Week 7 Preview: Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) at Las Vegas Raiders (4-2)

The Birds fly west to play in Las Vegas for the first time in franchise history as they take on the high flying, yet controversial Raiders. For those who are reading this and have been living under a rock, former Raiders coach Jon Gruden resigned from his head coaching duties two weeks ago. This came after Gruden sent some emails to then Washington general manager Bruce Allen in 2011 that were, uh, not suitable for work.

 

 

Despite facing a ton of inner turmoil and quick change, the Raiders were able to defeat their division foes, the Denver Broncos, rather convincingly last Sunday. They will be lead by interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, formerly the special teams coordinator, who has been a coach in the league for 38 years.

 

The Eagles are coming into Sunday’s contest trending in the opposite direction as the Raiders. They were thoroughly beaten down by Tom Brady and the Bucs last Thursday, as Tampa’s offense did pretty much whatever they wanted to do. Yes, the Birds only lost by six points, but this was one of those games where the score was a lot closer than the game actually was.

 

But hey! At least the Philly winter sports are starting up! The Flyers are off to a hot start, let’s check in on how the Sixers have been doing this week!

 

 

Oh sweet Jesus.

 

Eagles Offense vs. Raiders Defense

 

Eagles Passing Attack vs. Raiders Secondary

Jalen Hurts hasn’t been perfect. He is still extremely limited in his skill set in terms of passing the ball, and he tends to be inaccurate more often than not. However, he has shown exactly what we expected from him coming into the year: mental toughness and resolve. This offense had no business keeping up with Brady and the Bucs on Thursday, yet they did. Hurts deserves a lot of the credit for that.

 

Hurts’ mentality is the exact type that this city falls in love with. Quite frankly, this city needs someone like Hurts right now because of all the hoopla going on in Philly this week. No, it doesn’t make Hurts an elite quarterback, or even a decent quarterback, but it makes him easy to root for. Now if only Nick Sirianni could help him out, that’d be great.

 

 

The Raiders pass defense is a heck of a lot better than I anticipated they would be coming into the season. They are allowing the second fewest net yards gained per passing attempt in the league, only behind Buffalo. That stat is important to note considering the fact that they’ve allowed the eighth most completions this season.

 

In essence, the Raiders are doing Jonathan Gannon’s philosophy of keeping everything in front of the defense and not allowing many big plays, they’re just doing it a lot better. Raiders cornerback Casey Hayward Jr. is actually the top ranked corner in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. He has just 15 tackles on the year in six games, which to me says a lot.

 

If he has so few tackles, that means teams aren’t throwing his way. In turn, that means he has whoever he’s guarding locked up. This young Eagles receiving core could be in for a tough test. Therefore, look for Dallas Goedert, who was freshly activated off the COVID list, to make an impact in the passing game against Vegas’ linebackers.

 

Advantage: Raiders

 

Eagles Rushing “Attack” vs. Raiders Front 7

While Vegas’ pass defense ranks as one of the best in the league, their rush defense is quite the opposite. They are allowing 4.6 yards per carry this season, the seventh most in the league. With that being said, the Eagles have faced poor rush defenses before in the first six weeks. They’ve done nothing to take advantage.

 

So, until Sirianni starts giving lead back Miles Sanders more carries than Jalen Hurts, this run game is going to remain putrid, and the Eagles offense will suffer as a whole because of it. Sanders averaged 6.2 yards per carry on just nine attempts. He had a 23-yard run that ignited the Birds offense late in the game. As a play caller, how do you see that and not give him more of a chance? It makes no sense to me.

 

The advantage in this department is by default. On paper, the Eagles should have the advantage. However, the stats are the facts in this instance. Sanders has just 11 first half carries combined in the last four games. That’s beyond pathetic. Run the damn ball, Nick.

 

Advantage: Raiders

 

Eagles O-Line vs. Raiders D-Line

The Birds will be getting some major reinforcements this week along the offensive line. Right tackle Lane Johnson practiced on Friday morning, and should be good to go for Sunday’s game. Johnson announced this week that he had missed the past few games to focus on his mental health. Props to him for publicly sharing information he certainly didn’t have to. Eagles fans everywhere hope all is well for Johnson.

 

 

In a football sense, with Johnson’s return, Jordan Mailata will shift back to left tackle. This move should make the offensive line better as a whole, as Mailata is far more comfortable on the left side of the line. One silver lining to Johnson’s absence: Andre Dillard played well at left tackle.

 

Don’t be surprised if the Eagles try to use that as trade leverage leading up to the trade deadline on November 2nd. If nothing else, the Eagles will be far more comfortable putting Dillard back on the field if either Mailata or Johnson have to miss time in the future.

 

The Raiders defensive line is one of the deepest and best in the league. They are tied for the sixth most sacks in the league with 16. Yannick Ngakoue has been a great addition to the pass rush. Carl Nassib has been fantastic on third downs and obvious passing situations. The leader of this unit, though, has been Maxx Crosby. He has five sacks through six games, leading the team. The Birds offensive line will have their work cut out for them.

 

Slight Advantage: Raiders

 

Eagles Defense vs. Raiders Offense

 

Raiders Aerial Assault vs. Eagles Secondary

The Raiders offense has been somewhat surprising so far this season, and the passing attack is big reason why. Quarterback Derek Carr has been superb through six games, as he is currently second in the league in passing yards with 1,946. Even without Gruden a week ago, Carr still threw for over 300 yards and put up 34 points in their win in Denver a week ago.

 

The output he’s gotten from his weapons have been just as surprising. Henry Ruggs is blossoming into the big play, deep threat receiver the Raiders thought they were getting with their first round pick a year ago. Bryan Edwards has been another receiver that Vegas was silently very high on, and he’s been solid as a #2 outside receiver.

 

The important guys for the Eagles secondary to key in on, though, are tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow. Waller has been one of the top tight ends in the league over the past three years. He is a big body with incredible speed and an ability to catch just about everything. He is Carr’s security blanket and the prototypical matchup nightmare for any defense.

 

Renfrow, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Waller physically. He’s short and skinny, but he fits just about every single stereotype of the white slot receiver. Great hands, tougher than he looks, isn’t fast at all by NFL standards but still finds himself open constantly. He’s a football guy that coaches and announcers fall in love with because of plays like this.

 

 

There’s not a man in the league that feels more destined to be a New England Patriot than Hunter Renfrow.

 

The Birds top three corners, Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, and Steven Nelson, all rank in the top 25 in the league at their position, according to Pro Football Focus. As someone who has watched all six Eagles games from start to finish, this bewilders me beyond words. I simply can’t comprehend that.

 

The only games this year that felt their impact were the two games the Eagles won, against Atlanta and Carolina. Neither one of those offenses are the least bit impressive, to say the least. In the four losses, these same three players have been cooked to absolute perfection, with a resting internal temperature of 150 degrees. Cooking jokes aside, I haven’t been impressed.

 

Whether its Gannon’s philosophy on defense or these three guys just not being all that great compared to better competition is up for debate. I think it’s a little bit of both, but Gannon hasn’t done much to put these guys in successful situations. When you’re allowing 8-yard completions consistently because the ideals of the defense are, “keep everything in front of you,” the corners aren’t going to look good. Maybe it is more on Gannon than not.

 

Advantage: Raiders

 

Raiders Run Game vs. Eagles Rush Defense

The ultimate grudge match. The Raiders, who rank 29th in rushing, against the Eagles, who have allowed the fifth most rushing yards in the league. Something’s gotta give.

 

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been battling injuries all year long. Their other back, Kenyan Drake, has been far more effective in the pass game than the run game.

 

The Eagles linebackers have been a complete and utter disgrace. They might as well not even be out there, the Birds should just play with eight guys on defense. It’d probably be the same result.

 

Ultimately, I don’t expect the Raiders to run the ball all that much. The Eagles defensive line is a lot better than the Raiders offensive line. Because of that, I’ll give the Birds the advantage in this category, but it’s not because they’re better. It’s because both units are that bad.

 

Advantage: Eagles

 

My Prediction

 

Despite giving the Raiders the advantage in just about every facet of this game, I still expect this to be a close matchup. The Raiders have a winning record, yes, but something just feels fraudulent about them. Maybe it’s the fact they’re playing under an interim coach. Maybe it’s the fact that Derek Carr doesn’t intrigue me, even though he’s having a great season. Maybe it’s the fact that the Raiders haven’t been relevant since 2002.

 

Whatever it is, I’m somewhat confident from the Eagles perspective even though I know I shouldn’t be. The facts I listed above don’t lie. These two teams are on opposite sides of .500 for a reason. I just have this feeling that the Eagles are going to win this game, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.

 

On paper, Jalen Hurts shouldn’t have a good day against a Raiders secondary that has been great through six games. On paper, Derek Carr should slice through this Jonathan Gannon defense like they’re not even there. On paper, Sirianni’s tendencies tell you that he will just refuse to run the ball, even when it’s working. However, all of that is just on paper.

 

Screw it. Eagles win, 25-23. The Eagles make just enough plays and force just enough turnovers to escape Vegas with a win. The stadium will be packed with midnight green. Philly deserves this win after the week their fans have been through.

 

If I Were A Betting Man

For what it’s worth, I’m 5-0 (5-2 if you want to count the two I wasn’t so confident on) on the main plays I’ve given out in previous blogs. Now that I’ve acknowledged that, I’m sure I’ll give out nothing but losers. Eagles +2.5.

 

 

Broadcast Information

Time: 4:05 P.M. EDT

TV: FOX (Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma)

Radio: 94.1 WIP

Stream: NFL Game Pass

 

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | October 22, 2021
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