Cardinals players to miss the Weekend matchup May Cause Jeopardy in the Game
The Cardinals’ offensive line isn’t very good but that’s just one part of bringing Murray to the ground. Murray is extremely fast and he has the ability to get away from rushers chasing him down. The Cardinals have allowed 40 sacks this year, which ranks as the 11th highest total in the NFL. Murray has been sacked 16 times in 6 games and his sack percentage is 7.2%, which ranks 22nd in the NFL.
But the point is that if Murray wasn’t so mobile, he’d probably be getting sacked even more.
Murray will also take off. While he hasn’t been running wild since his return from an ACL surgery, he has been averaging 31.2 yards per attempt.
“He does a great job with the angles,” Eagles de facto DC Matt Patricia said. “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.”
Eagles’ linebackers vs. Trey McBride
The Cardinals granted Zach Ertz his release earlier this season but they have a really talented young tight end in McBride. The 2022 second-round pick out of Colorado State had a quiet rookie season but has come on in Year 2. He actually leads the Cardinals in receptions and receiving yards, which is good for him but not a great sign for the team.
McBride has 72 catches for 743 yards and 2 touchdowns this season. The Eagles should be healthier at linebacker this week after both Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham returned to practice this week. No guarantee they both play but getting back just one of them would be a boost.
The Eagles have been a middle-of-the-back defense against tight ends year. They have given up 76/766/6 to opposing tight ends, which ranks 20th in the NFL.
Aside from McBride, the Cardinals don’t have a lot of pass catchers who scare you. They have some undersized guys like Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch. Their big target is Michal Wilson, who hasn’t caught a pass since November 12. Brown is their best receiver but over the last two games, he’s been held without a catch. Brown had 8 for 78 and a touchdown against the Eagles in 2022 in a 20-17 Eagles win in October.
Eagles’ run defense vs. James Conner
The Eagles have had some tackling issues this season and Conner is a big back at 6-foot-1, 233 pounds, who can run through some arm tackles. Sometimes, it’ll take gang tackles to bring down the 28-year-old, who is averaging a career-high 4.9 yards per attempt this season. He is up to 762 yards and 5 touchdowns in 11 games.
Last year when these two teams played, Conner had 9 carries for 55 yards.
The Cardinals have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Here’s where they rank in some key categories
