Week 7 Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off of a long rest to take on the Las Vegas Raiders in Sin City, this weekend.

The Raiders will be playing their second game after the resignation of head coach Jon Gruden. His absence seemingly did not have a large impact on the Raiders last week, as they handled the Denver Broncos with ease.

Although this game kicks off what many to believe one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL, the Eagles have a lot of areas to address heading into this one.

The Raiders are a balanced team. Last week the defense generated four takeaways while the offense posted 34 points. It is hard to pinpoint their biggest strengths or weaknesses, which could be a good thing if you do not agree with Nick Sirianni’s game planning so far this season.

The Eagles need to focus less on the opponent and more so on themselves in this one. Particularly, avoiding another slow start. The birds have scored just four offensive touchdowns in the first half this season. They need to find a way to avoid playing from behind yet again.

Defensively, Philly needs to be better on third down. They currently rank 30th in third down stops, allowing the opposition to convert on 46.2% of tries.

The Eagles should look to slow this game down. They’ve had to play three top five offenses in terms of points per game (Dallas, KC, TB). The Raiders offense is not quite as powerful or consistent, averaging 24.5 ppg. They have scored over 30 points on three occasions but also under 20 on two others.

I am hoping the Eagles do what I’ve been asking of them all season, run the ball and control time of possession. Unfortunately, I am losing hope of that ever happening.

I think I’d the Eagles can keep the Raiders close to 20 points they will win. Having a few extra days to prepare, I think they get it done 23-20.