Oakland Raiders - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Derek Carr or Nick Foles?

by Mike Rose

12/22/17

NFL

Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr

A matchup of two playoff-caliber teams is set to occur at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday Night Football when the NFC-best Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Oakland Raiders into town for the first meeting between these two franchises in four years.

While Philly is the current No. 1 seed in the NFC, Oakland has struggled this year and is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

The two players that will be on display in this matchup are quarterbacks Derek Carr of the Raiders and Nick Foles of the Eagles. Foles had a great week in place of injured Carson Wentz last week, while Carr literally came up a yard short of leading his team to victory over the Cowboys.

Fantasy Matchup: Derek Carr (15.0 PFP) vs. Nick Foles (10.0 PFP)

Carr has averaged 14.98 Dober Fantasy Points per game as the No. 18 quarterback in fantasy and enters this matchup with Foles as a five-point favorite. In Week 15, Carr tied for his third-lowest output of the year with only 171 yards. Now he’ll get to face a Philly defense that ranks No. 13 against quarterbacks in fantasy and No. 3 in the NFL in interceptions with 17. Philly’s defense has also allowed the sixth-fewest yards per dropback this season.

For the season, Carr has thrown for 3,113 yards and 20 touchdowns with a 63 percent completion mark. He’s played to a 100-plus passer rating an impressive five times. Despite becoming just the ninth quarterback in history to throw 100-plus touchdown passes in his first 60 games, he wasn’t good against Dallas as he had a season-high seven passes defended and just 4.5 yards per attempt. Carr has led an Oakland offense that ranks No. 16 in the NFL with 233.1 passing yards per game and No. 22 in points per contest (20.1).

Two of Carr’s best yardage outputs have come on the road against the Bills and Dolphins with 313 and 300 yards, respectively. Those were his second and third-best games of the year. Buffalo actually ranks No. 3 in fantasy against quarterbacks while Miami is No. 18. Because he had success against the Bills, it gives him some hope. But I still am not a fan of this matchup for Carr.

Meanwhile, after passing for four touchdowns and 237 yards in a win, Foles picked up right where Wentz left off. He’ll now get to face an Oakland defense that only has four interceptions on the season. The Raiders are also ranked No. 20 against fantasy quarterbacks as they’ve allowed 238.6 passing yards per game (No. 23 in the league).

However, Dober players will need to watch the Vikings game, because if Minnesota loses then Philadelphia would clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. If that were to occur, the Eagles would be inclined to sit Foles and let him rest.

If you’re looking to start a quarterback for your Dober Play Cards in Week 16, Foles could be an excellent option—but only if the Vikings were to win. If they lose, you want to stay away from him. I’d also stay away from Carr as he’s just not been up to par this season and is coming off a really bad game and could have a repeat performance against a stout Philly defense.

So, for me, this battle is a toss-up. Pay attention to matchups as the playoff picture unfolds. But, for now, I’m going with Foles. And you should, too.

Week 16 Fantasy Projection: Nick Foles (+5) vs. Derek Carr