5 things to watch when Raiders face Eagles on ‘Monday Night Football’
The Raiders can relate to what the Eagles went through after quarterback Carson Wentz was lost for the season because of an in-game injury.
Nick Foles will be the starting quarterback for the Eagles (12-2) when they host the Raiders (6-8) on “Monday Night Football.”
Wentz was an MVP candidate before tearing his ACL on a run to the end zone against the Rams in Week 14.
A year ago Sunday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who was playing at an MVP level, broke his fibula against the Colts and was out for the season. The Raiders were forced to go into the postseason with Connor Cook, who had a dreadful performance versus the Texans in the wild-card round to end Oakland’s season.
The Eagles have punched their ticket to the postseason and clinched a first-round bye in the NFC last week. Here are five things to know about them:
1. There was a sense the Raiders were doomed once Carr went down last season. He put the team on his back and led the Raiders to a handful of comebacks in 2016. That’s not the case with the Eagles. Yes, Wentz is a big part of the offense, but the Eagles have plenty of weapons to assist Foles, who has one playoff game under his belt. He threw four touchdowns to four receivers in a 34-29 victory and completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 237 yards and no interceptions. Things will get harder for Foles come January, but for now he can build chemistry with his teammates against a poor Raiders secondary.
2. Foles doesn’t have to be perfect when throwing to wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor. They made acrobatic catches on their touchdowns versus the Giants. Foles also can lean on Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz, who has 63 receptions for 719 yards and eight touchdowns. Jeffrey and Agholor have combined for 17 touchdowns this season.
3. If that wasn’t enough help for Foles, he has three adequate running backs to hand the ball to. The committee of LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement is averaging 140.5 rushing yards per game, second best in the league. Ajayi, who was traded the week he was supposed to face the Raiders with the Dolphins, is slowly becoming the lead back in Philly. He has led the team in carries the past two games. Eagles running backs have the luxury of running behind an offensive line that features Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson.
4. The Eagles’ stout defense has struggled in the past two weeks. It was torched by the Rams for 35 points and carved up by Eli Manning and the Giants for 29 points a week later. The Eagles allowed the lowly Giants without Odell Beckham to score touchdowns on their first three drives, and Manning finished with 434 passing yards. The Eagles have plenty of talent to bounce back, especially on the defensive line, which features Pro Bowl tackle Fletcher Cox and end Brandon Graham.
5. Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby took a lot of heat for the team’s poor performance versus the Giants. He will need to bounce back against Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The Eagles’ defensive leader is Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins.
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Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.
