Nov 10, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker John Abraham (55) celebrates with inside linebacker Daryl Washington (58) during the game against the Houston Texans at University of Phoenix Stadium. Arizona won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Today the Arizona Cardinals travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles who have the league`s highest rated passer in Nick Foles (128.0) and who has won their last three games. So far this year the Eagles are averaging 412.4 yards a game and Foles has thrown 16 touch downs and no interceptions. The Cardinals` defense is the best defense Foles has faced this season and he will be put to the test today.
The Eagles LeSean McCoy is the leagues leading rusher with 1,009 yards so far, but their running game has fallen off a bit these past few games and he is facing a defense that is only allowing 81.3 yards a game. Look for the Eagles to run their hurry up offense so the Cardinals defense can`t sub their players as frequent as they do. If that happens, look for the secondary to get more of a feel for the game quicker then they normally do and cause Foles` first turnover.
Either way, the Cardinals` secondary needs to play their best game this year because they a face a high-flying offense with DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Brent Celek, and Zach Ertz. If they aren`t careful, Celek and Ertz could tear them up the same way Jimmy Graham did when they played the Saints. This year the Eagles are averaging 261.7 yards passing a game and could be able to move the ball quite well even without a running game.
The Eagles are averaging 24.3 points a game while the Cardinals are allowing 19.5 a game. In the Cardinals last five games, they have scored at least 22 points because Carson Palmer is finally finding his bearings. He has shown, well at least to me, that the month of November was`nt a fluke and that he can quarterback this team.
Palmer has been hot with making his reads and finding the receiver who is open. Last week he connected to ten receivers and a big part of that has to do with the offensive line. The line is playing better as a unit like they did last season at the end of the year and are going to get to show how well they can play today.
The Eagles have a tough defense and should have all their starters back this week. Even with their starting group back, they can`t afford to overlook the Cardinals` offense. Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd,and Rob Housler all can make the catch with double coverage and if the Eagles blitz, they will leave someone one on one.
Both teams have played well as of last, but the Cardinals` running game is picking up steam while the Eagles` have been losing theirs. As long as the Cardinals` defense can keep McCoy to only 80 yards rushing and can get to Foles on the regular, they can make Foles start feeling pressure and lets see how well he does knowing he`s going to get clobbered on every passing down.
Foles is good but he`s no Andrew Luck, so as long as the Cardinals` defense can handle the Eagles` hurry up offense, this game should be good for the first three-quarters, then the Cardinals` defense should take over in the fourth and end up sealing the win.