Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 20th, at 4:05 PM EST
Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Betting Odds: PHI +6.5, 49.5 total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts (Start, QB2 with QB1 upside)
Jalen Hurts has officially taken over at QB for the Eagles, pushing an expensive Carson Wentz to the bench. In his first career start last week, Hurts knocked off one of the NFC’s best in the Saints 24-21. He completed 17 of 30 attempts for 167 yards and a touchdown, and more notably had 106 rush yards on 18 carries; he also had a fumble lost late in the game, but it was not a real factor. Hurts is starting against the Cardinals this week, and lines up to finish as a QB2 with potential QB1 upside partly in large to his rushing ability. If you do stream him, you’ll hope the air yards and passing score totals are a rise from last week.
Running Backs
Miles Sanders (Start, RB2)
Welcome back, Miles Sanders. In Week 11-13, Sanders posted less than 10 fantasy points in each of those three games. Well, with Hurts under center against the Saints last week, Sanders broke out for 115 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. It was all the more impressive considering how stout the Saints have been against the run all season. Sanders is in a great spot with Hurts taking over, and will face a Cardinals defense that is allowing 119.5 rushing yards per game on the ground.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Jalen Reagor (Sit), Alshon Jeffery (Sit), Dallas Goedert (Start, TE2)
Most fantasy leagues are in the Semifinals this week. That said, I would be hard-pressed to trust starting Jalen Reagor in this spot. He’s in a better situation now with Hurts throwing the ball, but I imagine the Eagles may pivot towards a run-first offense from here on out. You can still deploy Dallas Goedert (over Zach Ertz) because of the bland TE landscape around him, but keep in mind Arizona has given up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to his position this year.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray (Start, QB1)
Kyler Murray reverted to his normal self some against the Giants last week. He had 13 carries, his most since Week 10, where he had 11 against the Bills. He rushed for 47 yards against New York and completed 24 of 35 attempts for 244 yards and a touchdown in the rout. The double-digit carries are certainly encouraging going forward. Murray is back in the QB1 conversation against the Eagles defense that has a depleted secondary but somehow has given up just six passing touchdowns in their last six games.
Running Backs
Kenyan Drake (Start, RB2), Chase Edmonds (Sit)
Kenyan Drake has scored at least once in every game since Week 11 and has his RB1 role in Arizona to himself. However, some fumbling woes had him on the bench briefly last week against New York. He coughed up the ball twice in the span of three plays but continues to out-carry Chase Edmonds since returning to action. Drake is an RB2 off a steady volume alone, but it’s worth noting the Philadelphia defense has given up the ninth fewest fantasy points to running backs on the season.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
DeAndre Hopkins (Start, WR1), Christian Kirk (Sit), Dan Arnold (Start, TE2)
Did I mention the Eagles secondary is riddled with injuries? Safety Rodney McLeod suffered a torn ACL against the Saints last week, cornerback Avonte Maddox is already ruled out with a knee injury, and Darius Slay is currently in the league’s concussion protocol. Enter DeAndre Hopkins, who continues to rack up targets, and is coming off a big game against the Giants. Despite not finding the end zone, he posted nine receptions on 11 targets for 136 yards. He’s a locked-in WR1 this week. Despite the injuries on the other side of the ball, Christian Kirk has become a bit of an afterthought for Murray and the Arizona offense and isn’t even worthy of a roster spot this late in the game.
Tight end Dan Arnold has come on as of late, finding the end zone four times total in the last four games. But ‘coming on’ is used lightly, as his target share is very low and remains a touchdown-dependent option at this position. If you are willing to chase that risk against a banged-up Philly secondary, you could do worse than Arnold this week.
-Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)