NFC East-leading Eagles host Gannon, Cardinals
ARIZONA (3-12) at PHILADELPHIA (11-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox
OPENING LINE: Eagles by 10 1/2, per FanDuel Sportsbook
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Arizona 7-8; Philadelphia 8-6-1
SERIES RECORD: Cardinals lead 59-56-5.
LAST MEETING: Eagles beat Cardinals 20-17 on Oct. 9, 2022, at Arizona.
LAST WEEK: Cardinals lost to Bears 27-16; Eagles beat Giants 33-25.
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (9), PASS (29), SCORING (27)
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (32), PASS (12), SCORING (31)
EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (6), PASS (14), SCORING (7)
EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (8), PASS (27), SCORING (25)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Cardinals minus-1; Eagles minus-7
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB James Conner. Less than a month removed from a 105-yard, two touchdown game, Conner is facing the Eagles who just allowed 80 yards to Saquon Barkley. Conner is also due to bounce back after rushing for just 45 yards against Chicago.
EAGLES PLAYER TO WATCH: WR A.J. Brown caught six passes for 80 yards in the win over the Giants, but appeared visibly frustrated throughout the game and then refused to speak to reporters afterward. Brown ranks fifth in the NFL with 101 receptions and third with 1,394 receiving yards, but something appears off and speculation of what exactly is wrong persists in Philadelphia.
KEY MATCHUP: Kyler Murray vs. Jalen Hurts. The two high-profile QBs have had a similar path to the NFL and are dual threats throwing and running the ball. Murray is 2-4 in six games since returning in November from an ACL tear in his right knee that sidelined him for roughly 11 months and passed for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Bears. Hurts tied Randall Cunningham’s franchise record last week in accounting for 35 combined touchdowns and is coming off throwing for 301 yards and a TD against New York.
KEY INJURIES: Jonathan Ledbetter (knee) is out for the season, as all four of the Cardinals’ top DL are now on injured reserve. … Murray (illness) did not practice on Wednesday but is expected to play. WR Marquise Brown (heel) has missed the past two games and did not practice Wednesday. … CB Bobby Price (quadriceps) and DL Leki Fotu (hand) can be activated from injured reserve as early as Sunday. Eagles G Landon Dickerson (thumb) was a full participant at Wednesday’s walkthrough after missing Monday’s game following reported surgery. … CB Avonte Maddox (pectoral muscle) also was a full participant and could play for the first time since Week 2. … CB Darius Slay, who has missed the past two games recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, could be out again. … LB Zach Cunningham (knee) has missed the past two games and LB Nicholas Morrow (abdomen) was out against the Giants.
SERIES NOTES: The Cardinals’ 58 regular-season victories against Philadelphia are their most against any team. … The series began with a 12-3 Cardinals win Nov. 10, 1935, in front of 6,000 fans at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
STATS AND STUFF: Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons, helping Philadelphia set a franchise record with an NFL-leading 70 sacks in 2022 with the league’s second-ranked pass defense. Arizona defensive coordinator Nick Rallis was Gannon’s linebackers coach during that time. … Rookie WR Michael Wilson, who has been hampered by a shoulder injury, has zero catches on seven targets in his past two games. … TE Trey McBride has set a franchise record for catches in a season with 72. … Conner has rushed 183 times for 782 yards and seven TDs this season. … S Budda Baker has a team-leading 111 tackles. … The Cardinals have allowed the second-most touchdowns with 48. … Blake Gillikin’s 77-yard punt against the Bears was the franchise’s longest in 45 years. … Philadelphia is tied with San Francisco and Detroit for the best record in the NFC. The Eagles can finish anywhere from the first seed with a first-round bye to fifth in a wild-card spot. They can clinch a second consecutive division title with a win and a Dallas loss. They would be the first back-to-back NFC East winner since 2004, when they won the last of four in a row. … RBs D’Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell combined to rush for 133 yards against the Giants and could get major carries against the Cardinals. … Hurts’ threw a pick-6 last week and his 13 interceptions are fourth most in the NFL.
FANTASY TIP: Having either team’s kicker likely will be a fantasy boost this week. Arizona’s Matt Prater hit a 55-yarder against the Bears last week, making him 9 of 11 on field goals of 50-plus yards this season. Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott this season has made seven field goals from 50 yards or longer, including from 61, and is 28 of 30.
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