EAGLES AT CARDINALS

• 1:25 p.m. Sunday
• State Farm Stadium
• Line: Cardinals +5.5 (For more details see BetMGM.com)

The three biggest things to watch for Sunday when the Cardinals play the Eagles at State Farm Stadium.:

How About Some First Quarter Points? Just Sayin'

The Cardinals have played four games. That's one full game of first quarters – and the Cardinals have been shut out. By contrast, the last time the Cardinals played the Eagles at home, in front of a sparse crowd because of Covid, the Cardinals scored 16 points in the first quarter alone. The Eagles, 4-0 at this point, are too good offensively for the Cardinals' offense to hit a lull right as the game starts. There may be help with the return of A.J. Green and Antoine Wesley, but mostly, it's about getting, as Kyler Murray says, some rhythm. The Eagles fell behind early last week; it can happen. For the confidence of the Cardinals' offense – and their fans – it needs to.

This Is Gonna Hurts

For all the talk about Kyler incorporating the run more into the Cardinals' offense, the Eagles have no problem. Right now, quarterback Jalen Hurts is on pace to smash the record for QB rushing attempts, in part because the Eagles run a beautiful RPO game in which Hurts can make the decision to hand off or keep or throw a pass, all based on what the defense is doing. He's got two excellent receivers in A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, a good tight end in Dallas Goedert and a running back in Miles Sanders that must be dealt with. It all revolves around Hurts, however. Hurts, in only his second NFL start back in 2020, threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns against Vance Joseph's defense, and that was before they got Smith and Brown. This is going to be a difficult test for a Cardinals' defense coming off its best game.

This Is The Cardinals' House But Is It A Home

Both Kyler and Kliff Kingsbury say they are not thinking about the home losing streak. Much of it, they figure, was last year. Kingsbury pointed out this year's losses came against the Super Bowl champs and arguably the Super Bowl favorite. This is true, but until the Cardinals get one at home – it's been seven games since the last win – it will remain a topic. Interestingly, the Eagles have had all kinds of trouble in Arizona. They have lost five straight in Arizona, including all four games in Glendale. The first time they played in the building they lost the 2008 NFC Championship. The start of the streak was a Cardinals' win in 2005 in the last game the Cardinals played at Sun Devil Stadium. (And the last time the Eagles won in Arizona? It was 2001, a 21-7 game that most local fans forgot immediately once the Diamondbacks won Game 7 of the World Series later that night.)