Oakland Raiders: 5 keys to upset of Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16

The Oakland Raiders will certainly have their backs up against the wall against the Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas. Here are their five keys at an upset.

Let’s be real for a second. The Oakland Raiders are going to have a very difficult time winning their football game in Week 16. Some weeks, it’s just not in the cards, as the Raiders’ backs will be up against it this week. Oakland (6-8) will have to play the juggernaut Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) on the road Christmas night on Monday Night Football.

Philadelphia is and should be more than a touchdown favorite in this game. The Eagles may be without their star quarterback Carson Wentz the rest of the way, but this looks to be one of the few teams in football that can make it to and win Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. Oakland will be lucky if it finishes the year at .500. The Raiders’ path to the AFC playoffs is pretty much ceases to exist.

That being said, there is still a way that the Raiders can do the unthinkable and win this ball game. It will the Raiders’ best game of the season to even think about getting this one done. Basically, combine the offensive performance from Week 2 at home versus the New York Jets and the first three quarters of the second Denver Broncos’ game defensively and then some.

Outside of last week, upsets happen all the time in the NFL. The Raiders might already be eliminated from the playoffs by the time this game kicks, but here would be their five keys to pulling off a shocking upset if it is even in the cards.

Oakland needs to roll the dice at least a few times.

Though it has come back to bite the Raiders hard this year, yes, this will be the game where Oakland has to let head coach Jack Del Rio roll the dice on a few play calls. The Raiders are probably going to need to convert a few fourth downs, a fake punt and an onside kick to shock the Eagles. Let’s see them try.

To beat a team that is vastly superior to yours, you’re going to have to get creative with ways to catch them off guard. With a few of these gutsy play calls, they should be able to keep the Raiders’ offense on the field to hopefully extend some drives. Oakland just doesn’t have the defense to keep the Philadelphia offense at bay for four quarters, or really anybody for that matter.

While conservative play calling in theory would bring confidence to a team through a higher level of execution, the Raiders really have nothing left to lose at this point. Even if they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the time this game starts, wouldn’t you like to see the Raiders do something crazy on special teams to sneak one past Super Bowl contender Philadelphia?

This is one of those games that if the Raiders play tight, they have no shot. If they can play loose and with the swagger we saw out of the team last year, then they could somehow hand the Eagles their third loss of the season. The New York Giants lost by less than a touchdown to rival Philadelphia last week. Oakland beat the Giants earlier this year. It could happen.