NFL

Sanders to face tough test against Cardinals as Murray looks to end Eagles' winning run

By Sports Desk October 07, 2022

Standing as the only undefeated team across the NFL, the 4-0 Philadelphia Eagles will need to bring an end to a poor record in Arizona, having lost four consecutive matchups against the Cardinals.

The Eagles have not won in Arizona since Week 8 of the 2001 season, a 21-7 win highlighted by Brian Mitchell's 94-yard touchdown return of the opening kick-off, and will hope for similar magic on Sunday.

Miles Sanders enters the contest in fine form, setting a new career high in rushing yards last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars with 134 and scoring two rushing touchdowns for only the third time in his career (Week 5 & 14, 2020).

That saw him become the first Eagles player with 130+ rushing yards and two TDs in a single game since LeSean McCoy in Week 16, 2013, and only the sixth player to do so in the franchise's history.

This season, Sanders boasts 356 rushing yards to rank third among the league's rushing leaders behind only Saquon Barkley (463) and Nick Chubb (459) – the trio the only three players across the NFL to have 350+ rushing yards in the opening four games of the season.

However, the Cardinals have been strong against the rush this season with their opponents averaging just 87 yards per game, ranking fifth in the NFL, though only two teams have faced less rushing plays than Arizona (81).

For the Cardinals' offense, the onus will be firmly on Kyler Murray, who has attempted 173 passes this season, behind only Matt Ryan (195), whose 128 completions make him the sole quarterback to tally more than Murray (113, tied with Josh Allen).

However, a pass completion percentage of 65.3 is only enough to rank 14th in the NFL, with Murray's 991 yards leaving him 16th in the league and indicative of his bizarre lack of downfield threat. Murray's air yards per attempt average of 5.47 is the worst in the league among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts.

The Eagles have allowed their opponents a gross passing yards total of 821, the seventh-lowest total in the NFL, so Murray will face a stern test if he is to lead the Cardinals to a fifth win in a row against their NFC rivals.

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