Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Prediction, preview, pick to win

ARIZONA CARDINALS (2-2) AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (3-1)

GAME SNAPSHOT

KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Lincoln Financial Field. TV: FOX, Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin (field reporter).

SERIES HISTORY: 117th regular-season meeting. Cardinals lead series, 57-54-5. The Cardinals have won four of the past five meetings, including a 40-17 rout at Lincoln Financial Field in December 2015, when David Johnson rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Also in that game, Deone Bucannon led the Cardinals with nine tackles and returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown.

KEYS TO THE GAME: Offensively, the Cardinals will continue to have to rely on Carson Palmer and the passing game because they just haven't been able to establish any sort of a rushing attack since losing star running back David Johnson in a Week 1 loss at Detroit. Coach Bruce Arians has leaned on three backs -- Kerwynn Williams, Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington -- to try to get things going on the ground, but the results have been modest to poor. Ellington, however, has been a bright spot in the passing game lately, showing much of the skill and speed he did as a rookie in 2013. Look for Palmer to target veteran Larry Fitzgerald early and often on underneath routes and crossing patterns and expect him to take the occasional deep shots to John Brown and J.J. Nelson, who are capable of getting behind the safety because of their speed.

The Cardinals have the second-worst running game in the NFL and the league's second-lowest run percentage. Nevertheless, the Eagles would like to get out on top and put the Cardinals in obvious passing situations, so their front four can tee off on Palmer, who has been sacked a league-high 17 times.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Eagles CB Patrick Robinson. At 34, Fitzgerald still is one of the league's better pass catchers. He's on pace for his third straight 100-catch season. Robinson, who has played outside most of his career, needs to keep Fitzgerald in check.

--Eagles RT Lane Johnson vs. Cardinals OLB Chandler Jones. Jones has been as consistent as they come among the league's top pass rushers, which is why the Cardinals signed him to a five-year extension after acquiring him from the Patriots a year ago. He has only one multi-sack game so far this season, however, and he'll be up against a virtual brick wall in the 6-foot-6, 317-pound Johnson. Jones will have to be especially quick and strong with his hands and get the jump on the snap to sustain any type of success against Johnson and work his way to quarterback Carson Wentz, who has been sacked 12 times.

FRIDAY INJURY REPORT

ARIZONA CARDINALS

--Out: T D.J. Humphries (knee), DT Robert Nkemdiche (calf)

--Questionable: G Alex Boone (chest), WR John Brown (quadricep), WR J.J. Nelson (hamstring, tooth)

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

--Out: DT Fletcher Cox (calf), CB Ronald Darby (ankle)

--Questionable: S Corey Graham (hamstring), RB Wendell Smallwood (knee), DT Destiny Vaeao (wrist), S Jaylen Watkins (hamstring)

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Cardinals WR John Brown. Brown established career highs with eight receptions for 105 yards in Arizona's 18-15 overtime victory over the 49ers in Week 4. His previous career highs were seven catches and 78 yards. Brown played 99 snaps against San Francisco, which is significant in that he suffered a torn ACL last November. His performance marks the third consecutive game in which a Cardinals receiver has topped 100 yards, joining J.J. Nelson (120 vs. the Colts in Week 2) and Larry Fitzgerald (149 vs. Cowboys in Week 3). Arizona is one of only three teams in the NFL this season to have had at least three receivers with 100 yards in a game. The Patriots and Chargers are the others.

FAST FACTS: Arizona QB Carson Palmer has 905 passing yards (301.7 per game), six TDs and two INTs in three career meetings. He has 290 TD passes and needs two to surpass Hall of Famer Warren Moon (291) for 12th all-time. ... Arizona RB Andre Ellington had 85 scrimmage yards and a rushing TD in a 2014 meeting. He had 104 scrimmage yards (86 receiving) and a career-high nine catches in Week 4. ... Arizona LB Chandler Jones has six sacks and two forced fumbles in his past four road games. ... In his past five games, Eagles QB Carson Wentz has 1,303 passing yards (260.6 per game), eight TDs and two INTs. ... Eagles RB LE Garrette Blount has 190 rush yards (95 per game) and three TDs in two career meetings. He led the team with 136 rushing yards in Week 4. He has 30 rushing TDs since 2014, most in the NFL. ... Eagles DT Fletcher Cox had six tackles and a sack in the last meeting. He has 8.5 sacks since 2016, third-most among NFL DTs.

PREDICTION: The Eagles are quietly good, owning first place in the NFC East at the quarter pole, while the Cardinals have narrowly beaten two bad teams and lost by double figures to two winning teams. The "Iggles" fly to 4-1.

OUR PICK: Eagles, 30-20.

--Bucky Dent