The Eagles have tabbed Nick Foles as the starter for this weekend’s game against the Raiders; Jerry Jones claims Dion Sanders could have covered Calvin Johnson on Sunday; Hakeem Nicks stays in Big Blue, but for how long? The Washington Redskins are still using a racial slur as their team name. All this and more in the Week 9 roundup!
Sarcastic fake-news bulletins aside, Week 9 is a meaningful one for teams in the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys have a soft match-up at home, and have a chance to cement their lead over a putrid division. The Washington Redskins return to the nation’s capital from their man-handling at Mile-High to face Philip Rivers and a Chargers team coming off of a bye. In the black hole, the Philadelphia Eagles will battle Terrelle Pryor in the house that Al Davis built; while trying to right what is seemingly a sinking ship. The New York Giants are on a bye, but at least they won’t lose another game! With just two victories separating the most mediocre division in football, this playoff race could go on for quite a while.
Minnesota Vikings(1-6) @ Dallas Cowboys(4-4)
This Vikings team is a far cry from the version that won a wild-card berth a season ago by beating their rival, the Green Bay Packers. Now five games below .500 and in last place in the NFC North, hope for a turnaround is fading quickly in the land of 1,000 lakes. If Monte Kiffin is as good as advertised, the Cowboys will use a defensive formula proven to beat a hapless, one-dimensional, Vikings team. By stacking the box with eight men against Adrian Peterson and forcing either Christian Ponder or Josh Freeman to beat the team’s secondary, Kiffin would almost ensure a dominating performance by the league’s last-ranked passing defense. That being said Dallas’ safeties, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox have been sub-par at best. Match the poor safety play with ineptitude in coverage by outside linebackers Bruce Carter and Justin Durant , and you have your recipe for a secondary that makes the Washington Redskins’ defense look like the Legion of Boom.
Luckily for the Cowboys, even if their atrocious excuse for a defense allows Freeman/Ponder to go buck-wild, Romo’s offense appears to be as good as ever. When Dez Bryant isn’t screaming at his teammates or beating up his mother, he actually is an elite NFL wide receiver. Match Bryant’s athleticism with the speed and size combination possessed by Terrance Williams , Cole Beasley ‘s slot potential, and Jason Witten ‘s all-around ability, this is the most talented receiving corps Romo has ever had at his disposal. Facing a Vikings’ team giving up 287.9 yards per game through the air, Romo and company should have quite the easy go of it under the roof of Dallas Stadium.
Prediction: Cowboys 27 Vikings 13
Until the Ponder/Freeman dilemma sorts itself out, I put little stock in a stagnant Vikings offense that places 20th in points scored. The Cowboys will use their mismatches at wide receiver to overcome the cornerback trifecta of Chris Cook , Xavier Rhodes , and Josh Robinson by utilizing Witten, Bryant, and the 6’2” Williams. Should Kiffin’s defense stop Peterson, Minnesota will have little hope for victory against the best the NFC East has to offer.
San Diego Chargers(4-3) @ Washington Redskins(2-5)
Let’s take a trip back to April’s draft. The San Diego Chargers were on the clock in the third round with pick number 76. Numerous experts had placed high praise on a wide receiver from California, but questions remained regarding the wide out’s health after he suffered a posterior cruciate ligament sprain during the 2012 collegiate season. Keenan Allen was a superb value-pick in the third round for San Diego, and has quickly become a top-25 wide receiver in the NFL. In his first six games, Allen has recorded 26 receptions for 399 yards and two touchdowns while rejuvenating the previously-stagnant Chargers offense. Allen’s success is making the entire offense better; not only is Rivers having a career year with 2,132 yards passing and 15 touchdowns matched by just five interceptions, Allen’s presence has taken the focus of the defense off of Antonio Gates as well. Rivers has two major targets in the passing game, which has gone a long way to opening up the rushing lanes for Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead . This Chargers team is no joke, and its offense should have its way with a porous Washington Redskins secondary.
Make no mistake, this is the end all be all game of the Redskins season. Just two and a half games out of first place, Washington must make a run now if they hope to repeat last season’s success. It has been a tale of two quarterbacks in terms of Robert Griffin III ‘s play so far in 2013. While the former Baylor Bear came into the season nursing what could have been a career ending injury, Griffin III has done nothing but assure fans and media alike that he is near 100%. Unfortunately for fans of the NFL’s most insensitive franchise, the team is 2-5, and its quarterback is struggling mightily with just 9 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions on the season. Griffin III is approaching Eli Manning ‘s ratio of touchdown to turnover, and has not produced much elsewhere. If Griffin III cannot make up for the Redskins’ sorry excuse for a defense, it will be another lazy Sunday in the nation’s capital.
Prediction: Chargers 28 Redskins 27
With San Diego’s new-found balance on offense up against one of the league’s worst defensive units, the Chargers’ trip eastward should be a fortuitous one. The league’s sixth ranked passing offense goes up against a unit ranked 28th in pass coverage; you do the math, the Chargers will win in D.C.
Philadelphia Eagles(3-5) @ Oakland Raiders(3-4)
The good news for Eagles fans is the Nick Foles has been cleared to start against the Oakland Raiders Sunday afternoon by the bay. The bad news for said fans is that Foles will play against the Oakland Raiders. Oh how the times have changed in Philadelphia, before the team’s October 20th date with the Dallas Cowboys, Foles was slated to be the next big thing in the city of brotherly love. Fast forward two weeks, and Foles is the GOAT, and not in the Peyton Manning sense. After leading the offense into futility against the Cowboys, Foles suffered a concussion and set the stage for Matt Barkley. Barkley entered the game to cheers from the crowd, and promptly threw three interceptions. The former Trojan struggled last week against the Giants as well, and the team did not score a single offensive point.
Not entering the black hole for the Eagles is Isaac Sopoaga who was traded to New England prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline; in return Philadelphia received a fifth round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft. Look for Billy Davis to utilize more of his plethora of capable defensive tackles as Vinny Curry Fletcher Cox Bennie Logan and Cedric Thornton all have tremendous talent. The major weakness on the Eagles’ defense lies in the secondary, as big-money free agent signee Cary Williams has not produced thus far into 2013.
Prediction: Eagles 21 Raiders 17
Don’t count out Darren McFadden as part of an underrated Raiders’ offense that can effectively decimate teams on the ground. Ranked fifth in the NFL with an average of 138.9 rushing yards per game, the Eagles will have their hands full with this year’s Griffin III-Morris. Luckily for the Eagles, Pryor’s skills on the ground pale in comparison to his lackluster throwing ability; the Raiders are ranked 32nd in the league with a meager 176 yards per contest. The Eagles will eke out a tough win on the road, and get back in the hunt for the crown of the NFL’s worst division.