Eagles @ Cardinals
Final Score: Eagles 20, Cardinals 17
Writer: Mario Adamo Jr (@marioadamojr on Twitter)
This battle of the birds came down to the wire.
The Cardinals started with the ball and it only took four plays before they punted. The Eagles drove down the field and scored with a Jalen Hurts sneak on their first drive to go up early 7-0. On the first play of the next drive, Kyler Murray threw a ball deep in the middle of the field that was picked off. The home birds were lucky, as the Eagles couldn’t do anything and were forced to punt after a three-and-out. The Cardinals punted and the Eagles got the ball back.
The second quarter began, and if you’ve been following this Eagles team you know the second quarter is when the fireworks begin. The Eagles have scored 85 points across four games in the second quarter. That’s a record for the most points in any quarter in any four-game span in NFL history. The Eagles continued their trend as Hurts found the endzone a second time, also on a QB sneak putting the visiting birds up 14-0. Both teams traded three-and-outs and on their fifth possession, the Cardinals finally had a drive going. Thanks to two big plays from Marquise Brown the Cardinals found the endzone to put them on the board, 14-7. The Eagles punted again and gave the Cardinals a chance to add some points before halftime. The Cardinals took advantage, driving all the way to the red zone before having to settle for a field goal to bring them within four, 14-10.
The Eagles got the ball to start the third and added a field goal to extend their lead 17-10. The rest of the third quarter had the two birds of a feather ending each of their long drives with punts. On their first drive of the fourth, the Cardinals found the endzone again as Eno Benjamin got in on an eleven-yard run, tying up the game 17-17. The Eagles responded with a masterpiece in clock management, taking 7:58 seconds to drive down the field and knock in a field goal putting them up 20-17. The Cardinals had less than 2 minutes and no timeouts to drive down the field to answer. They were able to drive down 50 yards, but a costly mistake by Kyler to spike the ball on a 3rd and 1 forced the Cardinals and their newly rostered kicker to attempt a 43-yarder. The kick was wide right and the visiting birds claimed the nest as their own, Eagles win and move to 5-0.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 26/36, 239 Yards | 15 Carries, 61 Yards, 2 TD
Here’s a fun stat, Jalen Hurts has 19 rushing touchdowns in his first 24 career starts and has surpassed Cam Newton (18) for the most rushing touchdowns all-time by a quarterback in his first 25 NFL starts. Though he didn’t find the endzone in the air, Hurts had two rushing touchdowns both coming on QB sneaks at the 1-yard line. Hurts made some great throws but because of the way the game played out, no pass-catcher could break for a big play. The ground game was working so the visiting birds stuck with it. He did have a very near interception on the Eagles’ fourth drive that was ultimately ruled an incompletion.
Jalen Hurts QB sneak for a TD run it back 💪
📺: #PHIvsAZ on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/EybGs8i0rM pic.twitter.com/GqWht2PhTZ— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Running Back
Miles Sanders: 15 Carries, 58 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards
Kenneth Gainwell: 3 Carries, 20 Yards
Miles Sanders looked good. He ran the ball often but all goal-line opportunities were unfortunately vultured by his QB. His three targets came all throughout the game, his first target, the Eagles’ first play of the day, fell incomplete. Sanders’ second came on the Eagles’ sixth drive and looked good for eight yards. His final target came on the Eagles’ eighth drive and lost them two yards. You would like to see him find the end zone to help his day, but if you’re an Eagles fan you take the team win.
Kenneth Gainwell had three carries and they came on back-to-back-to-back plays on the Eagles’ eighth drive. He was on the field on QB sneak plays to give Hurts a push from the rear.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
DeVonta Smith: 11 Targets, 10 Receptions, 87 Yards
A.J. Brown: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 32 Yards
Quez Watkins: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 19 Yards
Dallas Goedert: 9 Targets, 8 Receptions, 95 Yards
The first drive had A.J. Brown managers giddy. Brown was targeted four times and caught three passes for 32 yards. You may have noticed, Brown finished with three catches for 32 yards. After that first drive, Hurts (godfather to Brown’s daughter) did target Brown three more times, but in two of those three Hurts was just throwing the ball away. The only other real target came on the Eagles’ fifth drive, the pass fell incomplete and that was Brown’s day.
Today was just a day that DeVonta Smith got the lion’s share of the targets. Smith brought in ten of his eleven targets, his only drop bounced off of his chest when he turned around to catch it. His two biggest catches both came on the Eagles’ third drive. A catch for 22 yards and another for 20 yards played a big part in setting up a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown.
Raise your hand if you had Dallas Goedert having the longest catch of the day for the Eagles. His 31-yard catch on the Eagles’ seventh drive ultimately went to waste. They couldn’t overcome a holding penalty later on that drive and were forced to punt it away. Goedert brought in eight of his nine targets and finished the day as the Eagles’ leading pass-catcher with 95 yards.
Quez Watkins was consistent, having catches of seven, six, and six yards. He was clearly the fourth option of the passing game but made the most by bringing in all but one of his targets. His last target, the incomplete, came on the Eagles’ eighth drive on 3rd and Goal. It’s interesting to note that with the game tied 17-17, Watkins was the target.
3rd and 13… not a problem for @JalenHurts and @DeVontaSmith_6
📺: #PHIvsAZ on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/EybGs8i0rM pic.twitter.com/RY9XMZb4ic— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 28/42, 250 Yards, TD, INT | 4 Carries, 42 Yards
With today’s loss, Kyler Murray drops to 4-8 on Call of Duty 2XP weekends. My number one takeaway was his lack of rushing attempts. Last week Murray ran the ball twelve times, three times as many as this week’s four carries. Despite his second-fewest rush attempts of the year, today was a season-high in rushing yards. Murray started the Cardinals’ ninth drive with a 15-yard designed run.
His interception was an ugly one, it was a deep ball thrown to a double-covered Marquise Brown. C.J. Gardner-Johnson got underneath it and made the catch, his first pick as an Eagle. Brown was his most targeted receiver, including a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Running Back
James Conner: 9 Carries, 55 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Eno Benjamin: 8 Carries, 25 Yards, TD | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 28 Yards
Darrel Williams: 3 Carries, 9 Yards
James Conner was having a big day for the Cardinals before he left late in the first half. He suffered a rib injury that didn’t look too bad watching the game. I expected him to return but he never did. Before exiting the game Conner was treated as the bell cow back, getting a majority of the carries. Keep an eye out for injury updates throughout the week for Conner’s status.
Unfortunately, Conner wasn’t the only Cardinals RB to get hurt today. Darrel Williams first touched the ball on a fake punt, a 7-yard carry on 4th and 4. After that Williams had a couple of other carries before exiting the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
The last running back standing, Eno Benjamin took over rushing duties after everyone in front of him got hurt. Benjamin made the most of his opportunities, including a couple of nice moves on an 11-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 17-17. If Conner misses time I expect Benjamin to get a bulk of the running work going forward.
Eno Benjamin ties the game in the desert ‼️ @EnoB
📺: #PHIvsAZ on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/EybGs8i0rM pic.twitter.com/Vq6U53g3Vh— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Marquise Brown: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 78 Yards, TD
Rondale Moore: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 68 Yards | 2 Carries, -7 Yards
A.J. Green: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards
Zach Ertz: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 48 Yards
Marquise Brown continues to have the quietest WR1 season ever. Brown is the only player with four straight double-digit target games this season. He brought in eight of his ten targets including a beautiful catch and run for 25 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter. I worry about what will happen to his numbers when Hopkins returns in Week 7, but I’m hopeful the chemistry he and Murray have built will carry over.
Besides Hollywood, Rondale Moore felt like the most impactful player for the home bird team. Moore’s 28-yard catch was one of the largest from either team today. Both of his rushing attempts were sniffed out immediately by the Eagles’ stout front four. and resulted in a loss.
A.J. Green was quiet for most of the night. Two of his three catches, six yards, and nine yards, came back-to-back on the Cardinals’ eighth drive. Besides that, he had a couple of incompletes in the first half. Overall it was a quiet night for players with the first name A.J. and with the last name being a color.
In his first game against the team that drafted him, the Cardinals made sure to get Zach Ertz involved. Ertz caught six of his ten targets for 48 yards. The biggest play that wasn’t, was a deep ball thrown well out of reach of the wide-open TE on the Cardinals’ final drive of the game. Murray just missed him and the Cardinals would go on to lose after missing a 43-yard field goal.
That juke 👀 Hollywood TD in Arizona! @Primetime_jet
📺: #SFvsCAR on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/QyzRPxAYpO pic.twitter.com/tQydspZK31— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022