by With 2m40s left in the fourth quarter and the Philadelphia Eagles 11-4 and 3-12 Arizona Cardinals tied at 31-all, a disgusted AJ Brown walked off the field shaking his head at his lackluster offensive team. The Eagles, who were already in field goal range, as a result of a reckless goal attempt that gave them a winning field position, went soft. On 1st and 20, they called for a designed run to quarterback Jalen Hurts despite having one of the most effective rushers in the league in D’Andre Swift. A four-yard gain. Run Hurts again on second down, this time for a three-yard loss. Even saddled with 3rd-and-19, most teams to close in on the NFC East title and hoping to return Super Bowl appearance with last year’s MVP second place under the middle, take a shot. Not the Eagles. They called for a tunnel screen to running back Kenneth Gainwell who only got four yards.
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It was a miserable series from a playing point of view. Their conservative approach against an overmatched Cardinals team that had nothing to lose after going on a 21-6 streak is a prime example.
But when he spoke to reporters after the game, Nick Sirianni disagreed.
“I don’t think that’s conservative,” the Eagles’ third-year head coach said. “If they’re pushing the gaps, you’re running a gap scheme. We could have thrown it, but we chose to run it, and it didn’t hit. It didn’t work. The screen, that’s going to be hard to convert, the wind was blowing against us there. We had to get into range.”
Philadelphia converted the field goal, but allowed the Cardinals to march down the field and nail down a 35-31 victory at the death. The Arizona running back James Conner, who torched the Eagles for 128 yards and almost five yards per carry, scored the decisive touchdown.
Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator during last year’s Super Bowl run, called for the perfect game plan in his return to Philadelphia. Not only did Gannon’s Cardinals leave Philly with the upset victory, the Eagles’ offense was suddenly held to 251 yards.
As fate would have it, the Eagles’ defense today, or lack thereof, was the biggest cause of the disastrous Philadelphia loss. Arizona didn’t punt, not even once, and scored four straight touchdowns to close out the game. Conner turned their defense on the run and didn’t generate much of a pass rush. Their third-down coverage was risible. The seemingly reckless onside kick with 5:19 left in a tie game that gave the Eagles a short field goal? Gannon had so much confidence in his scoring offense.
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That’s an epic fall from grace for the Eagles, who have lost four of five games since a 10-1 start. More importantly, the Eagles just handed control of the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys and face the prospect of playing their postseason run entirely on the road.
Even Sirianni’s big deal after back-to-back losses earlier this month was a disaster, shifting defensive playing duties from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia. On Sunday, the Eagles, whose defense last year held the overall record for most quarterback sacks, looked like the worst defense in football.
This is still a proud unit that should theoretically produce given the talent it has in young and old: the likes of Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox among others. But Carter had the team’s lone sack against Arizona, which is a microcosm of the season’s regression. Philadelphia has just 41 sacks on the season after a league-leading 70 in 2022.
The Eagles players are keeping the faith.
“We’re not that far out defensively, man,” Graham said from his locker. “We have to finish the season properly and from there, it’s a week-to-week thing. …I’m not worried. I believe in us.”
Well done to Graham, in his 14th year as the longest running Eagle in the club’s history, for staying positive. That’s part of the job, and the right thing to say.
But the truth is, aside from crack-shot placekicker and Super Bowl LII hero Jake Elliott, there’s a lot to worry about in south Philadelphia. They started the day on the verge of hosting a playoff game and now they will likely have to win out on the road.
It used to be sunny in Philadelphia, not long ago, and that’s why the Eagles will be in the postseason regardless. But if this team doesn’t find a hit next week, their offseason is right around the corner.
MVP of the week
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore. The Ravens were successful in all three phases in their 56-19 rout of Miami, but it was Jackson’s quarterbacking masterclass that stole the show. The 26-year-old punctuated his MVP trophy-in-waiting with a sensational five touchdowns, 321 yards passing and only three incompletions. Coincidentally (or not), the trifecta of Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham has quickly become one of the league’s most prolific and definitive wide receiver corps. With the 2019 NFL MVP playing the best ball of his career, and giving OC Todd Monken endless options, the sky is the limit for the Ravens, who have now clinched the top seed in the AFC.
Video of the week
We saw some crazy catches in Week 17, including a beauty by the Ravens’ OBJ and what looked like a few dozen one-handed snaps. But this beauty from Justin Fields to DJ Moore takes the cake because of the weather and the sheer amount of difficulty. Moore finished the day with nine catches for 159 yards and a touchdown and the Bears received the No. 1 overall pick. 1 in the draft from the same trade. Take a bow, Ryan Poles.
The situation of the week
17 consecutive seasons without a losing record. After a 30-23 victory in Seattle, the Steelers ensured that they will once again finish a season with more wins than losses, all under head coach Mike Tomlin. It’s a great streak given the natural ebb and flow of the NFL, especially for teams with uncertainty at quarterback. And it’s absurd that some fans expected Tomlin to break at various points this season. What this man has done is the stuff of legends. As teams in need of a new head coach consider their options, Tomlin has given a clinic on the importance of organizational culture for nearly two decades. Build a statue for that man.
Elsewhere throughout the series
• It wasn’t pretty or easy, but the up-and-coming Rams pulled out a 26-25 win over the Giants. LA has now won six of seven since a 3-6 start and has far exceeded season expectations. Matthew Stafford’s improvement helped the cause and his continued ability to throw canes. So is the incredible job of the Rams’ pro-scout department, which GM Les Snead fondly referred to as “the island of dysfunctional toys.”
• The steals of the NFL trade deadline go to the Bills and acquire playmaking cornerback Rasul Douglas from the Packers. Douglas’ two interceptions, including one pick-six, played a key role in Buffalo’s 27-21 win over the feisty Patriots. (Feisty Patriots defense anyway.) It wasn’t Josh Allen’s best day, especially in the first half when he was just 7-20 for 46 yards. He also threw his 16th interception of the season, a new career high. His pocket accuracy needs to improve if Buffalo is going to make any noise this postseason. Although Allen gets a few redeeming points for this cool rugby play:
• Baker Mayfield was brought back to Earth by New Orleans’ dominating defense in a 23-13 victory that keeps the Saints alive in Week 18. But Tampa can still win the NFC South and get the Week 18 victory on the Panthers low.
• San Francisco bounced back from its Christmas loss to the Ravens with a convincing 27-10 win at Washington. The 49ers pulled away in the second half as Purdy looked more and more comfortable. His 230 yards were enough to make him the 49ers’ single-season leader in passing yards, which was impressive considering the franchise’s seniority at the position. Three seed No. 1 seed in the NFC, the 49ers don’t play a meaningful game until the divisional round. It will be interesting to see how much Kyle Shanahan plays his key starters when they host the Rams next week.
• Larry Borom was reported as an eligible receiver twice in Chicago’s 37-17 win over the Falcons on Sunday, and both times, referee Adrian Hill made it clear it wasn’t Brad Allen. 75 reported as eligible. 75 reported as eligible. Not 75! Boom hill. Allen and his crew, after Saturday night’s controversial ending to the Lions-Cowboys game, are still under scrutiny after making any such announcement and then throwing a flag after Detroit’s successful two-point conversion to Taylor Dekker that would have late notice to them. lead. Allen’s ineligible receiver verdict was later found to be wrong and Dan Campbell is probably somewhere still screaming into the void. This is the same team that lost big in Week 13 when Green Bay’s Carrington Valentine threw a clear pass on a deep ball to Chiefs wideout Marquez Valdez-Scantling in the final seconds.
• Sure, there were some other moments when Detroit could have pulled out a win, including a better throw by Jared Goff on the Lions’ third (!) two-point conversion attempt. But these are crucial moments at the end of games. The execution has to be better, or the NFL can stop their “integrity of the game” balderdash.
• After Carolina’s loss to Jacksonville, the Bears have taken the No. 1 overall pick. 1 officially (via trade) in the 2024 NFL draft. If Chicago wants to send a thank you card to anyone, make it Panthers wideout DJ Chark, who somehow managed to drop three catchable balls on three throws in a row against Carolina 26-0.
