The Arizona Cardinals travel to Lincoln Financial Field to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. The Cardinals have won seven straight games, and head coach Bruce Arians will look for his team to succeed in a crucial conference matchup against Philadelphia. The Eagles are tied for first place in a weak NFC East at 6-7 and are looking to get a significant win over one of the best teams in the conference on Sunday night.
The Eagles have won two straight, and quarterback Sam Bradford has stepped up his play since returning from injury. The Eagles starting quarterback has thrown for 367 yards with three touchdowns to one interception in the past two games, and he has been a key player in their success on the field.
The Eagles have a plethora of running backs they will feature on Sunday night, as DeMarco Murray, Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews are all likely to see carries against the Cardinals defense. Expect head coach Chip Kelly to feed the hot hand Sunday night, as Philadelphia will run their normal fast-paced-tempo offensive against Arizona.
The Eagles face a difficult challenge against Arizona's defense, as the Cardinals secondary is tied for fourth with 16 interceptions on the year. Safety Tyrann Mathieu is having a career season in his third year in Arizona and recorded 84 combined tackles, a sack, and four interceptions. Mathieu and cornerback Patrick Peterson can create havoc for opposing quarterbacks and will look to make Bradford's night extremely difficult.
While the Cardinals have been known for their defense in recent years, it's their offense that is currently leading this team to the playoffs. The Cardinals are currently ranked first in the NFL in terms of yards per game and are averaging over 10 more yards then the next team in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback Carson Palmers is having a career season with the Cardinals, and he threw over 4,000 passing yards with 31 touchdowns to nine interceptions.
The Cardinals are effective both on the ground and through the air, and with running back Andre Ellington reportedly not expected to play, look for running back David Johnson to continue to step it up. The Cardinals rookie running back has rushed for 330 yards on the year and has proven with two 90 plus yard rushing performances in the past two games that he is a legitimate starting running back in the league.
Both teams are fighting for the playoffs, making this Sunday night matchup very intriguing. The Cardinals look like one of the hottest teams in the NFC, but the Eagles are coming off two big wins over the Patriots and Bills. The game starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Cardinals' radio broadcast, go here, and for the Eagles' radio broadcast, click here.
