Eagles vs. Cardinals: Fun and intriguing stats that may influence the Week 17 strategy

A sometimes inconsistent Eagles team can hopefully enjoy some target practice versus the Cardinals in Week 17.

Some of you may not remember this, but teams were all over the place before the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002. The Arizona Cardinals were members of the NFC East WITH the Philadelphia Eagles and company. The Seattle Seahawks were an AFC team. The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons played in the NFC West. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in the NFC North. Yes, friends, things make more sense now.

All that has been said to state the following. The Eagles and Cards have played each other a lot, but Arizona leads the all-time series by a 60-57-5 margin. The good guys are favored by double digits this time around. Let's hope they can narrow the margin with a win. Doing so would go a long way in helping them win a division title in a Cardinal-free NFC East.

We looked at a handful of stats for a while. Once done, we came up with some unsolicited advice to help them do so.

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert racked up 80, 79, and 71 yards respectively in Week 16 vs. the Giants.

The Eagles have made a point to get the ball to their playmakers as of late. In Week 16, that theory paid off mightily. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert eclipsed 70 yards receiving. Most importantly, we saw a balanced attack.

38 passes... 35 rushing attempts... 33 points. This is what we hoped to see from the Eagles all season. Now, they have to keep it going.