National Football League

NFL odds: Eagles-Cowboys lines, MVP odds on the move due to Jalen Hurts injury

Updated Mar. 15, 2023 2:37 p.m. ET

Want to know a good way to find out just how valuable your favorite quarterback is? See what happens to the point spread when injury news gets reported.

The NFL Week 16 odds board got a shaking up Monday afternoon for arguably the biggest game: Saturday’s Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys showdown at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App.

FOX Sports NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano reported that Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts has a sprained shoulder. With his status uncertain for Saturday, the Eagles-Cowboys line saw a big move, as did the NFL MVP odds market.

Let's jump into the injury news from a betting perspective.

RELATED: Jalen Hurts injury news

Growing underdog

Philadelphia improved to 13-1 on the season with its 25-20 win over Chicago, while Dallas dipped to 10-4 after its surprising 40-34 overtime loss to Jacksonville. Still, oddsmakers opened the Cowboys as a short favorite for the Christmas Eve showdown at Jerry’s World, with Dallas a consensus -1.5.

However, even before the Hurts news broke, the Cowboys line had advanced to -3 at WynnBet, perhaps anticipating the issue. Once Hurts’ questionable status was confirmed, the line shot to Cowboys -6.5, After about an hour, Dallas inched down a notch to -6 (current odds are -4.5 at FOX Bet).

"This line move was set with the expectation backup QB Gardner Minshew is taking the field for the Eagles on Sunday," FOX Bet sports trader AndiRose Buccola said.

Eagles at Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX)

Point spread: Cowboys -4 (Cowboys favored to win by more than 4 points, otherwise Eagles cover)
Moneyline: Cowboys -213 favorites to win (bet $10 to win $14.69 total); Eagles +160 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $26 total)
Total scoring Over/Under: 47.5 points scored by both teams combined

"Having a guy like Hurts out is going to catch our attention quickly," WynnBet senior trader Motoi Pearson said. "Even with Minshew to back him up, he’s still worth a decent amount to the line. Not to mention the significant drop in the total."

Indeed, the Eagles-Cowboys total opened at 51 and peaked at 51.5 early Monday afternoon at WynnBet. From mid-afternoon on, it steadily dropped before finally stabilizing at 47 (47.5 at FOX Bet).

"We’re looking at this thing through a whole new lens," Pearson said.

WynnBet indicated that some bettors got in just ahead of the Hurts news, wagering on more favorable Cowboys numbers (-3/-4).

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MVP odds flip

It wasn’t just this week’s game that got an adjustment. So, too, did the NFL MVP odds. Prior to the Hurts injury news, he was the favorite to win the award at FOX Bet.

The Eagles QB was also the -145 favorite at PointsBet USA, with Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes not far behind at +130.

After the news broke, Mahomes jumped to the -200 favorite, and Hurts slid back to +200. And the odds movement didn’t stop there.

"We originally shifted to Mahomes -200, but that’s now all the way out to -300," PointsBet sports analyst Mike Korn said, noting Hurts is now +400. "Hurts is a bigger liability for us than Mahomes."

In amended odds to win NFL MVP, Hurts now sits much closer to Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (+600) and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow (+700) than the Eagles QB does to new favorite Mahomes.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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