The Philadelphia Eagles are coming into Week 15 still alive in the NFC East race and they have a tough test on Sunday night in the Arizona Cardinals. DeMarco Murray has reportedly been frustrated with his role and that could give Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles the chance to step up for Sam Bradford and Chip Kelly against Arizona.
Murray reportedly has been unhappy with his usage on offense this season and he was frustrated after playing just 14 snaps against the Patriots a couple weeks ago. Reports had Murray going to owner Jeffery Lurie about the situation on the team flight home and while that was downplayed by Kelly, Murray was reportedly demoted for the game against the Bills. The Eagles had Murray, Darren Sproles, Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner all active against the Bills and Murray ended up getting 13 touches in the game.
Murray was the second back into the rotation for the Eagles against the Bills and while he did not have many touches, he ranked second on the team among the backs. The Eagles have been spreading the ball around all season and while Murray is paid like a starter, Kelly's offense has roles for all of the running backs and that clearly has frustrated Murray a bit this season. Fantasy owners in the playoffs may want to use Sproles or Mathews this week, as Murray has not been putting up production like many expected he would this season.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Caplan, Kelly "gave no assurances" to Murray last week about his role on offense and he ended up getting out touched by Mathews in the game against the Bills. Murray has been averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season and he has 603 yards after leading the league in rushing last year. Mathews had 38 yards rushing and started the game for the Eagles and he could be in line to start again this week. Sproles scored a touchdown in the game and for fantasy owners in need of some solid production, Murray and the Eagles backs may not be the best options for Week 15 overall in the playoffs.
Kelly said he has been happy with the offensive performance and he had praise for Sam Bradford, saying that he is "playing at a really high level now," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Jordan Matthews is coming into the week banged up with a back injury and there is a chance he could be out or limited against the Cardinals. Matthews did not practice on Tuesday for the Eagles and he had just three catches against the Bills in Week 14. Matthews said that he likely would not have been able to play if the Eagles played on Tuesday, but a week of rest and treatment could put him in line to play on Sunday night.