Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals: Live updates, analysis

There are times when a team has to gut out a victory with everything going against it.

So when it mattered most, the Eagles embarked on a drive that took up 7 minutes, 58 seconds of the fourth quarter, consisting of 17 plays. They ran the ball 14 times and passed only three times.

But the drive stalled at the Cardinals’ 5 yard line with 1:48 left when Jalen Hurts threw incomplete, trying for Quez Watkins in the end zone.

Fittingly, it came down to a kicker who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday and had never kicked in an NFL game. Yet Cameron Dicker calmly drilled a 23-yard field goal with 1:45 left.

But the 20-17 win wasn’t secured until Cardinals’ kicker Matt Ammendola missed a 43-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, forced by Kyler Murray’s mistake two plays earlier. On 2nd-and-10 from the Eagles’ 34, Murray ran up the middle and slid. Thinking he had the first down, Murray then spiked the ball.

Murray was ruled 1 yard short, however, so when he spiked the ball with 22 seconds and no timeouts left, it was fourth down and the Cardinals had to try the field goal.

When Ammendola, like Dicker promoted from the practice squad for the game, missed, the Eagles celebrated as they remained the NFL’s only undefeated team at 5-0.

So much was going against the Eagles.

Their early 14-point lead had disappeared when Murray led the Cardinals down the field in the fourth quarter, culminating in Eno Benjamin’s 11-yard run with 9:43 left, tying the game at 17-17.

The Eagles’ defense was gassed. On offense, two key offensive linemen in Jason Kelce and Landon Dickerson left in the first half with leg injuries. Kelce returned to start the second half, Dickerson late in the third quarter.

Then the Eagles rode the offensive line down the field behind Miles Sanders, Jalen Hurts and even three key carries from Kenny Gainwell.

All of which was enough, barely, for the Eagles to win at State Farm Stadium, a place they have never won in during five previous tries.

Hurts was 26-for-36 passing for 239 yards. He also ran for 61 yards on 15 carries. Sanders had 58 yards on 15 carries.

The Eagles got off to the fast start they were hoping for, grabbing a two touchdown lead early in the second quarter.

But it came with a price as two offensive linemen left the game with injuries in Kelce and Dickerson. That was in addition to left tackle Jordan Mailata, who was ruled out before the game with a shoulder injury.

And by the time halftime arrived, the Eagles’ lead was down to 14-10 as the offense seemed to bog down with three backup linemen in the game. Sua Opeta replaced Dickerson at left guard after Dickerson left with a leg injury on the Eagles’ first drive.

Rookie Cam Jurgens made his NFL debut after Kelce left with about 4 minutes left in the half. Jack Driscoll started in place of Mailata.

Kelce, however, returned to start the second half, and Dickerson returned later in the third quarter.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, scored 10 straight points to finish the first half, including Ammendola’s 20-yard field goal as time expired.

Early on, the Eagles continued their M.O. through the first four games of taking early leads.

Hurts methodically led the Eagles down the field on the opening drive, completing 2 passes to A.J. Brown and 3 more to Dallas Goedert before running the ball in himself from the 1.

The Eagles made it 14-0 on another Hurts 1-yard TD run.

But the Eagles couldn’t keep it going. Murray led the Cardinals down the field, capping the drive with a 25-yard TD to Marquise Brown to halve the Eagles’ lead with 5:24 left.

Source link

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals: Live updates, analysis

Like this:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Access Denied

I-95 North in Philadelphia closes after truck hits overhead railroad bridge

Tens of thousands in UK with type 1 diabetes to receive artificial pancreas in a world-first initiative

Pot producers are on the rise as Florida voters decide on the fate of the use of recreational marijuana

Share this:

Like this:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply