Jonathan Gannon’s Resilient Squad: Cardinals vs Eagles Game Analysis

2023-12-31 21:31:00

Christian Gonzales’ takeaways:

Jonathan Gannon’s squad shows resilience in win. It was a rough first half for the first-year head coach in his return to Philadephia. With two trips in the red zone in the first 30 minutes, Kyler Murray and Co. managed to only get two field goals. However, the second half was a different story. In Arizona’s first drive in the third quarter, Michael Carter ignited the Cardinals’ offense. Carter capped off the drive with impressive runs for 16 and 21 yards. Shortly following, Murray dropped a 6-yard pass to Carter for Arizona’s first touchdown. James Conner contributed a highlight reel on the next drive with a one-handed TD catch to tie the game at 21. Rookie Michael Wilson, who had not caught a pass since Week 10, kept the Cardinals afloat with a TD catch following a Philly score. With two minutes left in the game, Murray led the Cardinals down the field with crucial first-down passes to Greg Dortch and Rondale Moore. Conner put the finishing touches on Arizona’s seven-play, 70-yard drive with his second TD of the game, shaking up the NFC playoff picture following a thrilling victory.

The Eagles’ second half struggles continue. After being held to under 20 points in three out of the last four games, Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia’s offense appeared to have found their footing to start the game. Hurts distributed the ball to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Julio Joneswho had two TDs in the first half. On the other side of the ball, Eagles cornerback Sydney Brown returned a Murray pass for a 99-yard pick-six to give the Eagles a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. Hurts finished the half throwing 11 of 13 for 114 yards and two touchdowns. With a 21-6 lead heading into the locker room, Nick Sirianni’s squad didn’t keep its foot on the pedal. The offense looked flat in the second half, while the defense let Murray extend plays with his legs and carve up Philly’s defense. Since taking over the defensive play-calling duties, Matt Patricia’s Eagles allowed a season-high 29 points in the second half, per NFL Research.

Upset wins are nothing new for the Cardinals. This season, Arizona has wins over the Cowboys, Steelers and now the Eagles, who are all in the playoff hunt heading into Week 18. With Murray out for Arizona’s first 10 games due to a torn ACL, the Cardinals (4-12) are 3-4 in their last seven games with their franchise QB in the lineup. Ever since the team parted ways with Zach Ertzsecond-year tight end Trey McBride has emerged as a true TE1 for Arizona. McBride has had six-plus catches in seven of the last nine games, and Murray’s return has elevated both their play.

Next Gen stat of the game: Eagles safety Sydney Brown reached a top speed of 21.52 mph on his 99-yard pick-six. It was the fastest play by an Eagles ball carrier in over two seasons. Brown traveled 126.7 yards on the play, the most distance traveled on a pick-six since Week 5, 2018 (Marcus Maye, 140.7 yards).

NFL Research: Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who completed 25 of 31 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns, one interception and a 116.7 passer rating, had his first game with a 100-plus passer rating in a game since Week 9, 2022 (minimum two pass attempts).

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