Cardinals vs. Eagles prediction: Why Philly should win comfortably as big road favorite

Through four weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles are the only undefeated team in the NFL. Their next test? A road trip to face the Arizona Cardinals, who have somehow managed a 2-2 record despite trailing nearly the entire season.

Philly has covered three straight contests against the spread and enters this week as a 5.5-point favorite at BetMGM, though anything can happen with Kyler Murray on the other side. Can the Eagles avoid their first blemish of the season in a tricky road spot?

Here’s how we’re betting Sunday’s contest, which kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.

In a season defined by parity and bizarre results, there should be a healthy level of skepticism any time you bet a road favorite – a spot that has netted a 10-16 ATS record through the first four weeks of the season. Yet there’s no escaping the reality of this matchup: the Eagles might be the best team in the league, and the Cardinals are one of the worst.

That’s been plain to see on the field, where Philly has looked the part of an early-season juggernaut en route to a 4-0 start to the year. The Eagles let the Lions sneak their way to a backdoor cover in Week 1 but have been merciless since, beating the Vikings and Commanders by a combined 33 points before controlling nearly every facet of last week’s rain-soaked win over the Jaguars.

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It’s been the exact opposite story for the Cardinals, who roared back with a ridiculous comeback victory in Week 2 and rallied to beat the lowly Panthers a week ago. Those two wins help offset a pair of ugly losses to the Chiefs and Rams, both of which saw Arizona trail for the entirety of those contests. That’s been the story of this season so far for the Cardinals, who are somehow still scoreless in the first quarter after settling for seven punts and a turnover on downs.

Arizona has spent nearly this entire season trailing, only to be bailed out by Murray’s inexplicable late-game heroics. That might work against the Raiders and Panthers – two of the worst teams in the league by most metrics – but it won’t work against the Eagles, who own one of the NFL’s top secondary duos and have ignited their pass rush as of late.

If the Cardinals fall behind early, as they’re wont to do, they’ll face the Sisyphean task of trying to gain ground on a team that ranks fifth in rushing yards per game (165.3) and third in average time of possession (33:41). That’s to say nothing of Jalen Hurts and this uber-efficient passing game, which should have a field day against Arizona’s flimsy secondary.

No matter how you slice it, this is simply a gigantic mismatch on paper. Entering Week 5, the Eagles boast an average lead of 7.11 points, best in the NFL. The Cardinals trail on average by 9.38 points, by far the worst mark in the league. Philly ranks No. 1 in PFF grade and No. 2 in overall DVOA; Arizona ranks No. 30 and No. 29 in those marks, respectively. It’s surprising that this line isn’t bigger than it already is, as the Eagles should win this one comfortably.

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