The Eagles moved to 3-1 on the year with last Sunday’s 26-24 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers. Carson Wentz threw for 242 yards and a touchdown while the combination of Wendell Smallwood and LeGarrette Blount added another 170 yards on the ground as part of the team’s 214 total rushing yards.
One of my keys to victory last week was establishing the run game right out of the gate, but even more important was Philadelphia’s ability to effectively run the ball at the end of the game while sitting on a slim lead. Through the first four weeks of the season, the Birds are averaging 143 rushing yards a game, which is ranked third in the league.
This week, Philly returns home to host the 2-2 Arizona Cardinals to renew an old-school NFC East rivalry when the team was still in St. Louis. As with every game, I have come up with my three keys to victory for this Sunday’s contest.
Offense
The obvious key on offense is to keep the Eagles’ highly productive running game churning. They may need to rely heavily on Blount’s power game on Sunday with Smallwood nursing a bad knee. You may see more of Corey Clement as the team’s only other healthy running threat along with Kenjon Barner, but whichever back is running the ball will have his work cut out for him against a Cardinals’ defense that is ranked 10th in the NFL against the run. My top key this week is Wentz’s ability to connect on the deep ball. If there has been one glaring weakness in his game this season it would be his 33 percent conversion rate on passes of 15 yards or deeper. With Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith in the starting lineup, he has to do a better job utilizing their deep threat ability.
Defense
There is a gaping hole in the defensive line with Fletcher Cox ruled out for the second-straight game with a calf injury. The Eagles gave up 347 yards passing against the Chargers partially because they could not keep consistent pressure on Philip Rivers. This Sunday they face another veteran quarterback in Carson Palmer, who also has the ability to carve up the secondary if he has all day to throw the ball. This week’s key is Jim Schwartz dialing up a few new stunts and blitzes that he did not employ in the first four games. If the defense can keep Palmer running for his life, it will help to minimize the deep threat that Larry Fitzgerald brings to the table.
Special Teams
With Darren Sproles done for the season and Smallwood hobbled with a knee injury, the Eagles are going to need someone to step up their game returning both kicks and punts. Barner is the likely suspect since he is listed at the top of the depth chart in both categories, but Clement is also available if the need arises. The Eagles thrived on special teams last season because of big plays in the return game and it may take one or two on Sunday to help cement that fourth win.
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