Oakland Raiders: 5 players to watch versus New England Patriots

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OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 15: Reggie Nelson No. 27, Dexter McDonald No. 23 and TJ Carrie No. 38 of the Oakland Raiders react after a play against the Los Angeles Chargers during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 15, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Don Feria/Getty Images) /

player. 28. . Cornerback. Ohio Bobcats. T.J. Carrie. 1

One player that has actually had himself a good season in the Raiders’ secondary has been slot cornerback T.J. Carrie. Playing in a contract year, he is proving to the rest of the league just how valuable he is in pass defense between the hash marks.

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Normally, this would be a very rough game for Carrie. He would have to contain arguably the best slot receiver in football in Julian Edelman.

However, Edelman is out for the year due to injury. That being said, New England does have another solid slot receiver in Danny Amendola.

If Carrie can play up to his ability on Sunday and keep Amendola under wraps, the Raiders might stand a chance to slow down the Patriots’ passing game. Then again, probably not, as Tom Brady will fleece the back-end of the Raiders’ defense outside the numbers.

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To have any hope of slowing down the Patriots’ offense, Oakland will need to stop the running game and have Carrie play a career day covering Amendola. Those two things happening aren’t out of the realm of possibility. Should Amendola get the best of Carrie, Oakland has no chance of keeping New England out of the end zone.

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