the key guys healthy for the wild-card round.

Philadelphia is given an over-under of four sacks, with the under a -140 favorite. The team also could break an NFL record with at least six sacks in a sixth straight game, but no is the -275 favorite with yes at +185. The Eagles have more sacks in their last five games (32) than they had in 17 games last season.

When the Eagles beat the Giants 48-22 in Week 14 in New Jersey, Philadelphia had four sacks of Jones and three more of backup Tyrod Taylor, who was in because the game was a rout.