The Arizona Cardinals vs Philadelphia Eagles game my not be as close as on paper.
This week there is a battle of the 5-1 birds. The Philadelphia Eagles travel to University of Phoenix Stadium to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles are coming off a bye week and with the travel, I for one am curious if this messes with their on-field chemistry. The Eagles offense isn’t as good as their record shows. They may be third in points scored, but if it wasn’t for the defense and special teams, they`d be ranked 18th.
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Nick Foles is 141 for 237 with 1,628 yards. His completion percent is 59.5 and has a QB rating of 82.0 with ten touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Those are good, but once Foles enters the red zone, his numbers drop tremendously. The Eagles offense has entered the red zone 20 times and have left with only eight touchdowns. Within the 20 yard line, Foles completions drop to 45.7 percent and the QB rating drop to 69.4 with two interceptions.
The Eagles running game isn’t all that different. Darren Sproles, who is questionable with a knee is averaging 6.6 yards a carry with three touchdowns. LeSean McCoy hasn’t done all that much until the Giants game were his rushing average got bumped up to 3.6 yards a carry. If Sproles doesn’t play then the Cardinals only have to worry about McCoy, who is averaging only 1.3 yards in the red zone. With the lack of production, the Eagles red zone scoring is only 40 percent.
Even if the Cardinals defense plays their A game all four quarters, which is a must, Philly will move the ball down the field. Among the receiving corp is Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Brent Celek, and Zach Ertz. Along with them are Jordan Matthews, Jeff Maehl, and James Casey who haven`t been used much, but can make big plays. As long as the Cardinals defense can limit the long plays, they have a shot at keeping the score low.
While the Eagles are averaging 378.3 yards a game. 262.3 passing and 116 rushing, they convert only 41 percent of their third downs. If the Cardinals defense are going to keep the points down, this is where they need to do it.
The Eagles front seven are the heart and soul of the defense. They’ve been doing a good job at getting sacks and forcing fumbles. While they are putting pressure on the opposing quarterbacks, they allow 124.3 rushing yards. This is a good game to see how far Stepfan Taylor has come.
With the Eagles secondary, they`re going to struggle against the Cardinals receivers, as along as the offense line holds up. This unit is allowing 256.5 yards a game and you can bet the Cardinals will take advantage of that. Carson Palmer is doing a good job at putting the ball where the receiver will be. Even though the Eagles have Bradley Fletcher and Malcolm Jenkins, there are holes in this secondary.
From what I see with Todd Bowles scheme, he likes to plays hard in the first. Strong in the second and take it easy in the third so everyone is still fresh for the forth. So if it comes down to it, he can drop the hammer and come up with a stop or turnover.
So even if this game comes down to the last minutes in the forth. Look for the Cardinals to take the lead and the defense to make the plays to end it. This game can go either way, but I give the edge to the home team. Plus a little bit of pay back for last year.