There aren't any truly great teams in the NFL this season, but there are some very bad ones. The 11-4 Philadelphia Eagles faced one of the very bad ones in the New York Giants on Christmas. They'll face another one in the 3-12 Cardinals on New Years Eve. Here are our five matchups to watch.
1) The Eagles' rushing attack vs. the Cardinals' depleted front
The Eagles' run game has looked much better over the last two games than it did in the preceding month or so, and they have a good chance of keeping that momentum rolling against a weak Cardinals run defense. First, the team stats:
| Cardinals run D | Stat | NFL Rank |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 147.0 | 32 |
| Rushing yards allowed per attempt | 4.7 | 30 |
| Rushing first downs allowed per game | 7.9 | 32 |
| Rushing TDs allowed | 19 | 28 |
But also, the Cardinals' defensive front is extremely depleted. Their Week 1 starters:
• DL: L.J. Collier
• NT: Leki Fotu
• DL: Jonathan Ledbetter
• OLB: Victor Dimukeje
• LB: Kyzir White
• LB: Josh Woods
• OLB: Zaven Collins
That group isn't exactly the 1985 Bears to begin with, and literally all of them are hurt. Collier, Fotu, White, and Woods are all on IR. Ledbetter, Dimukeje, and Collins are all on the injury report.
The Eagles should be able to run on this team.
2) Eagles WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith vs. Cardinals CBs Antonio Hamilton and Starling Thomas
The Eagles should also be able to pass on the Cardinals, who are very shaky at corner. Their corners to start the season were Marco Wilson and Kei'Trel Clark. They're now Antonio Hamilton, a journeyman guy on his fifth team, and Starling Thomas, an undrafted rookie who originally signed with the Lions, but who did not make their 53-man roster and was claimed on waivers by the Cardinals. Their nickel? Old friend Andre Chachere. Not ideal.
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The Cardinals do have very good safeties in Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson, but that's about it.
3) Kyler Murray's legs vs. the Eagles' defense
Murray tore his ACL last season, which caused him to miss the first nine games of the 2023 season. Upon his return in 2023, he has hit the ground running, as he has 34 carries for 187 yards and 3 TDs in 6 games.
"I’ve played him through the years," Matt Patricia said. "He's extremely explosive, very fast, very quick. Unbelievable athlete. I think the thing about him, is you go out there and you're like, ‘all right, I've got this guy lined up, and we're good,’ and then he's gone. He does a great job with the angles. He manipulates the angles on the field, and you can see where his other sports athleticism comes into play here. He just does a great job, and he sets you up. He'll go and he’ll get real tall and then you start to rise up and all of a sudden he's gone. He's just down and he moves and he's quick.
"The biggest thing with him that's interesting since he came in the league that I've noticed is, he will hit top speed right now. Like there's no buildup to it. It's not like he has to get going for five yards before he's running full speed. He can just go. I think that's what surprises everybody right away is how fast he moves and how quickly he can get to that top speed. So, you start there obviously with him."
I like the "angry toddler" comp for Murray's running style:
The Eagles haven't faced many running quarterbacks this season, but the one they did, the Bills' Josh Allen, had a big day on the ground against them (9 rushes, 81 yards, 2 TDs).
4) The Eagles' bigger corners vs. the Cardinals' small, shifty receivers
The Cardinals' leading receivers:
| AZ receivers | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| TE Trey McBride | 72 | 743 | 10.3 | 2 |
| WR Marquise Brown | 51 | 574 | 11.3 | 4 |
| WR Michael Wilson | 28 | 435 | 15.5 | 2 |
| WR Rondale Moore | 33 | 295 | 8.9 | 1 |
| WR Greg Dortch | 15 | 184 | 12.3 | 2 |
McBride is having a breakout season, and the Eagles have to be concerned against any team that has a productive tight end.
At receiver, the Cardinals don't have any star players, but they do have a bunch of shrimpy, elusive guys who could give the Eagles' corners problems.
Brown (5'9, 180) is the best of the bunch, who ran a 4.27 40 at his pro day. He is obviously a threat to take the top off the defense. Shots. Explosives. Pew pew.
Brown did not practice on Wednesday, so he may or may not play. UPDATE: Brown was placed on IR. His season is over.
And then there's Moore (5'7, 180), who also has speed to win over the top, and who the Cardinals like to use on running plays as well:
And finally, there's Dortch (5'7, 175), who can also make guys miss in the open field:
If Darius Slay is out for a third straight game, then the Eagles will likely start James Bradberry (6'1, 210) and Kelee Ringo (6'2, 207) at corner. Those small, shifty receivers could give them issues.
5) Where might the Eagles go feastin'™️? 🍗
The Cardinals' offensive line looks like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| D.J. Humphries | Elijah Wilkinson | Hjalte Froholdt | Will Hernandez | Paris Johnson |
At tackle, the Cardinals have a pair of first round picks in Humphries, who was drafted 24th overall in 2015, and Johnson, a rookie who went 6th overall this past offseason. If you'll recall around draft time, Johnson was connected to the Eagles by some national reporters. He is athletic with great length (6'6, with 36 1/8" arms), and he excelled at LT for Ohio State in 2022 after playing RG in 2021. The Cardinals have Johnson starting at RT, and he has had some growing pains there as a rookie.
On the interior, you may remember Hernandez from his time with the Giants, who selected him with the 34th overall pick in 2018. He was a bust for them, but has become a solid starter in Arizona. The other two guys — Wilkinson and Froholdt — and patchwork starters. Wilkinson was an undrafted guy out of UMass in 2017 who is on his fourth NFL team. Froholdt was a fourth-round pick in 2019 who is also now on his fourth NFL team. LG and C are two spots the Cardinals will be looking to upgrade during the offseason.
I like Haason Reddick's chances against Johnson, and the Eagles' interior guys against Wilkinson and Froholdt. Of course, Reddick aside, the Eagles' pass rush has been a pretty big disappointment this season.
#FeastinMeter™️: 4/10 turkey legs. 🍗🍗🍗🍗
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