The Oakland Raiders (6-8) and Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) clash on Monday Night Football from Lincoln Financial Field to close week 16 in the NFL.
The Eagles, which were a conference favorite to make the Super Bowl until Carson Wentz got injured in week 14 against the Saint Louis Rams, can clinch home-field advantage through the playoffs with a win.
Now, most of the focus for the Eagles before the start of the playoffs is on finding out whether Nick Foles can replace Wentz’s leadership and production. He so far has passed the test as he passed for 237 yards and four touchdowns against the New York Giants.
More importantly, the Eagles are finding new ways to win as their special teams unit came alive against the Giants and is a heavy contributor lately.
The Raiders could not get a worse Christmas present this year as they are facing a tough matchup against a team that can run the ball well, is outstanding rushing the passer and is looking to take care of business as they close the regular season with back-to-back home games.
The Eagles will look to stop Oakland quarterback Derek Carr and the Raiders vertical downfield game if they want to win this match.
Carr is a passer that drops back five to seven steps to pass and that should favor the Eagles pass rush heavily because he holds on to the ball longer.
Because of this, and although the Eagles defense has struggled in the last two games allowing over 60 points, they should be able to control Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and the rest of the receivers to effectively nullify the Raiders passing attack.
For the Eagles to have success on the offensive side of the ball they don’t need Foles to put Wentz-like numbers. He just needs to execute the offense well enough to move the chains and then take advantage of the opportunities in the red zone. If he does that the Eagles will be set up for success in this game, but more importantly in the postseason.
