Eagles open as road favorites against the Cardinals

If the Philadelphia Eagles are to advance to 5-0, they’ll have to do something they haven’t done in over 20 years.

They’ll have to beat the Arizona Cardinals on the road.

Including an NFC Championship Game loss, the Eagles are 0-5 in their last away matchups against the Cards. The last win came in 2001 when Donovan McNabb led the (midnight green) Birds to a win over Jake Plummer’s side.

There’s certainly reason to believe the Eagles can break the streak. Philly’s football team is looking pretty good as the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team. It’s no surprise to see the Eagles open this matchup as five-point favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

On the Cardinals’ side, well, it’s not like they’re inspiring a ton of confidence. The calculus would certainly be a bit different if DeAndre Hopkins was playing. But he isn’t since he’s serving out a six-game suspension to start the season.

In Hopkins’ absence, the Cards are averaging 20.3 offensive points per game. That figure ranks tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the 14th most. Not terrible but not intimidating. The same description could be used to describe Kyler Murray, who’s rocking a 85.2 passer rating this season.

The Eagles are quite familiar with Murray’s second-most popular target in 2022. That happens to be Zach Ertz, a dude who once caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII. Thought frequently utilized, Ertz is averaging just 8.2 yards per reception so far. For context, that’s considerably below his 10.7 career average.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles should be able to have their way with Arizona’s defense. The Cardinals have THE worst-ranked defense as graded by Pro Football Focus. Vance Joseph’s unit ranks 29th in defensive DVOA. They’ve allowed the eighth-most points through four games. The Cards have been weaker against the pass than the run, so this could be a big opportunity for Jalen Hurts and his wide receivers.

One would be remiss to ignore the dreaded trap game conditions here. The Cards are easy to overlook with how boring and bad they’ve been. Dating back to last season, they are 3-7 in their last 10 games. The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a hard-fought win against their former head coach. And they have a big matchup against the Dallas Cowboys looming in Week 6.

Assuming they can stay focused, though, it’s hard to pick against the Eagles in this tilt. What reason is there to really believe in the Cards right now? Especially compared to what Philly has going on.

I’ll give the points. What say you?