Patriots fans are confident in New England’s ability to beat the Eagles

Coming off their bye week, the New England Patriots will try add to their win column again and improve to 9-1 on the season. Standing in their way is the team that spoiled their title defense in Super Bowl 52: the Philadelphia Eagles, who are trying to get to 6-4 on the year and keep up in the race for a playoff spot in the NFC. Needless to say that a lot is riding on the game for both teams, but New England’s followers appear to be quite confident in their team’s ability to win.

According to SB Nation’s latest FanPulse survey, 95.8% of the participating Patriots fans think that the team will leave Philadelphia with a win with only 4.2% thinking that a loss will be on the menu later today. The numbers are somewhat surprising considering that New England is coming off its worst game of the season — a 37-20 defeat against the Baltimore Ravens — and going up against a formidable opponent on the road.

There is reason for optimism from the Patriots’ perspective, however, with three points in particular standing out:

1.) The team is coming off its bye week and is among the NFL’s best with two weeks to prepare.

2.) First-round rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry could return to the offense and potentially provide a boost.

3.) Philadelphia will miss two of its most potent offensive weapons because of injury: wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and running back Jordan Howard.

Add this to the fact that New England still fields a very talented team on both sides of the ball and you can see why fans feel good about the team’s chances to beat the Eagles for the first time since the 2011 season — a point of view shared by the oddsmakers: after opening the week as 3.5-point favorites, the Patriots are currently listed at -4.5 heading into the game. The Eagles will naturally be a tough challenge, but there are positive feelings surrounding New England.

If you too are interested in participating in our FanPulse survey, please click here!