Oakland Raiders: 5 players to watch vs. New York Giants
By John Buhler
While the Raiders’ strength offensively lies in the trenches, the same sort of dominance can be said for the guys on the Giants’ defensive line. The best guy on the Oakland front-five this season has been Rodney Hudson. Though he has cooled off a bit, he has been a top-tier center the entire season.
Hudson will have more than his hands full on Sunday, as the Giants have elite players on the defensive line at most positions. The guy he will be matched up with will be nose tackle extraordinaire Damon Harrison. Even though the Giants have fallen on hard times, Harrison continues to be one of the very best at what he does.
It will be a challenge for Hudson to contain Harrison when the Raiders try to run the football, but he has left guard Kelechi Osemele among others to keep Snacks in check. Hudson and company will also have to keep tabs on other great New York defensive linemen like Olivier Vernon, Dalvin Tomlinson and Jason Pierre-Paul.
If Hudson plays at a Pro Bowl level, then the Raiders will have the ability to use a balance offensive attack like they did against Denver en route to a big sixth victory on the year. It all starts in the trenches, folks. Here’s to Hudson playing his best game of the season!