The Arizona Cardinals churned out a solid team performance with a narrow 33-26 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Cardinals, who recently endured a three-game losing streak, are clinging on to the final playoff spot in the NFC. Victories against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles in the last two games have somewhat steadied the ship as the team head into two colossal clashes with division rivals in the final two regular season games.
Cardinals Beat Eagles With All-Around Team Performance
Inconsistency is the color of the Cardinals 2020 season. The Week 15 clash with the Eagles was no different. Leaping out to a 16-0 lead early, Jalen Hurts clawed Philadelphia back into the game. It took a career high 406-yard passing day from Kyler Murray and a 169 yards, one touchdown performance from DeAndre Hopkins for the Cardinals to sneak out of the game with a win. However, both stars contributed a turnover each in what was a game of swings and roundabouts for Arizona.
Kliff Kingsbury noted post-game how unusual it is for a team to give up three turnovers, have none of their own and come out with the win, although the Cardinals head coach may a victim of the stat pad in saying this. The performances of Murray and Hopkins may have overshadowed what was a good outing for the Cardinals special team unit. In addition to converting a fake punt, Ezekiel Turner created a pseudo-turnover with a blocked punt early in the first quarter.
A Team Performance on Offense
What appeared different about Sunday was that the offense did not live and die on the back of Arizona’s dynamic duo of Hopkins and Murray. Particularly, offensive production in the passing game was not entirely reliant on targeting Hopkins.
Hopkins leads the Cardinals in receiving yards with 1,324 yards; Christian Kirk is his closest competitor with 545. It is a testament to the ability of DeAndre Hopkins that his production has been so high, especially in light of the Cardinals lacking another electrifying receiving threat. Therefore, the dilemma for Kyler Murray has been finding a balance between forcing the ball to Hopkins in a good way, and forcing it to Hopkins in a bad way. Underproduction from other receivers has limited how Hopkins was deployed, with teams able to pay more attention to the Cardinals star. Recent weeks saw the Cardinals receiver running a severely limited route tree. Kingsbury’s design often negated the added coverage on Hopkins but had a very low ceiling.
Larry Fitzgerald, in particular, was a welcome addition to the Cardinals pass attack. After returning last week from a bout with Covid-19, the veteran caught three passes for 35 yards and an impressive touchdown that belied his age. Hopkins himself commended Fitzgerald on the catch, playfully poking fun at Fitzgerald’s senior status. All together, Kyler Murray hit nine different receivers on his way to a career-high passing total. Hopkins’ 169 yards receiving was a personal season-high for one of the league’s very best. The Cardinals offense can get by on the production of Murray and Hopkins. However, better production from the rest of the Cardinals receivers draws coverage and give Hopkins better matchups. Therein, it is no coincidence that D-Hop’s best day of the year came when the entire receiving corps turned up to the game.
Defensive Reinforcements
Although having a much more muted day than last week’s stellar performance, the Cardinals pass rush continued to make up for Chandler Jones’ absence. The team managed six sacks, with nickelback Byron Murphy even getting in on the action. Two significant names amongst those who got to Jalen Hurts, though, were defensive linemen Zach Allen and Leki Fotu.
The Cardinals defensive line has been decimated throughout the season. Week 10 saw captain and stalwart Corey Peters lost for the season. Free agent signing Jordan Phillips currently sits on the Injured Reserve list, where both Allen and Fotu have spent time during the season. Therein, the return and production of the two interior linemen was a refreshing sight at State Farm Stadium. 2020 standouts Dennis Gardeck and Haason Reddick were also able to contribute with three combined sacks.
Jalen Hurts did manage 63 yards on the ground. Although, considering Hurts’ 106 yard performance against the New Orleans Saints, the Cardinals defense successfully limited the quarterback’s dual-threat ability.
Special Teams Making Plays
Special teams has been a headache for Cardinals fans all season. Kicker Zane Gonzalez, a product of nearby Arizona State, has struggled throughout the year. Notable misses against the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins have seen Kingsbury’s faith in his kicker questioned. Now, Gonzalez sits on IR. His replacement Mike Nugent has nailed 5/5, including a 40 yarder against the Eagles.
The rest of the special teams unit has actually been productive across the year. The Eagles game, however, was their best of the season. Special teams is a game of field position and the Cardinals dominated in this regard. This is perhaps illustrated best in what was the most notable play of the first quarter. Punting from their own 42, the Eagles allowed Cardinals linebacker Ezekiel Turner to block the attempt. Although the ball was not recovered in bounds, the block gave the Cardinals the ball on the Philadelphia 6 yard line. Two plays later, Chase Edmonds found the endzone.
Turner also found himself involved later in the game, catching a ball from veteran punter Andy Lee for a first down in the fourth quarter. Although the offense failed to add any points on the ensuing drive, it took nothing away from the execution from Lee. The punter also allowed no returns on three punts in the game (one touchback, two fair catches).
Best Team Performance of the Year
This was not the Cardinals’ highest scoring game. The defense did not hold the Eagles to single-digits. Yet it may have been the most comprehensive team win of the year. A formula for launching this offense into the stratosphere became apparent, with ample contributions from the defense and special teams leading the Cardinals past an underrated Eagles team. Special teams is often the forgotten phase of football, especially in the shadow of Arizona’s star-studded offense, but the significance of special teams on Sunday was undeniable. Now the Cardinals hope to replicate this exemplary team performance in their final two games and, god willing, onto the post-season.
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