October 07, 2022
At 4-0 and the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL, no one has been playing better football so far than the Eagles.
The offense is putting up points with ease, the defense is feasting on opposing quarterbacks, "MVP" chants have started for Jalen Hurts, and after four weeks, the Birds have become the new favorites to win the NFC.
Last Sunday's win over Doug Pederson's Jaguars did bring some injury concerns, but nothing that has seemed to slow the Eagles' momentum.
Up next is Arizona for a matchup with Zach Ertz and the Cardinals in the next stop of what's become a bit of a 2017 reunion tour.
Do the Eagles come out of it still perfect?
Here's what our writers think...
TV: FOX (Chris Myers, Robert Smith, and Jen Hale)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese and Mike Quick)
| Book | Spread | Money Line | Total (O/U) |
| DraftKings | PHI -5 | PHI -225 ARI +190 | 49 |
| FanDuel | PHI -5.5 | PHI -255 ARI +210 | 49.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -5.5 | PHI -225 ARI +185 | 49.5 |
| UniBet | PHI -5 | PHI -235 ARI +188 | 48.5 |
| PointsBet | PHI -5.5 | PHI -250 ARI +210 | 49.5 |
After having taken a close look at this Cardinals team, there isn't much to like about them. Offensively, with DeAndre Hopkins serving a suspension, they have not been able to make many plays down the field, and they struggle to run the ball. Defensively, their pass rush is nearly non-existent, and while they have some talent in their back seven, there are too many holes to make up for the lack of pressure generated on the quarterback.
They are also banged up, with 13 players on their injury report, including three offensive line starters and WR Marquise Brown.
As long as the Eagles are not looking past the Cardinals to their Week 6 matchup against the Cowboys, they should cruise.
When the Eagles' schedule first came out, this was the first loss I foresaw — months and months ago when I thought the Cardinals looked like contenders on paper. I did not expect they'd be seriously tested by the Lions, nor did I think the Jaguars nor Vikings had much to scare the Birds. However, the Cardinals seem to be a middlingly average football team at best, especially without D'Andre Hopkins.
Kyler Murray's legs feel like the only real recipe for an upset for the Cardinals, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles' revamped defense responds to a mobile, running quarterback after handling Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Carson Wentz and Trevor Lawrence. Murray is a different kind of quarterback and if the Birds can keep him from beating them it will be a great sign with more agile QBs ahead on the schedule.
In Jalen Hurts' second-ever NFL start, he played the Cardinals in Arizona. That day, he had over 400 yards of total offense and four combined touchdowns. Hurts is an infinitely better quarterback now than he was then and, in a dome setting that differs from last Sunday's Rain Bowl, I expect him to get his once again.
The Cardinals pulled out a lucky win in Week 4 against a decrepit Panthers team. They're a sinking ship. I expect another Eagles victory and I struggle to think at what point I won't pick them to a win a game this season.
Easy case to be made that Kyler Murray is the best QB the Eagles have left to play before a meeting with Aaron Rodgers around Thanksgiving. That said, a lot of the Cardinals' underlying factors suggest they’re not a particularly good or explosive team — they’ve been abysmal on third down and rank near the bottom of the league in yards per play. Give me the Eagles.
The Eagles are playing way too well right now. They should win this one easily.
Arizona is a team that might look good on paper, but in practice...meh. I don't think they're any better than that team that stumbled down the stretch in the back half of last season and then got completely trounced by the Rams in the playoffs.
Their roster just seems so surface-level to me and easily exploitable, especially when you look at who they beat (Raiders, Panthers) and who they lost to (Chiefs, Rams).
Kyler Murray's athleticism might buy them a score or two, but I have a hard time even seeing that right now after the way the Eagles' defense handled Kirk Cousins, Carson Wentz, and then Trevor Lawrence. Still, I'll spot the Cardinals those points.
Speaking of Murray, I found that "study" clause the team tried to sneak into his contract pretty ironic considering he's probably better off not knowing Kliff Kingsbury's playbook to begin with.
The Arizona Cardinals haven't played great football this year, yet still find themselves with everyone else out west. They get their best WR back from suspension soon and are slowly getting healthier at the position.
The Eagles are the best team in the NFL, the lone undefeated squad, and have become a public darling in the media and betting worlds. Sure, Philadelphia has the talent to obliterate the Cardinals, but it's the NFL and it's hard to win 17 straight games.
It's a perfect look-ahead opportunity for the Eagles as they've flown higher than the Cardinals, and have a Dak Prescott return on the horizon.
You almost want to pick the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday's game. In the parity-driven NFL, the contest shapes up as a trap game with NFC East-rival Dallas looming, the Cards' recent struggles at home dating back to last season scream market correction, and while some might project the 2022 Eagles as the reincarnation of the 1972 Miami, Dolphins, most of the sane project a loss or two so why not when flying across the country while letting your mind slip ahead to the Cowboys?
After a presser filled with Manningcast questions and film about Tom Brady, Jalen Hurts even felt the need to remind reporters about the Cardinals on Sunday, going down the Lou Holtz route of talking up an inferior foe that is banged up and trying to keep its head above water while floating toward DeAndre Hopkins post-PED suspension.
Everything points to the Cardinals in this one except the film. Although .500 (2-2) Pro Football Focus has graded out the Cards as the 30th-best team in the league over the first month and dead last when it comes to defense. And if you're counting on the strong-legged Matt Prater to save the day late in a game because the Eagles may not have Jake Elliott, well the Cards' kicker has already been ruled out with a hip injury.
I want to pick Arizona but the Eagles will simply out-talent them, 28-20.
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