The Philadelphia Eagles survived a frantic comeback attempt by the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona, thanks to controversial, head-scratching decisions by Kyler Murray in the final minutes of a thrilling 20-17 victory.
Murray and the Arizona offense had Philadelphia on the ropes, facing a second-and-10 on the Eagles' 34-yard line with 36 seconds left. Murray had a nine-yard run and slid too early, so he didn't get Arizona the first down at the Eagles' 25. Instead of running on third-and-1, Murray spiked the ball in a 20-17 game -- forcing the Cardinals to attempt a field goal for the tie.
Matt Ammendola, filling in for the injured Matt Prater, missed the 43-yard field goal with 22 seconds left as the Eagles survived. The Cardinals moved the ball eight plays for 55 yards in 1:08 to get into field goal range to set up a chance to tie it. Murray's blunders significantly affected the outcome of this showdown in the desert.
The Eagles used their prolific run game to take a 20-17 lead with 1:48 left, thanks to a 17-play drive that took 7:58 off the clock. Philadelphia ran the ball 13 times on that drive, but the key play was a Hurts throw to Dallas Goedert for 16 yards on third-and-12 to keep the chains moving. The Eagles had 56 rushing yards on the drive that consumed a lot of clock and kept the Cardinals offense off the field.
Murray led the Cardinals on a 12-play, 90-yard drive that resulted in an 11-yard touchdown run by Eno Benjamin to tie the game at 17. The Cardinals trailed, 14-0, in the first half before rallying back to tie the game, using a hurry-up offense to keep the Eagles defense on its heels throughout the second quarter onward. Marquise Brown had a 25-yard touchdown catch for Arizona to cut the deficit to 14-7 and Ammendola hit a 20-yard field goal just before halftime to make it 14-10. The Eagles defense allowed the Cardinals to go 91 yards on that field goal drive before halftime, but held them in the red zone as time was winding down in the first half.
Philadelphia built a 14-0 lead thanks to two rushing touchdowns from Jalen Hurts in the first half. Hurts has six rushing touchdowns this season and 19 in his first 25 career starts, passing Cam Newton for the most by a quarterback in NFL history. (Hurts has made just 24 career starts.)
For a recap of this showdown in the desert, a recap can be found in our live blog below!
Why the Eagles won
This victory wasn't impressive by any means, but the Eagles won a football game the old-fashioned way. The defense did give up 313 yards on its final five possessions, yet the Cardinals were held to a field goal in the final seconds of the first half in a goal-to-go situation, and Murray's spike on third-and-1 resulted in a missed field goal at the end of the game. At the end of the day, Philadelphia only allowed 17 points -- enough to escape Arizona with the win.
The Eagles also were efficient running the ball, having 139 rushing yards on 33 carries and controlling time of possession for 34:39. Philadelphia kept Murray and the Cardinals offense off the field, another reason why Arizona just had 17 points in this one.
Why the Cardinals lost
Slow starts were another problem for Arizona, which had 18 plays for 50 yards with three punts and an interception on its first four possessions -- which is how the Cardinals faced a 14-0 deficit to start. The Cardinals did overcome that, thanks to Murray playing his best football of the year. Murray threw for 250 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 55 yards, a performance good enough for a victory.
Instead, Murray's blunders on consecutive plays ended up costing the Cardinals at the end. Not only did Arizona have to kick a field goal for the tie with 22 seconds left at the Eagles' 25 -- Ammendola missed the 43-yard kick. That was the ball game.
Turning point
The Eagles were driving in a 17-17 game hoping to take the lead, but faced a third-and-12 at the Cardinals' 36-yard line with 4:28 left. Hurts had pressure in his face and still managed to find Dallas Goedert for a 16-yard gain and a first down that extended the drive and took more valuable time off the clock.
With a rookie kicker in Cameron Dicker playing his first game, the completed pass was crucial in giving Dicker an opportunity to make an easier field goal. Hurts did that with the throw to Goedert, and Dicker hit the go-ahead 23-yard field goal with under two minutes to play.
Play of the game
Jalen Hurts' throw on third down in the first half takes the cake here. On third-and-13, Hurts dropped back in the pocket to the Eagles' 1-yard line. The Eagles quarterback rolled to his left and ran toward the sideline before rolling across his body and finding DeVonta Smith for 22 yards and the first down.
The play was the starting point toward a 16-play, 87-yard drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Hurts that put the Eagles up 14-0. If Hurts doesn't make that throw, who knows if the Eagles win.
The quote
"I thought he was clearly past (the sticks) and they brought it back. By that time we committed to clocking it." -- Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury on Murray spiking the football on third-and-1 and forcing fourth down at the end of the game.
Up next
The Eagles (5-0) will host the Cowboys (4-1) for first place in the NFC East on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 6. The Cardinals (2-3) travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks (2-3) in a NFC West clash.