Setting the Stage
Last week, the Eagles upset Saints 24 - 21. Card defense dismembered the Giants 26 - 7
Buzz out of Eagles Hq is that the 4-8-1 Philly team , led by rookie phenom Jalen Hurts, is a team on the verge of immortality. The Arizona win over the Giants gave 7-6-0 Cards an edge for a final playoff berth.
Most Recent Eagles Game
Eagles upset Saints 24 - 21.
They opened up a 17 - 0 lead and hung on to preserve a 24 - 21 win.
Jalen Hurts ran for 106 yards and threw for 167 and one touchdown, Miles Sanders had 115 yards rushing and a pair of scores
The Saints (10-3) were 8-0 without Drew Brees over the past two seasons before running into the Eagles.
According to Saints coach Sean Payton: '..."(Hurts) was impressive just watching him. I thought he played with poise, made some throws. He was smart. He did a good job.''
Hurts was 17 of 30 in his first career start.
Sanders broke loose for an 82-yard TD run in the second quarter, giving the Eagles a 17-0 lead - Sanders has three runs of 70-plus yards since October.
The Eagles lost cornerback Darius Slay and safety Rodney McLeod on the same play before Kamara scored.
New Orleans had a chance to take a lead, but Josh Sweat strip-sacked Hill (Javon Hargrave recovered). .
The Eagles were trying to run out the clock when Hurts fumbled near midfield. Hill then connected with Jared Cook on a 20-yard TD pass to puet the Saints within 24-21 with 1:29 left.
But Philadelphia recovered the onside kick, and Hurts tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Alshon Jeffery on a fourth-and-2.
Jeffery had two catches in four games this season before hauling in Hurts' back-shoulder throw to give Philadelphia a rare lead.
Hurts and Sanders are the first quarterback/running back combo to run for 100 yards in the same game for the Eagles since Donovan McNabb and Duce Staley did it in 2002.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
No Scoring
2nd Quarter
Phi 1:35 Alshon Jeffery 15 pass from Jalen Hurts (Jake Elliott Kick) NO 0 - Ph 7
Phi 8:55 FG Jake Elliott 44 NO 0 - Ph 10
Phi 13:25 Miles Sanders 82 run (Jake Elliott Kick) NO 0 - Ph 17
3rd Quarter
NO 7:05 Alvin Kamara 5 run (Wil Lutz Kick) NO 7 = Ph 17
NO 13:20 E. Sanders 37 pass from Taysom Hill (Wil Lutz Kick) NO 14 - Ph 17
4th Quarter
Phi 8:38 Miles Sanders 1 run (Jake Elliott Kick) NO 14 - Ph 24
NO 13:36 Jared Cook 20 pass from Taysom Hill (Wil Lutz Kick) NO 21 - Ph 24
Final Score - Eagles 24 - NO 21
Season Stats
...............................................................Phil.............Opp
Total First Downs .................................270..............276
Rushing ..................................................93 ................81
Passing ..................................................142 ..............169
Penalty ...................................................35..... ............26
Total Net Yards ...................................4239............. 4523
Total Plays ...........................................851... ...........864
Net Yards Rushing ..............................1641............1655
Total Rushes .........................................316........... ..390
Net Yards Passing ..............................2598 ...........2868
Sacked/Yards Lost ............................53-331 .......43-283
Gross Passing Yards .............................2929 .........3151
Att./Completions .............................395-248 .......434-291
Completion Pct................................. 57.3............. ...67.7
Had Intercepted .................................16 ...................4
Punts/Average ................................58-48.2........ 58-46.4
Net Punting Avg. .............................58-42.5 ........58-42.3
Penalties-Yards.............................. 80-628 ..........93-824
Fumbles-Lost ...................................23-7..............16.9
Touchdowns ........................................34................ 38
Rushing .................................................12.................18
Passing .................................................18.. ..............19
Returns...................................................4....................1
"Unofficial" Depth Chart
Eagles Offense
Quarterbacks
QB ...02 Hurts...11 Wentz...07 Sudfeld
Running Backs
RB...26 Sanders...35 Scott...30 Clement...32 Huntley
Wide Receivers
WR1... 13 Fulgham...17 Jeffrey...19 Whiteside
WR2...84 Ward
WR3...18 Reagor...82 Hightower...80 Watkins
Tight Ends
TE...86 Ertz...88 Goedert...85 Rodgers
Offensive Line
LT...68 Mailata...64 Toth
LG...73 Seomalo...69 Pryor
OC...62 Kelce...74 Juriga
RG..67 Herbig
RT...63 Driscoll (Inj)
Eagle Defense
Front Four
RDE....96 Barrett...94 Sweat...58 Avery
RDT ....93 Hargrave...97 M Jackson
LDT....91 Cox...61 R Williams
LDE...55 Graham...75 Curry
Linebackers
ROLB...49 Singleton...59 Bachie
MLB...57 Edwards...54 Bradley
LOLB...50 Riley
Secondary
RCB...29 Maddox...31 Coleman...41 Seymour
LCB...24 Slay (Inj)...38 Jacquet
FS...42 Wallace...37 Arnold...48 Riley
SS...21 Mills...22 Epps...36Ford
Special Teams
P......01 Johnston
K.....04 Elliott
LS..45 .Lovato
H ...01 Johnston
PR ...18 Reagor
KR ...35 Scott
Player Stats (Season)
Passing
Murray 309 of 461 for 3231 yds...67.03%...23 TDs...10 Ints...Sacked 21 Times...94.7 Rating
Hurts - 25 of 45 for 309 yds....55.6%...2 TD ...2 INT... Sacked 3 Times...72.8 Rating
Wentz - 251 of 437 for 2620 yds 57.4%16 TD...15 Int.. Sacked 50...66.7 Rating
Rushing
Drake 201 for 848 yds 4.2 YPA 9 TDs
Murray 115 for 712...6.2 YPA...10 TDs
Edmonds 83 for 404....4.9 YPA...1 TD
Sanders 132 for 746...YPA 5.7 ...TDs 5
Scott 63 for 292...YPA...4.6...1 TD
Receiving
Hopkins 94 for 1155...5 TDs
Fitzgerald 45 for 346... 0 TD
Edmonds 46 for 347...3 TDs
Kirk 38 for 512... 6 TDs
Ward 46 for 371 yds 4 TD
Goedert 39 for 447 yds 3 TD
Fulgham 33 for 467 yds 4 TDs
Ertz 28 for 317 yds 1 TD
Tackles -
Baker 100
Hicks 101
Campbell 84
Kirkpatrick 51
Reddick 51
Singleton 87
McLeod (Inj) 66
Mills 64
Gerry 57
Edwards 56
Sacks
Reddick 10
Gardeck 5
Golden 3.5
Baker...Blackson...Phillips...Kennard...Simmons 2.0 Apiece
Graham 7.0
Cox 6.5
Sweat 6.0
Barrett 5.5
Hargrave 4.5
Interceptions
P Peterson, Kirkpatrick 3 apiece
Four Players 1 apiece
Cardinals Depth Chart
Quarterbacks
01 Murray, 15 Streveler, 07 Hundley
Running Back
41 Drake, 29 Edmonds, 38 Ward 26 Benjamin
Wide Receivers
WR - 11 Fitzgerald...17 Isabella
WR - 13 Kirk....19 KS Johnson
WR - 10 Hopkins 16 Sherfield
Tight Ends
TE - 87 William 82 Arnold
Offensive Line
LT- ...74 Humphries ....79 J Jones...66 Miles
LG - 67 Pugh 73 Garcia
OC- 52 Cole 65 Galliard
RG- 71 Murray...64 Sweezy...
RT - 68 Beachum
Defensive Interior Line
DT - Phillips...94 Allen
NT - 90 Peko Sr...xx Lawrence
DT - 92 Blackson...95 Fotu
Linebackers
OLB - 43 Reddick...49 Fitts
ILB - ..59 Campbell 48 Simmons 47 Z Turner
ILB - 58 Hicks 51 Vallejo
OLB - 44 Golden 42 Kennard...45 Gardeck
Defensive Backs
CB - 21 P Peterson...27 K Peterson
CB - 20 Kirkpatrick...33 Murphy
S - 34 J Thompson...35 D Thompson...28 C Washington
S - 32 Baker...31 Banjo. 40 Tillman*
Cardinals Special Teams
P - ...02 Lee
K- ....05 Gonzalez
H - ...02 Lee
LS - 46 Brewer
KR -29 Edmonds
PR - 13 Kirk
Matchups:
Matchup: Eagle Passing Attack vs. Cardinal Pass Defense
Replacing Wetntz with Herbert came as a surprise to Eagles followers., but in his pro debut, he led his team to a win over the streaking NO Saints. Supporters say he'combines mobility with a poised operation of the Philly offense.
Three Eagles to keep an eye on: Reagor, Jeffrey and their TE Ertz.
Cardinal secondary is fairly healthy - only potential weakspot is at CB2 (Kirkpatrick). Reddick and Golden anchor a not-to-shabby pass rush,
Key Matchups - Reddick vs. Maialata. Golden vs. Herbig
Matchup: Eagle Rushing Attack vs. Cardinal Run Defense
Philly does not possess an awe-inspiring running game, but they'd best keep an eye on Miles Sanders - who has turned inside runs into several long gainers.
Key Matchups
M Sanders vs. Campbell...
Matchup: Cardinal Passing Attack vs. Eagle Pass Defense
Eagles are hurting in their secondary, with McLeod and Slay doubtful for Sunday. D-Hop is a load for any defender to shoulder but considering any matchup, he should be wide open all afternoon. Fitz is underused. Kirk does what's asked of him in a professional manner. Arnold is beginning to make his presence felt at TE. Eagles spread around pass rushing duties, with Graham 7.0, Cox 6.5, Sweat 6.0, Barrett 5.5 and Hargrave 4.5 doing most of the damage.
Cards should have a distinct edge over the Philly secondary, but Eagles can wreak havoc mixing and matching among their pass rushers.
Key Matchups:
Murray vs. Eagle LBs...Hopkins vs. Maddox...Arnold vs. Wallace
Matchup: Cardinal Running Attack vs. Eagle Run Defense
Eagles are solid in the middle up front - with Fletcher Cox patrolling the inside. Cardinal running attack led by Drake and Edmond is up and down - Edmond does what's expecterd of him as a @2 to Drake. Drake lacks the short yardage bulk and power you'd like from your #1 in short yardage situations or when asked to bleed time off the clock to protect a 4Q lead. Not that' he's horrible - he gets the job done about one-third of the time and Cards are expecting more from him.
Key Matchups
Cox vs. Drake...Edmonds vs. Singleton...Murray vs. Graham...Battle of the two lines.
Matchup Eagles Special Teams vs. Cardinal Special Teams
Gonzalez's inconsistency has probably cost the Cards a playoff spot (& Gonzo his job).. Don't know much about Johnston and Elliott. Lee, by and large, gets the job done as the Cardinal punter. We like the idea of making your untested hot-shot rookie receiver (Reagor) your punt return specialist while he learns the ins and outs of WR.
Last Word
Don't underrate the Eagles. They're well-coached. They're solid where they have to be solid. They have home-run threats at key positions. They can sack you. Their recently promoted rookie QB has both the athleticism and behind-the-ears-skills that can make him dangerous in clutch situations.
In terms of the playoffs, the Giants handed the Cards a gift. If the Cards can play with spirit and smarts,, they can outplay the Eagles, but it won't be a cakewalk. Cards will have to earn it. |
