Eagles-Cardinals: Staff picks, betting odds and more for Week 17

The Eagles are still ahead in the NFC East and in the hunt for the conference's No. 1 seed with Jonathan Gannon's struggling Cardinals on deck.

Cardinals head coach and former Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon will return to the Linc this Sunday with a banged-up and undermanned group.
Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles remain ahead in the NFC East and still within the hunt for the conference's No. 1 seed in the playoffs thanks to a win over the Giants and coinciding losses from Dallas and San Francisco. 

They likely need to win out over the final two weeks to stay with it though, and despite a Christmas Day win over a division rival, the Birds don't look any steadier on either side of the ball than they did the week prior. 

But the return of Jonathan Gannon and a banged-up, undermanned Arizona Cardinals team are on deck. Maybe this is the perfect time for a tune-up? That or a game where lingering problems continue to persist. 

Here are our thoughts...

• GAME INFO •

NFL WEEK 17

Eagles (11-4) vs. Cardinals (3-12)

Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pa.)

BROADCAST INFO

TV: FOX (Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver)

RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick)

BETTING LINES

NFL Week 17 betting odds
 SportsbookSpread Money Line Total O/U 
DraftKings PHI -11ARI +440
PHI -600 
48.5
FanDuel PHI -10.5ARI +400
PHI -520
48 
BetMGM PHI -10.5 ARI +425
PHI -600 
48
 UniBetPHI -10.5 ARI +410
PHI -560 
48 
PointsBet PHI -11.5  ARI +450
PHI -625
 48

• PREDICTIONS •

Jimmy Kempski

@JimmyKempski |  Email |  Stories
2023 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 11-4

PICK: Eagles 37, Cardinals 20

The Cardinals' Week 1 defensive starters, with players on IR in red, players on the injury report in orange, and players no longer on the team or who have lost their starting jobs crossed out:

DL: L.J. Collier (IR)
NT: Leki Fotu (IR)
DL: Jonathan Ledbetter (injury report)
OLB: Victor Dimukeje (injury report)
LB: Kyzir White (IR)
LB: Josh Woods (IR)
OLB: Zaven Collins (injury report)
CB Marco Wilson
CB Kei'Trel Clark
• S Budda Baker
• S Jalen Thompson

That defense was never good to begin with, and now they're also extremely depleted. They have been especially bad against the run in recent weeks:

 OpponentRushesYards YPC TD 
Bears, Week 16 39 250 6.4 
49ers, Week 15 26 144 5.5 
Steelers, Week 14 31 130 4.2 
Rams, Week 13 33 228 6.9 


That would be 188 rushing yards allowed per game.

The Cardinals' offense isn't awful. They have a talented quarterback and some decent offensive weapons. But they have arguably the worst defense in the NFL. 


MORE: Kempski's Week 17 picks


Evan Macy

@evan_macy |  Email |  Stories
2023 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 10-5

PICK: Eagles 27, Cardinals 17

Arizona has three wins this season. The Eagles absolutely need this game. I think it’s a win for sure. Will it be pretty? Probably not. “A win is a win” is the story of this season for this team.

Shamus Clancy

@shamus_clancy | Email |  Stories
2023 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 9-6

PICK: Eagles 30, Cardinals 13

The Eagles are in desperate need of a pre-playoff tune-up game. Last week against a woeful Giants team was supposed to be that, but was ultimately an unimpressive outing. The return of Jonathan Gannon and facing a bottom-feeder Cardinals defense (isn’t he supposed to be a defensive head coach?) might finally provide the formula to get the Birds’ offense looking like its 2022 self.


MORE: Eagles-Cardinals injury report, with analysis


Nick Tricome

@itssnick | EmailStories
2023 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 10-5

PICK: Eagles 30, Cardinals 17

At this point, I don't really trust the coaching staff to put together a cohesive offensive gameplan nor the defense to reliably get a stop. The Eagles are going to win this because they're more talented and they have to, but this is going to be the ugliest, most unnecessarily hard-fought 30-17 victory you'll ever see. And much like after the Giants game, I'm not so sure anyone's going to leave this Sunday feeling any better about the team. 


MORE: NFC Hierarchy/Obituary


Eytan Shander

@shandershow | Stories
2023 REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 8-7

PICK: Eagles 24, Cardinals 21

The Eagles are back to their winning ways – in their own way at the very least. They take on a beaten-down Cardinals team, both in the box score and through injury. There are a couple of factors that probably keep this game too close for comfort but with Philly ultimately prevailing. The two biggest external concerns are a mobile QB in Kyler Murray being able to extend plays and force some tough decisions by defenders in coverage. The other is a former DC in Jonathan Gannon who is familiar with Jalen Hurts and knows his tendencies from coaching with him. 

Philadelphia is just more talented than Arizona so don’t expect an upset, just don’t bet the Eagles to cover.


MORE: Five matchups to watch


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