By doctors Charlie O. Mallonee, Vasu Vaddiparty and Jordan Chapin
Atlanta Falcons
QB
If you drafted Matt Ryan, you drafted him as a number one QB. Of course, you are going to start him versus the Eagles tonight. Just don’t have too high of expectations for his production. Most of the predictions have him passing for 230 to 240 yards with up to two TD’s. Expect approximately 20 completions.
RB
Devonta Freeman was a Top 10 pick in most Fantasy Leagues, so he’s starting for you tonight. Again, do not get too excited because the projections for his production are not great. Many have Freeman rushing for under 50 yards. The experts say chances of Freeman scoring a touchdown are minimal.
WR
Yes, you are going to start Julio Jones. If you don’t start him, we are going to make you turn in your Fantasy Football membership card. Again, the projections are not great. The prediction is for 75 yards receiving with an outside chance of catching a touchdown.
Philadelphia Eagles
QB
If you have Nick Foles as your starting QB tonight, it probably means you picked Carson Wentz hoping he would be ready to go tonight. Well, you are going to have to wait at least until game three for Wentz so Foles is your man until then. He is projected for 240 yards versus the Falcons with two touchdowns.
RB
Jay Ajayi will be the main man carrying the rock for the Eagles. Look for him to run for about 80 yards in the game.
TE
Zach Ertz was a fantasy football assassin in the second half of the season last yerar. If you have him on your roster, he is a must play.
Game Projections
FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Eagles a 65-percent chance of winning tonight’s game. They make Philadelphia the favorite -4.5 points.
Photo credit: @SuperBowl2018US
By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor
OAKLAND — Similar with the Dallas Cowboys, the Oakland Raiders gear up for another unfamiliar opponent when they travel east this week to take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on Christmas night at 5:30 p.m. PT. This is Oakland’s first appearance on MNF this year, while it’s Philadelphia’s second appearance this season.
This is Oakland’s first game in Philadelphia since 2005 and their final trip east this season. The Raiders hold a 6-5 edge over the Eagles in 11 games played all-time.
Last Sunday night, the Raiders (6-7) lost a close game, 20-17, over the visiting Dallas Cowboys in prime-time on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Oakland’s defense held Dallas (8-6) to just 330 yards of total offense.
Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack penetrated Dallas’s top-ranked offensive line for two sacks on the night. With 10.5 sacks on the season, Mack is in the top-10 in the NFL in sacks and has posted a sack in five-straight games since Week 11.
Cornerback Sean Smith recorded two interceptions off Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott, matching Oakland’s season total coming into the game. Oakland has just four interceptions this season. Middle linebacker NaVorro Bowman led the defense once again with 11 solo tackles against Dallas.
Offensively, the Raiders continued to struggle scoring points Sunday. Oakland was shut out in the first half for the fourth time this season as the Cowboys took a 10-0 lead into halftime.
Starting quarterback Derek Carr threw for just 171 yards on 21-of-38 passing and two touchdowns, both to starting wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Crabtree finished with seven catches for 39 yards to go along with his two scores. WR Seth Roberts (starting for wide receiver Amari Cooper who missed his second-straight game with a left ankle injury), led Oakland with 52 receiving yards on three catches.
On the ground, Oakland rushed for 122 yards, including 76 yards from starting running back Marshawn Lynch and 47 yards from Carr.
With their playoff chances on life support, the Raiders are facing a must-win game against the team with league’s best record in the Eagles.
Philadelphia (12-2) clinched their first playoff berth since 2013 behind second-year head coach Doug Pederson. Pederson finished 7-9 in his first season at the helm of the Eagles. In last week’s 34-29 victory over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, Philadelphia also secured a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs and have the inside track on the No. 1 seed.
The Eagles lead the NFL in scoring per game (31.3), second in rushing yards per game (140.5), and third in total yards per game (386.9). Before suffering a season-ending ACL injury during Philadelphia’s 43-35 victory in Los Angeles over the Rams, second-year quarterback Carson Wentz was having an MVP-type of season throwing for a franchise-record and league-leading 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.
In 13 games this season, Wentz threw for 3,296 yards to go along with a 101.9 quarterback rating. In his rookie season, Wentz threw for 3,782 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with a 79.3 quarterback rating.
With Wentz out for the remainder of the year, the Eagles turned to sixth-year pro in backup quarterback Nick Foles. In his start last week against the Giants, Foles threw for 237 yards on 24-of-38 passing and four touchdowns. The last time Foles saw the Raiders, it was in 2013 and he destroyed the Silver and Black.
Foles tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes in Philadelphia’s 49-20 victory at Oakland on Nov. 3, 2013. Foles threw for 406 yards on 22-of-28 passing for a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 in the contest.
Oakland’s 23rd ranked passing defense must be on high alert for an Eagles squad that have three receivers who’ve registered 700-plus receiving yards: wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (781), wide receiver Nelson Agholor (722) and tight end Zach Ertz (719). The trio have combined for 25 touchdown catches this season, with Jeffery scoring a team-best nine while Ertz and Agholor each are one behind with eight scores.
Ertz leads the team with 63 receptions.
Eighth-year running back LeGarrette Blount leads the Eagles with 717 rushing yards on 159 carries (4.5 avg) and two touchdowns in is first year with Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has the sixth-ranked defense in the NFL this season. First-year Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has this unit playing top-notch football this season, forcing turnovers almost automatically. Schwartz’ defense has recorded 17 interceptions this season, good for third in the NFL. Starting cornerbacks Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson and starting safety Rodney McLeod are tied for the team lead with three interceptions apiece.
Mills has the team’s lone defensive touchdown scored this season. Defensive end Brandon Graham has a career-best 9.5 sacks this season, tied for eighth in the NFC.
Next Sunday, the Raiders will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers on a short week to close out the 2017 regular season. This will mark Oakland’s first trip to the StubHub Center.
By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon
OAKLAND — Looking to put behind that 49-20 beat down at the hands of quarterback Nick Foles, and the Philadelphia Eagles at O.co Coliseum last Sunday, the Raiders will visit MetLife Stadium for the first time when they take on the New York Giants Sunday. It’s the second straight week that the Silver and Black will face an NFC East team.
There is no question that Oakland’s (3-5) defense was embarrassed by Foles, who tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes, but they have to put that performance behind them. Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden is still trying to chase down Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper.
Even with Giants quarterback Eli Manning struggling this year throwing the ball(2,167 YDs, 10 TDs, and a league-leading 15 INTs), Oakland needs to be real careful because the younger Manning brother has a propensity to have a big when his team needs one.
With running back Darren McFadden hurt once again (boy, has that been the norm for his career in Oakland), expect backup running back Rashad Jennings to get the start Sunday.
Jennings picked up his first 100-yard rushing game since 2010 against the Eagles, racking up 102 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. The bruising running back also showed his versatility in the passing game, with 74 yards on seven catches.
New York (2-6), are coming off their bye week.
After starting the season 0-6, the Giants have won two straight games and are playing better, especially against the run.
In their last game (coincidently against Philadelphia), the Giants held the Eagles to 48 rushing yards. New York will look to stop Oakland’s ground game, particularly quarterback Terrelle Pryor by having middle linebacker Jon Beason spy on Pryor throughout the game.
The Giants know that Pryor is the key to Oakland’s offense and are going to throw everything (including the kitchen sink) at him. New York is currently ranked 28th in the league defensively, ninth against the run.
After sacking Ben Roethlisberger five times and collecting two interceptions in a 21-18 nail-biter in Oakland two weeks ago, the Raiders sacked Foles only twice, but allowed him to pick apart the defense. Outside of his seven touchdowns, Foles finished 22-of-28 for 406 yards passing and a perfect quarterback rating (158.3).
Oakland must get back to what they do best: get after the quarterback. The Raiders have sacked the opposing quarterback 23 times this year. Manning has been sacked 19 times this year.
Something has to give right? Giants are a 7.5-point favorite Sunday.
By Jeremy Kahn
OAKLAND – Terrelle Pryor set a record on the opening play from scrimmage in his last game, but Nick Foles ties a longstanding record at the end of the game.
Foles threw seven touchdowns, while 22-for-28 with 406 yards passing and seven touchdowns, as the Philadelphia Eagles simply destroyed the Oakland Raiders 49-20 before a crowd of 51,751 at the Coliseum.
“Really, listen, there’s not a whole lot you can tell them. At the end of the day, that was an old-fashioned butt-whopping. We have to move from it. We have to learn from it. We have to be better next week,” said Raiders head coach Dennis Allen.
The seven touchdowns thrown by Foles tied the record that was set by Sid Luckman, former Eagles quarterback Adrian Burk, who threw his seven touchdowns for the Eagles against the Washington Redskins in Washington on October 17, 1954, George Blanda, Joe Kapp, Y.A. Tittle and Peyton Manning, who turned the trick against the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens on September 5, 2013 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Foles found Riley Cooper three times on the afternoon, DeSean Jackson, former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz, LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek each caught one in the 29-point victory for the Eagles.
“He (Nick Foles) had an unreal game. I’m extremely proud of him. He’s a great friend of mine; a great teammate and I’m proud of him,” said Cooper.
Despite the loss, the Raiders gained a whopping 560 yards in offense, their most in a game since 1968, two years before joining the NFL and the third-most in a game since the Raiders were founded in 1960.
“It was big. It was big, and you get back on the winning side of things and everybody’s confidence is high right now. It’s a good feeling going into Green Bay next week,” said Eagles Strong Safety Nate Allen.
Pryor threw for 288 yards and gained 94 more on the ground, but they were unable to overcome the vaunted Eagles defense that was coming off a tough loss to the previously winless New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on October 27.
The third-year quarterback was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury.
“I really don’t know. We were going to go with (Matt) McGloin anyway there in the 4th quarter. I was really unaware that there was even an injury so I don’t know exactly the extent of it. Obviously we’ll take a look at it in more detail tomorrow,” said Allen.
Pryor was not the only Raiders player to be hit by injury in the game, as Darren McFadden left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury, linebacker Kaluka Maiava left the game with rib injuries and Rod Streater suffered a hip injury.
McFadden’s replacement Rashad Jennings carried the ball 15 times and gained 102 yards with a touchdown.
By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
OAKLAND — After gutting out a 21-18 home victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, the Raiders can reach the .500 mark with a win over another team from the Keystone State, when they host the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at O.co Coliseum. This will mark the fifth straight sellout for the Silver and Black this season.
The game will be seen locally on Fox KTVU Channel 2 in the Bay Area.
Terrelle Pryor took the first snap of the game and blazed past a slow and old Steelers defense for a 93-yard touchdown. Pryor’s touchdown run was the longest in NFL history by a quarterback, and broke running back Bo Jackson’s franchise record 92-yard touchdown run set in 1989.
Running back Darren McFadden played a key role in the running, racking up 73 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
But the strength of the team was the play of Oakland’s (3-4) 10th ranked defense. Oakland’s defense limited Pittsburgh (2-5) to 276 yards of total offense and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger twice and sacking the Steeler’s quarterback five times.
Philadelphia (3-5) is coming off a 15-7 home loss against NFC East rival, the New York Giants. The Eagles looked inept on offense, and was nearly shutout by the Giants if it weren’t for an Eagles’ touchdown on special teams late in the fourth quarter.
Nick Foles, who has been cleared after suffering a concussion against the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago, is expected to start for Philadelphia in place of Michael Vick. Vick left last weekend’s game with a pulled hamstring after passing for 158 yards. Third-string rookie quarterback Matt Barkley finished the game for Philadelphia.
Let’s face it, the Eagles are a bad football team that has been playing musical chairs at the quarterback position. Oakland should feed off from a strong defensive effort and raucously loud crowd against Pittsburgh, and continue that intensity against Philadelphia.
.500 mark for Oakland? Could be in the cards.
Sports Radio Service 