3 Keys to a Philadelphia Eagles win versus Arizona Cardinals in Week 15
By Hunter Doyle
2. There needs to be consistent pressure from the Philadelphia Eagles defense.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is going to spread this Eagles defense out. This is the worst possible week for this Eagles secondary to be as depleted as it is. With how this Arizona offense operates, Philly will have to play out of nickel and dime with extra defensive backs on the field most of the time. DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, and Larry Fitzgerald make this a matchup nightmare. While Kirk and Fitzgerald won’t always light up the box score, they can do damage when called upon.
The Eagles can help out this secondary by sending some pressure and disguising their pre-snap looks. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will have to take a page out of Vance Joseph’s playbook.
If Arizona is going to send everyone out wide, Schwartz can attack with some five or six-man blitzes to try and get the ball out of Kyler’s hands. Kyler will look to roll out of the pocket so Schwartz will need to blitz from the edge or make sure there is contain. He can also call some tackle stunts on the interior where the Cardinals’ offensive line is especially weak.
Kyler has struggled at times when kept in the pocket. He often tries to find a lane and take off a bit early. Schwartz has been able to contain Russell Wilson pretty well in the past few matchups limiting his offense to 57 total points in the past three matchups (19 points per game). Last week, he contained Taysom Hill pretty well. Versus the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson didn’t have much room to work outside of a few big plays. Hopefully, Schwartz throws the kitchen sink at Kyler. This Eagles offense could use some big stops from their defense.