3 Arizona statistics that Philadelphia Eagles fans must be aware of

Arizona renews its rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.

They may not see each other as often these days, but the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals are two franchises that are very familiar with one another. For those of you who are a tad younger, once upon a time, the NFL, before realigning in 2002, had six divisions between its two conferences. It made you feel as though you needed to brush up on your geography.

Back in those days, the Cards played in the NFC East for some reason. The Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons were in the NFC West. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in something called the NFC Central with Chicago, Minnesota, and Green Bay. The Seattle Seahawks were in the AFC.

Thankfully, things have changed. Yes, things are a little more accurate geographically, but in Week 15, another blast from the past is on pro football’s slate of games. The Eagles and Cardinals renew acquaintances as Jalen Hurts makes his second start as Philly’s signal-caller. If you’re a Birds fan, make no mistake about it. Philly has an enormous task on its hands.

Unfortunately, Arizona’s air attack isn’t the Philadelphia Eagles’ only concern.

In a world where we read Pro Football Focus and play Fantasy football, we obsess over numbers from time to time. How about we discuss a few with another must-win game on the schedule?

1. The Cardinals have only allowed 21 sacks on the season.

The Eagles have relied heavily on their pass rush this season, and even though we’ve seen the emergence of guys like Josh Sweat and Javon Hargrave, it’s going to be hard to get to Kyler Murray and then get him on the ground.

Philly’s seen a few mobile quarterbacks this season, but Murray is a different beast. Heading into Week 15, Arizona had only given up 21 sacks on the year. That’s good for ninth place in the NFL.

2. An eight-sack performance in Week 14 was the best of any team in the NFL.

Teams may not be getting to Arizona’s quarterback that often, but the Cards’ pass rush definitely got home versus the Giants a week ago. In that one, the Cards racked up eight quarterback sacks and 11 additional quarterback hits. No other team in the NFL had more.

Five of those sacks were by Haason Reddick (he had five coming into Week 14). He also had three forced fumbles. Right now, he’s probably wishing that Arizona still played in the NFC East, so he could see the Giants twice a year.

3. The passing attack may not be Philly’s biggest concern in 2020.

Much has been made about how Philly’s secondary will be able to match up versus the Cardinals’ all-star trio of wide receivers, and rightfully so. The Eagles had better be prepared for Arizona’s running game too though.

In 2020, they’re averaging 4.9 yards per rush, thanks in part to an astonishing six yards-per-rush average by their second-year signal-caller. The Birds’ vaunted rushing defense has vanished. They’re now allowing 4.5 yards per carry and 119 yards per game.

Here’s the good news. Philly will get a few opportunities to gash Arizona as well. In Week 14, Giants running back Wayne Gallman exceeded 4.8 yards per rush as Big Blue, as a team, racked up 78 yards on 17 carries and found their way into the end zone with a rushing touchdown. Maybe they should have run the ball a little more frequently?