Eagles Offense Offers Glimpse Into What the Cardinals Should Have

The Arizona Cardinals host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and they can learn a thing or two from watching Philly's offense.

The Arizona Cardinals welcome the Philadelphia Eagles in what will be a reunion for Zach Ertz and Haason Reddick against their former teams. The Eagles are the NFL’s only undefeated team, but the Cardinals are in a different place entirely.

Last week after two quarters they seemed poised to be heading to a 1-3 start, but the defense and Baker Mayfield bailed Kliff Kingsbury out and covered up its issues for another week. 

Kingsbury is explicitly the talking point heading into this game, the man seen as the offensive whiz kid has gone from being on top of the NFL offensive world to now tilting on being a “what-if” story in the league.

This Cardinals offense is loaded, but they still can’t get out of their own way. What can they do to fix things? Look across the field on Sunday and see what the Eagles and Nick Siriani are doing. 

They are the model of how to have a successful offense in today’s NFL. Yes, passing is king, but you can’t abandon the run game. Eventually, teams pick up on that and won’t be doing blitzes and stacking the box.

Instead, they are just dropping back in coverage and forcing the receivers to extend routes and Kyler Murray to extend plays. Let’s take a look at what these teams are doing in the passing and rushing game.

Differences in the Passing Game

The Arizona Cardinals have attempted 177 passes to Philadelphia’s 123. Obviously, some of the difference comes from not having to pass so much when down in games. 

Both wins for the Cardinals have resulted in second-half comebacks, with the quickest way to score being passing the ball.

Apart from the numbers, their approach to passing is different as well. 

Where Arizona looks for explosive plays, Philadelphia takes what the defense gives them. They know Jalen Hurts doesn’t have the strongest arm but he is accurate, and they use that. Arizona look to push the envelope with Murray’s talented arm. 

This year when they've found success they let him work with guys like Zach Ertz and Greg Dortch underneath the defense and let them create. The big plays will come, but they have to draw the defense in first like the Eagles do with Hurts.

Differences in the Rushing Game

The Arizona Cardinals have attempted 108 rushing attempts to Philadelphia’s 153. The Eagles and Cardinals both have strong lead backs in Miles Sanders and James Conner.

They both can handle a large workload while also putting impressive results in the process. The difference between these two offenses though when it comes to running? The Eagles don’t abandon it when things don’t work right away.

What does coach Herm Boone say about his team's offense in Remember the Titans? He describes it as novocaine, and it just takes some time to take effect. When it comes to Kingsbury, he just abandons it. He gives the opposing team their shot of novocaine and doesn’t take the time for it to work before he starts surgery. While he has avoided any medical malpractice lawsuits, Kingsbury is getting on the hot seat with fans. 

You can decide which one would be worse but again, look at what the Eagles are doing and recognize the success they have.

The Cardinals are going to be underdogs in this matchup, that is expected. Perhaps if they get to see what this offense can be up close then maybe it changes the course of their offense after Sunday. 

Odds are it won’t, but that doesn’t mean you can dream of better days as a fan.

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