3 things to watch in Arizona Cardinals week 15 matchup
By Sion Fawkes
Dealing with the pass rush
The Cardinals have a great pass rush. The Eagles have a better pass rush. How good is the Eagles pass rush? They blitz just 22.2 percent of the time and they have 43 sacks. Compare that to the Steelers, who despite 45 sacks blitz 42.1 percent of the time.
That should tell you a thing or two about how talented the Eagles are at getting to the quarterback. And while Kyler Murray can escape the blitz, he often has had a tough time dealing with it in recent weeks. Especially when opponents close his favorite running lanes.
You saw it on display for a month and while the Giants couldn’t stop Murray from running the ball, you still saw him run out of real estate too often when he bolted for the sidelines. Murray has two options when he faces off with arguably the best pass rush in football: Either get rid of the ball quicker or take off before the defense can close those running lanes.
If Murray continues to hesitate or buys time with a rollout, the Eagles will put an end to the charade quick. Fortunately, there’s one major flaw in the Eagles defense Murray and the offense can exploit.