Two of the hottest teams in the NFL meet in a showdown today at Lincoln Financial Field in a game with major NFC playoff implications. On one side of the field are the 7-4 Arizona Cardinals, winners of four in a row and the NFL’s eighth-ranked defense. On the other side are the 6-5 Philadelphia Eagles, winners of three straight and coming off a bye week that surely benefited their bodies after 11 weeks of running head coach Chip Kelly’s high-octane offense. Today’s 1pm EST / 10am PST game on FOX will feature win streak vs. win streak, high-powered offense vs. top-10 defense, and flashy coaching vs. pragmatic leadership. If you can’t watch the TV broadcast, make sure you watch Cardinals vs Eagles online free live streaming using one of several different tools.
No story about the Eagles can pass without mentioning first-year Philly coach Chip Kelly, although the reasons for that are mixed. Early in the season it was because his offensive schemes looked like they would translate just fine from college to the NFL. Mid-way through the season it was to claim the grand fast-paced experiment was a bust. Entering Week 13 today against the Cardinals, it’s to say Kelly and his three-in-a-row Eagles may actually be on to something more significant than a passing fad. And the Eagles even have an official starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
Earlier this week, Kelly announced that Eagles QB Nick Foles would be Philadelphia’s starting quarterback for the rest of the season. The news wasn’t completely surprising, since Foles had been starting and playing quite well in the place of injured quarterback Michael Vick. How well? As the Eagles’ sub, Foles has 103-162 for 1,554 yards and 16 touchdowns. Along the way, he’s also racked up the NFL’s second-highest quarterback rating and completed 63.6 percent of his passes. With no interceptions, no less.
Foles will have his work cut out for him today against the Cardinals, though, as you’ll see when you watch Cardinals vs Eagles online free live streaming. The Cardinals have by far the best defense Foles and the Eagles have faced all year, allowing just 81.3 yards rushing per game and 235.8 yards passing. The Cardinals’ rushing defense could prove particularly problematic, as Kelly’s read-option offense relies on having essentially equal access to ground and airborne options. Presuming Arizona’s defense can clog the middle and cut off the outside keeper lanes, Foles may have to rely almost exclusively on his arm strength and accuracy. In light of Foles’ QBR and stats for the season, that shouldn’t be overly daunting. But having his ground options severely hampered could be.
As if Arizona needed any motivation other than being the road team today against the Eagles, the Cardinals are clinging to a half-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC’s second wild-card spot. It’s hard to place odds on today’s game, though, as the Eagles’ home record is inexplicably worse than their road record. Perhaps that’s one reason ESPN’s panel of experts are essentially split down the middle in terms of predicting whether the Cardinals or Eagles will win.
You can watch Cardinals vs Eagles online free on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with MAX Package. The package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including today’s 1:00pm EST / 10am PST NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. It’s bound to be one of the best early games of the NFL’s Week 13.
