Eagles vs Raiders Preview, Trends and Prediction
The NFC East has become the mediocre capital of the NFL with the first place Dallas Cowboys at 4-4, the Philadelphia Eagles at 3-5 in second, the Washington Redskins at 2-5 in third and the New York Giants in last at 2-6.
This afternoon the Cowboys play the Minnesota Vikings, while the Redskins face the San Diego Chargers and the Eagles take on the Oakland Raiders.
The Eagles and Raiders, a rematch of the 1981 Super Bowl XV, features two teams struggling to get to .500. The Eagles are 3-5 SU as well as ATS. Philly is 3-1 on the road. Oakland is 3-4 SU and 4-2-1 ATS and has a record of 3-1 at home.
Oakland hopes to make a midseason push to reach the playoffs, though it will be tough if their offense does not produce in the second half of games.
The Eagles on the other hand have had a carousal of quarterbacks this season making it difficult for continuity and producing points.
Philadelphia will now hand the reins over to Nick Foles. He will have the difficult task of trying to defeat the Raiders, a team seeking its third consecutive win at home.
Although Oakland escaped last week with a 21-18 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, they continued a recent trend of beginning games strong and then relying on the defense to hold on during the second half.
Oakland took a halftime lead of 21-3 thanks in part to a touchdown run of 93 yards by quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pittsburgh outscored Oakland 15-0 during the fourth quarter, but the Raiders held on for the win.
Over its past four games, the Raiders have averaged nearly 200 yards of offense in the first half and outscored its opponents 59-20. However, in the second half, they are averaging just 91 yards of offense and have been outscored 63-10.
Pryor had done well running the ball, but his passing has been suspect. Against the Steelers, Pryor was just 10 for 19 for 88 yards, a career low. Pryor has completed nearly 53% of his throws over his past two games for one touchdown pass and five interceptions.
Oakland looks to make a push now as it enters a softer part of its schedule against Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Houston, Tennessee, Dallas and the New York Jets. The six teams are a combined 18-28.
Philadelphia is trailing Dallas by just a game, but appears to be sliding down after their loss last Sunday 15-7 versus the Giants.
Michael Vick is sidelined yet again with an injury so Foles gets another shot at starting. Foles started versus Dallas two weeks ago, but was knocked out of that game with a concussion.
Foles has started two games and appeared in five. He played exceptionally well versus Tampa throwing for 296 yards along with three touchdowns. However, against Dallas he was 11 for 29 for just 80 yards before being knocked out with the concussion.
The Raiders are favored by one point with the point total on 44.5.
Pick: Oakland 21-17
