The Philadelphia Eagles will meet the Arizona Cardinals for Sunday Night Football after being flexed to the primetime slot. Both teams are coming off late-game clinchers, and are hoping to continue win streaks into the postseason.
Cardinals vs. Eagles, ‘Sunday Night Football’ preview: Philadelphia still in the hunt for a playoff spot
Who will continue their winning streak in Week 15?
Head coach Bruce Arians is having a career year in Arizona. At 11-2, the Cardinals have established one of the most dominant offenses in the NFL behind veterans like Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and Chris Johnson. Though Chris Johnson is on injured reserve, his backup, rookie David Johnson, has played well in his stead. The offensive line has improved its pass protection the past few weeks, only allowing pressure on 16 of 38 dropbacks in Week 14.
The one area that the Cardinals struggled with in their last game was red zone production and third-and-short conversions. Arians wanted to focus on those areas heading into the team’s next primetime matchup. Being able to score effectively and early could keep the Cardinals out of future fourth-quarter nail-biters.
The Eagles have had an unexpectedly good two weeks, starting with the team's first win against a Tom Brady-led Patriots team. After losing to the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Lions in successive weeks, no one quite expected a 35-28 victory over the Patriots.
The team took that momentum back to Philly and hosted former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and the Buffalo Bills. Thanks to a game-winning Ed Reynolds interception, the Eagles won a second game in a row. With the NFC East title in reach, Philadelphia can't afford to let their momentum fade.
Digits
The Cardinals are coming in hot, having won seven games in a row. They’ve also won three of their last four matchups against the Eagles and hold the overall series lead 56-54-5. The teams last met in 2014 when Arizona came away with a 24-20 win, but the last time they faced off in Philly the Eagles were able to win 24-21.
Carson Palmer has been breaking franchise records all season, the latest coming last week when he upended Kurt Warner's record for passing touchdowns in a season with 31. Palmer is the first Arizona quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards twice in a career -- Palmer doing it twice in just three years with the team -- and he now has the most games with at least a 100 passer rating in a season (10).
Week 15 has a chance to add a few new records for the book. Palmer needs one more game with at least two touchdowns to beat the team record (10), and the offense as a whole is only 22 points from the most points scored in a season for the Cardinals.
DeMarco Murray caused a bit of drama in Philadelphia after the win over the Patriots, choosing to sit next to team owner Jeffrey Lurie on the flight home and reportedly complaining about his limited number of snaps. His role was larger in Weeks 5-10 with at least 18 carries in each game, but he also has three games this season with just eight attempts.
While Murray has had a limited role, running back Darren Sproles has seen an uptick in production. Sproles rushed for 107 yards over the past two weeks, accounting for a majority of his 275 yards on the season. Ryan Mathews returned for the Eagles on Sunday after missing three games with an injury, and he swooped up most of the carries with 13, but he turned those into just 38 yards against the Bills.
Who to Watch
Running back David Johnson is shaking off the rookie rust, and contributed big in Week 14. He recorded 92 rushing yards in the outing, earning 51 of those yards after contact. He splits his yardage between the air and ground, totaling 623 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season. With Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington splitting time on the sideline with injuries, David Johnson's production gives the offense its needed ground element.
Last week against the Bills, rookie wideout Nelson Agholor scored his first career touchdown in the NFL, and it was the result of a 53-yard pass from Sam Bradford. Agholor was able to burn past Buffalo's secondary, but also dropped two third-down passes on the day. Agholor has 225 yards so far this year on 19 receptions. If he uses his touchdown as a confidence booster heading into the final stretch of the season, he could be the deep threat the Eagles need.
How to Watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra
Odds
The Cardinals are 3.5-point favorites and the over/under is 50.5, according to OddsShark.com.
Preliminary Judgment
Wins over the Patriots and Bills wasn’t enough to sway the experts in the Eagles’ favor in Week 15. All but one of the eight experts from CBS Sports are expecting the Cardinals to come away with the win on the road, and it’s the same story at ESPN. Here at SB Nation, it’s even more one-sided with Arizona being the unanimous pick to win on Sunday Night Football.
Further Reading
For more on the Cardinals, head over to Revenge of the Birds. Your source for everything Eagles is at Bleeding Green Nation.
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