Cooked in the Desert: Eagles Come Up Short in Back-and-Forth Affair with Cardinals, Lose 24-20

Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) catches a 75 yard touchdown as Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cary Williams (26) defends during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It’s truly remarkable how one can lose track of how many singular moments can cost a team like the Eagles a win against a really strong opponent. Coming off a bye and needing a win to keep pace with the first place Cowboys, the Eagles were staring in the face of a Cardinals team that has surprisingly paced the pack in the NFC West. At face value, this was a back-and-forth game between two teams trying to take advantage of a chance to show the rest of the league they belong in the NFL’s elite. If you dig into what occurred on a play-by-play basis, this was a win that the Eagles snatched away from themselves at multiple different points of the game.

After trading early touchdowns with Arizona, the Philadelphia offense cruised into the red zone on an early 2nd quarter possession. Josh Huff caught a bubble screen and twisted and turned his way past the first down marker. The rookie held his ball in a cavalier fashion that left it exposed to tacklers. Sure enough, Huff lost the ball and Arizona took over. With a chance to tilt the see-saw back in their favor, the Eagles instead came away with no points and the score stayed 7-7.

On the next drive, again after making it deep into Cardinals territory, carelessness against cost the Eagles. On first down from the Arizona 25, Foles threw off his back foot and floated a ball up in the air. Antonio Cromartie brought in the interception and, once again, the Eagles left field goal range with no points to show for it. The sensation of halftime was bizarre considering one could have felt like the Eagles should have been winning and losing, given how they looked at various times. That said, the score was knotted at seven and it became a 30-minute ball game.

Larry Fitzgerald got his annual ‘I’m going to torch the Eagles’ play out of the way in the 3rd quarter. On a 3rd down slant from Carson Palmer Fitzgerald, aided by a blatant pick route by another Arizona receiver, turned up field and went 80 yards to the house to put the Cards up 14-7. The defense buckled down the next couple of drives and the Eagles played the field position battle to the tune of a 54-yard field goal by Cody Parkey to draw within 4.

After continuing to win the ‘turf battle’ for the better part of the 3rd quarter, the Eagles offense finally took advantage. Nick Foles was able isolate Jerraud Powers (filling in for an injured Patrick Peterson) and hit Jeremy Maclin on a 54-yard touchdown strike down the seam to put the Birds in front 17-14. The Eagles finished the quarter with a three-point lead, a position that they were 11-0 in under Chip Kelly.

Foles threw another interception to Cromartie near midfield on a ball possibly intended for Riley Cooper. Once again, Foles trailed off on his throw and made it as easy as possible for the defensive back to make the play. Arizona would go on to tie it at 17 on a field goal.

From there, the Eagles looked as if they were going to grind down the Cardinals on a game-winning drive ending with a go-ahead touchdown late in the quarter. A strong run-pass balance was the recipe as the Eagles moved deep into Arizona territory. They were set up with a 1st down on the Cardinals 11 yard line with four minutes on the clock. A pair of Chris Polk runs moved them to the one yard line. A replay indicated that Polk appeared to have broken the threshold for a first down on the play. Despite overwhelming video evidence and a chance to earn a fresh set of time-dwindling downs, Chip Kelly opted to keep the foot on the gas. On 3rd and 1, from a shotgun set, Foles gave to McCoy and Shady was dropped behind the line of scrimmage. After some discussion, Kelly opted for another field goal and a chance for his defense to win the game.

With a little under two minutes and all three timeouts, the Cardinals wasted little time making Kelly pay for not trying for a touchdown. On 3rd down, Carson Palmer unleashed a deep ball in the direction of rookie John Brown. Safety Nate Allen had jumped up on the play and Cary Williams allowed the receiver to pass him by. Palmer put it right on the money and it was off to the races for Brown. With 1:21 left and two timeouts, the Eagles would need a touchdown to win.

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To his credit, Foles made a few big throws on the final drive to give his team a chance. The 19-yard strike along the sidelines to Maclin to put the Eagles at the Arizona 16 was a pinpoint toss and put the Eagles in a situation where they could run something other than Hail Mary plays to try and steal the win. Unfortunately, Foles’ three probes toward the endzone yielded nothing but incompletions. The final play, intended for Jordan Matthews, carried the rookie out of bounds making his reception meaningless. The Eagles lost their second game of the season 24-20, once again, with the ball and a chance to walk off on the road with a win.

One thing that is especially concerning is that, while the team continues to fight and appears to have a even-keeled approach on the field, the same problems persist. The Eagles keep turning the ball over, they continue to struggle in the red zone, and the lack of playcalling balance is starting to reach Andy Reid-level numbers. For those watching, save for a few big losses by McCoy, there was room to run and the Eagles had some level of success doing so. McCoy had 83 yards on 21 carries and looked as if he was in a rhythm. However, the Eagles threw the ball 62 times and were 0-3 in the red zone as far as scoring touchdowns.

The fact that Polk’s carry near the goal line was not challenged is what will stick with me after this one. A first down on that play would have given the Eagles a chance to force Arizona to use all of their timeouts and still be in position to go up a touchdown. At the time, with the game tied, the timeouts did not mean anything to the Eagles. Even if the replay feed was insufficient for Kelly’s advisory coaches, common sense should have been sufficient at that point. Polk was as close to the endzone as possible and the team was NOT in a goal-to-go situation. The on-the-field mishaps were concerning, the struggling from the sideline was avoidable.

The Eagles look to get back to their winning ways next week in Houston against a beatable Texans team. The Houston defense and Arian Foster has kept them above water, but this is a team that is a few years from contending under Bill O’Brien. I imagine that Chip Kelly will preach focus this week as the Eagles, though few and far between, were brought down by their own mental lapses.