Football
Steve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” will impart his gambling wisdom on the Eagles and where the smart money is going on various pro football games each weekend this season. Maltepes is one of the nation’s hottest sports betting experts who appears weekly on national radio and has his own website, www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com].
Much is expected of the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles. Talk of a dynasty and winning consecutive Super Bowls ended last year in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, though it does not mean the Eagles will not contend as threepeat champions of the NFC East and make a deep run in the NFC playoffs.
First and foremost on everyone’s mind is winning the NFC East. What comes first for professional gamblers is putting their money where their knowledge lies.
So, in talking to Steve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” one of the country’s elite sports betting authorities and a native of the Philadelphia area, his heart still lies with the Eagles, but his money will be placed on the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East and win more than the over/under wins-loss total of 10 games, while placing his money on the under for the Eagles’ total of 10.5 wins.
“I have the under for 10.5 wins for the Eagles and Jalen Hurts under 3,250.5 yards passing, the Cowboys to the NFC East +200, and the Eagles to make the playoffs -175,” Maltepes said. “The great news for the Eagles is that the team nucleus is still one of the best in the NFL, and their offensive and defensive line projections are among the top five in the NFL. The first three weeks should go well, opening with Washington, Tennessee and ta Chicago Bears team a lot of people think will regress in 2026. They should be 3-0, and any team that starts 3-0 makes the playoffs 75-percent of the time.
“Washington and Tennessee are projected to be sub-.500 teams with win projections expected to be 7.5 and 6.5 wins, respectively. All three teams rank near the bottom of the NFL in overall defense and not much has changed. It’s why I think the Eagles makes the playoffs.”
The Eagles better count on going 3-0 to start the season, because after that, Maltepes warns, the schedule gets more difficult. They will then play the Los Angeles Rams, the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that won 13 games last year, and the Dallas Cowboys, who expected to win 10 games this season and have one of the best offenses in the NFL.
The Eagles are fortunate to be going on the road twice in their first seven games, at Tennessee in Week 2, and at Chicago in Week 3. A 5-2 record is a real possibility. It is imperative that the Eagles do get off to a good start, because the five of the Eagles’ last 10 games are against playoff-caliber teams, and twice against a very improved New York Giants team.
The Eagles are expected to win double-figure games, though the looming questions are how they will do it without their leading receiver of the last four years, A.J. Brown, and expected to do it with a first-time NFL play caller in new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Brown is responsible for 36-percent of all the Eagles’ receiving yards the last four years. The Eagles scored only 379 points last year, two points more than the 4-13 Giants.
“For the Eagles to exceed the 10,5 wins set by Vegas this year, they will have to be significantly better on offense and will be expected to be better without their leading receiver, Brown,” Maltepes said. “And they will have to be significantly better within their division, going 3-3. Even if they do go 3-3 within the division, can they win eight games among Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Houston, Seattle, Niners and the Rams? Five of those teams were division winners last year.
“It’s why I like the under is 10.5 wins. The other issue is the offensive line. Lane Johnson has spoken about retiring next year. The Eagles are very dependent on Johnson being and staying healthy. If he stays healthy, the Eagles will be okay. If he is not, the Eagles will struggle. Hurts continues to regress throwing the ball. From what we have seen, Mannion will be under a lot of pressure.”
Maltepes likes the Falcons in the NFC South, the Packers in the NFC North, the Rams in the NFC West and the Cowboys in the NFC East. He foresees the Eagles winning a playoff game and getting knocked out of the divisional round. He likes the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, Houston Texans in the AFC South, Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and Cincinnati Bengals to win the AFC North, and the Bengals to go on and win the AFC and beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. Cincinnati is projected to be the favorite in 15 to 16 games this season.
“The Bengals are a good bet at 22-to-1 to win the Super Bowl, the Chiefs will rebound and win the AFC West, and the Texans are a scary team with their defense,” Maltepes said. “Injuries are big. The three healthiest teams last year were the New England Patriots, Seahawks and Eagles, and two of those three teams wound up in the Super Bowl. I can see the Eagles going 10-7, but too many things will have to go right to win more than 10 games this season.”
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