The Philadelphia Eagles are looking to snap their three-game losing streak by beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
In order to preview this Week 15 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Silver And Black Pride. The magnificent Matt Holder kindly took the time took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers.
1 – Do you think Kenny Pickett starting could be an upgrade on Geno Smith at this point? Why or why not?
It can’t get much worse!
Geno has been pretty awful this season. He’s been playing more like a rookie quarterback, holding onto the ball too long and taking too many sacks, and forcing throws that lead to turnovers. While those were a few of his biggest issues in the past, the Raiders haven’t been getting the high-level throws from that helped Smith overcome those flaws with the Seahawks.
When Geno went down last week against the Broncos, Pickett got his first meaningful snaps in Las Vegas and led two scoring drives. Granted, those were in garbage time, but he showed better pocket mobility than Smith to help overcome some of the offensive line issues and was more decisive with the football. I’m not holding out much hope, but the former Eagle may be the best quarterback on the Raiders’ roster right now.
2 – What’s the biggest matchup working in the Raiders’ favor in this game?
If Lane Johnson doesn’t return, then I’d say Maxx Crosby against Fred Johnson. Crosby hasn’t been as dominant as a pass-rusher this season, primarily because opponents divert all of their attention to him since the Raiders don’t have another noteworthy defensive lineman. But he still has nine sacks and has been a force against the run, already logging a career-high 25 tackles for loss.
If Johnson is back in the lineup, then I’ll go with the Raiders’ other notable player, Brock Bowers. I don’t know if there’s a specific one-on-one matchup to highlight because each team seems to play Bowers differently. Some defenses will treat Bowers like a No. 1 receiver and put their top cornerback on him, while others go the more traditional route of slowing down a tight end. Either way, he’s hard to stop when the Raiders have someone who can get the ball to him. The latter has been a big problem this season, though…
3 – What’s the biggest matchup working in the Eagles’ favor in this game?
Even if Jalen Carter misses another game, it’s the Eagles’ defensive line against the Raiders’ offensive line. Las Vegas has been one of the worst teams in the trenches this season, while Philadelphia has a deep front four. Jordan Davis, Jaelan Phillips, Nolan Smith and the rest of the crew should have a field day on Sunday.
One o-lineman whom I am curious to see how he performs is rookie third-round pick Caleb Rogers. The guard made his regular-season debut a couple of weeks ago and has been good so far. This week is a different test, though.
4 – If you could steal one player from the Eagles’ roster to add to the Raiders, who would you pick and why?
This is going to be kind of funny because the Raiders had a chance to draft him, but went with Tyree Wilson instead: Jalen Carter.
As referenced above, Las Vegas’ defensive line needs someone to take the pressure and attention away from Crosby. That was supposed to be Christian Wilkins before that situation went completely haywire at the beginning of training camp, and Carter is one of the best interior pass-rushers in the game. I think if his incident at Georgia had not been similar to and just a few months after Henry Ruggs III’s incident, the Raiders would have drafted Carter.
5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 11.5-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction?
I think the Eagles win, but I like the Raiders to cover the spread. Philadelphia should be able to dominate both sides of the trenches, as this could be an opportunity to help get Saquon Barkley going and get the running game right heading into the playoffs. However, the Eagles’ offense also has problems with the passing attack, so Las Vegas could keep this one close. Plus, Pete Carroll proved last week he pays attention to the spread, angering the gambling community by kicking a meaningless field goal to get the cover.
I’ll go 20-13 Eagles for my score prediction.
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