The Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles are both 5-1, looking like solid playoff teams. Arizona is surprisingly in first place of the tough NFC West, leading the San Francisco 49ers by 1.5 games and the Seattle Seahawks by two. Philadelphia is in a dogfight within the NFC East, trailing the Dallas Cowboys by a half-game.
Eagles vs. Cardinals 2014 picks and predictions: Great matchup has analysts unsure
Arizona and Philadelphia are fighting for their respective divisions, and can take a nice step with a tough win this Sunday.
Ezra Shaw
The Eagles are coming off a bye week and now travel across the country to play a Cardinals team with a stingy defense. Last time we saw Philadelphia it was pounding the New York Giants 27-0 on Sunday Night Football. The Eagles' defense was especially impressive, recording eight sacks in the shutout. LeSean McCoy also broke out for 149 rushing yards, his first 100-yard effort of the season.
Arizona will be a serious challenge for McCoy with its second-ranked rushing defense. The Cardinals can be exposed through the air, however, checking in at 31st in the NFL. Offensively, Carson Palmer and the passing game lead the way. Michael Floyd has developed into Palmer's top weapon, catching 19 balls for 353 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Andre Ellington has been a multi-purpose back, going for 393 rushing and 260 receiving yards.
The experts are very conflicted on this game. Over at USA Today, four of the panel of seven are going with the Cardinals to earn an impressive victory over Chip Kelly’s crew. The 13 experts at ESPN are split, with seven believing in the Eagles to go on the road and come away with the win.
At CBS Sports, five of the experts rolled with Arizona, leaving Dave Richard, John Breech and Jason La Canfora siding with Philadelphia. Here at SB Nation, the Cardinals got a little move love with four of our seven analysts leaning that way.
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