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Bruce Arians, the head coach of the Cardinals, and Chip Kelly will get together again Sunday in Arizona.

(Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports)

Their history, which includes just three winnings seasons and two playoff appearances since 2002, doesn't suggest it.

And neither does a roster which includes just a handful of recognizable names to the average fan.

Yet after seven weeks of this NFL season the Arizona Cardinals, the Eagles next opponent, are the best team in the NFC.

Here are five reasons why.

1. Records don't lie: Arizona's 5-1 mark is second-best in the conference, only because it already had its bye while Dallas has not. The Cards' only loss has come to the best team in the AFC, Denver, and they actually stood toe-to-toe with the Broncos until they had to go to their No. 3 quarterback. Arizona has also beaten the 49ers, the only team to beat both the Cowboys and the Eagles. An opening-night win over a decent San diego team wasn't bad, either.

2. The Quarterback:There was a time when Carson Palmer was considered the third best quarterback in football behind only a couple of guys named Brady and Manning, that's Peyton, not Eli. Sure that was back in 2005 and 2006. After a slow meltdown in Cincinnati and two years of wasting his time in Oakland, Palmer is playing pretty well. Now that he's back and healthy his quarterback rating of 101.3 reminds of his good days with the Bengals.

3. No mistakes:Arizona's three quarterbacks have thrown just one interception in its six games and the Cards have turned the ball over just four times the least amount of any NFC team. As far as plus/minus in turnovers go, they are a plus-7, which ranks third best in the league and second best in the NFC. Not turning the ball over is a good way to go about winning games.



4. The Defense:The Cardinals play old-school football. There's no hurry up offense, no trying to outscore the opposition, 45-41. They keep it close to the vest, don't make mistakes and count on the defense to stop the run and force 2nd and 3rd and long situations. So far it's worked. Arizona's run defense, which allows just 72.5 yards per game, is the best in the league. And the Cards allow just 19.8 points per game, which is second best in the conference.

5. The Coach:Bruce Arians, in just two years as a NFL head coach, has made a case for being one of the best. He won 10 games in his rookie year with the Cards and has his team off to a 5-1 start this year. Arians showed in his interim year with the Colts (when Chuck Pagano was battling cancer) how good he can be. Heck, he showed it at Temple years ago.

Follow Mark Eckel on Twitter at @MarkEckel08. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.Contact Mark Eckel at mjeck04@verizon.net.

