With Carson Wentz still not cleared for contact, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles will start for the Eagles when they host the Falcons on Thursday in the 2018 NFL Kickoff. Wentz tore his ACL late last season, and Foles emerged as Philly's playoff hero. In three postseason games, Foles completed 73 percent of his throws for 971 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. Kickoff from Lincoln Financial Field is at 8:20 p.m. ET and after the line opened at Eagles -4, it's now a pick'em. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 44.5. Before you make any Falcons vs. Eagles picks, you need to hear what SportsLine's Mike Tierney has to say.

Tierney is a national sportswriter who has covered seven Super Bowls and he has an extreme gift for picking over-unders. In the 2017 playoffs, Tierney told readers to go under 48.5 in Falcons-Rams. The result: Atlanta won 26-13 and the under hit by nearly 10 points.

And that wasn't some lucky guess. Tierney has been crushing the books on these picks for two-plus years now, going an astonishing 52-30 on NFL over-under picks since the beginning of the 2016 season, a cash rate of over 63 percent. Those who have followed his picks since then have seen massive returns.

Now, Tierney has analyzed every matchup, every trend and every angle for the 2018 NFL Kickoff between the Falcons and Eagles and locked in his over-under pick. He's sharing it only over at SportsLine.

Tierney knows the Eagles and Falcons both finished in the Top 8 in total offense last year, with Philly ranking third in points scored (28.6 per game). There is no shortage of playmakers on either side, with Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, Zach Ertz and Jay Ajayi all capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Atlanta even drafted wide receiver Calvin Ridley at No. 26 overall, further bolstering its firepower.

Many believe Matt Ryan is poised for a bounceback year after throwing just 20 TDs last season, down from 38 in 2016. It's his second year under coordinator Steve Sarkisian, and Ryan will play behind a much-improved offensive line. Ryan closed out the regular season with yardage totals of 288 and 317. Freeman and Tevin Coleman had eight touchdowns apiece last season. 

But just because both teams are gifted offensively doesn't mean Falcons-Eagles will go over 44.5 points.

Their January playoff game turned into a defensive struggle, and the under is on a 9-3-1 run in the past 13 meetings. Philly's first-team offense looked woeful in the preseason, especially in a 5-0 loss at Cleveland in the dress-rehearsal game where Foles was intercepted twice. With top wideout Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) sitting out Thursday, Philly might rely on its defense and ground game.

Tierney has evaluated all of these circumstances and knows there's a huge x-factor that ultimately determines whether Falcons-Eagles goes over or under. And he's sharing it over at SportsLine.

So which side of the total should you back in Falcons-Eagles on Thursday night? Visit SportsLine now to see what big x-factor sends Falcons-Eagles over or under, all from the seasoned expert who is an astonishing 52-30 picking NFL totals since the start of the 2016 season.