Oakland Raiders: 5 matchups to watch vs. Washington Redskins
By John Buhler
Sunday Night Football in Week 3 of the 2017 NFL season should be a real treat, not just for fans of the Oakland Raiders or the Washington Redskins, but for fans of the NFL in general. Oakland enters play at 2-0 for the first time in 15 years. Washington is 1-1, but very much in the thick of things in the NFC East.
These two teams have huge followings and play with a similar flare. On offense, the Raiders and Redskins love to move the sticks with their Pro Bowl quarterbacks in Derek Carr and Kirk Cousins, respectively. Defensively, the best player on both teams is the stud pass rusher. That would be Khalil Mack for Oakland and Ryan Kerrigan for Washington.
Both teams play in the most competitive division in their respective conferences. Oakland knows that there are no easy wins in the AFC West. Three of the four teams in that division are 2-0. The Los Angeles Chargers are two plays away from being 2-0 in their own right. Washington won the NFC East two years ago and was a game shy of making the NFC playoffs in back-to-back seasons last year.
This is a massively important primetime game for both teams. Let’s take a look at five man-on-man matchups to play close attention to when the Redskins host the Raiders on Sunday Night Football in Week 3.
Justin Ellis vs. Spencer Long
We have to expect that the Redskins offensive line will get better in the coming weeks. Washington has had two tough matchups in the early part of the season so far with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams. While the Redskins look to be better out on the edge at tackle, they look to be exploitable along the offensive interior.
The matchup we need to focus on in the trenches between Oakland and Washington has to be the one featuring Raiders defensive tackle Justin Ellis and Washington center Spencer Long. Ellis will play at the nose during early down and obvious run situations. Long is the guy responsible for snapping the ball to Cousins under center or in the ‘gun.
Ellis will get spelled by rookie pass-rushing dynamo Eddie Vanderdoes on third down and obvious passing situations. Vanderdoes has a knack for creating penetration on the defensive interior. Long will need to play an A game to keep the Raiders’ front-seven at bay.
Should Long struggle with Ellis, Vanderdoes and company, it might force Washington head coach Jay Gruden’s hand a bit. He may have to put in promising rookie center Chase Roullier out of Wyoming in the middle of that Washington offensive line. The feeling is not if, but when Roullier will beat out Long for the starting job in Washington. Look for Ellis to take advantage of a position in flux.