Sunday Night Football Week 15: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Cardinals vs. Eagles

NFC playoff implications weigh heavily over the Week 15 Sunday Night Football showdown between the surging Arizona Cardinals and rebounding Philadelphia Eagles.

Carson Palmer and the Cardinals have a shot at the NFC West crown if they can put down the Eagles to increase their win streak to eight. They managed to slip past the Eagles last year in Week 8 by way of a late John Brown touchdown.

Many left these Eagles for dead after a three-game skid beginning in mid-November, which is what happens when a team drops a 45-17 decision to Tampa Bay and follows with a 45-14 loss to Detroit. 

Wins against New England and Buffalo, though, have Philadelphia in the driver's seat and this matchup flexed to prime time. Here's everything you need to know about the showdown. 

Game Details

When: Sunday, December 20, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Television: NBC

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 51

Spread: Arizona (-4)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Jerraud Powers	CB	Questionable
Patrick Peterson	CB	Questionable
Andre Ellington	RB	Questionable
Rashad Johnson	S	Questionable
Jermaine Gresham	TE	Questionable
Larry Fitzgerald	WR	Probable

Player	Position	Status
Jordan Matthews	WR	Probable

Leaning on What Works

Though the recent seven-game streak has been a mixture of bad teams (Cleveland, Baltimore) and solid teams (Seattle, Cincinnati), the fact that the Cardinals have put together such a streak to approach the 12-win mark speaks volumes.

A healthy Palmer helps. He's completing 64.5 percent of his passes with 31 touchdowns to nine interceptions this year and helping to compensate for a running game that just cannot stay healthy.

Larry Fitzgerald helps, too. The veteran's incredible track record against the Eagles is something the Cardinals will look to lean on Sunday night away from home. ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss explained Fitzgerald's uncanny success against the Eagles:

"

He’s caught at least one touchdown in every game he’s played against Philadelphia, including the playoffs. He has also had multiple touchdowns in three games. In three of his past four games against Philadelphia, Fitzgerald has had 146, 114 and 160 receiving yards, respectively.

"

Fitzgerald also happens to have 11 touchdowns over seven games against the Eagles, great news for the visiting team encountering a defense that has allowed 100 yards or more to nine wideouts and 258.8 passing yards per game on average.

Call Sunday the perfect postseason test for the veteran duo, though, as the Eagles defense coughed up three touchdowns to New England's Tom Brady but also picked him off three times.

Usually strong defense and Palmer's weapons take care of games. If the approach holds true on prime time, it will say much about these Cardinals.

Plugging Holes

The Eagles resembled a sinking ship after their three-game skid but sit at 6-7, just like Washington and the New York Giants in the NFC East.

Having a healthy Sam Bradford under center has certainly helped turn things around, as during the team's new streak he's posted three touchdowns to one pick.

Philadelphia made changes defensively, too, moving safety Malcolm Jenkins inside to play the slot. Now the team has to hope it's enough against arguably the best three-headed monster at wideout in the NFL, not to mention one of the most aggressive offenses.

"We know Arizona's going to take 6-to-8 shots a game. That's what they do," Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis said, according to ESPN.com. "That's part of the reason they are the No. 1 offense in the NFL in a lot of categories right now. We've got to stay disciplined."

Pass defense has been a problem all year for the Eagles, but when the improving offense only needs 24:58 of possession to post 23 points, as it did in last week's win against Buffalo, it's hard to complain. 

The problem now is Arizona's defense, which ranks 12th in the league against the pass and fifth against the rush, permitting teams just 87.7 rushing yards per game. Like the task facing the Cardinals, though, it's a hurdle a playoff-caliber team would jump and a clear sign that the impressive two-win streak wasn't a fluke, but the trio of head-scratching losses certainly was.

Prediction 

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

As impressive as the Eagles have looked with their backs against the wall over the past two games, there hasn't been much capable of slowing the Cardinals this year.

Palmer's too hot and his supporting cast too deep to struggle against an inconsistent team with a secondary opposing offenses have torched all season. His defense won't have any issues either by way of forcing the Eagles into a one-dimensional approach through the air, which isn't the best course of action against a Patrick Peterson-led defense.

The Eagles still control where they go by closing the season with a pair of divisional encounters. But in a heavyweight bout here, a home advantage won't be enough with such obvious flaws a more complete team such as Arizona can expose on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: Cardinals 40, Eagles 28

Statistics and injury information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.