The Eagles fell to Arizona 40-17 tonight and there is certainly a lot to talk about. From the decision to sit Murray to the errors on both sides of the ball..this loss is a frustrating one to say the least. Here’s the good, bad and ugly from tonights disappointing result.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME:
Okay it wasn’t a highlight..but it does lift the spirits after what quickly became another angering game to watch. Mark Sanchez..putting on a coat..to silly music..seriously, it will at least make things a little better..kind of.
There's something mildly amusing about mark Sanchez putting on a coat to silly music https://t.co/NcoSr3ERlt
— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) December 21, 2015
GOOD:
Long sleeves:
Yes he threw two picks and fumbled on a blindside tackle but aside from that he played some great Football. He looked a lot more confident, went 9/11 for 102 yards after the first touchdown and ended with 361 yards going 28/41 with 2TD’s and 2 picks. It wasn’t a great game..but it’s enough to be deemed a good game for sure. He was consistent, confident and daring as he slung the ball down the field..but it all fell apart at the wrong time.
MAGNETS:
This goes hand in hand with Bradford but the receivers tonight may as well have had magnets in their gloves..for the most part. Sure there were still a few drops and minor errors but Matthews had the best game of his season so far and even Josh Huff had over 50 yards on the night. The Cardinals are an extremely tough Defense..especially against the pass and for the Eagles to appear to be so dominant until the end through the air is a huge step forward..a lot of that falls on the wideouts.
Breaking the walls down:
The Cardinals don’t give up a lot of sacks. The Eagles were able to get to Palmer twice in what SHOULD have been a three sack game but more impressively..assert pressure early on. Cox hit Palmer on the first play of the game and from then on the Eagles Defense constantly sought after the Cardinals Quarterback. The Defense was shoddy tonight..but the pass rush as a unit did very well against such an intimidating Offensive Line and a Quarterback with the 8th fastest release in the NFL.
BAD:
Out-coached:
A rush on 4th and inches with no DeMarco Murray despite his 100% completion rate on 3rd/4th and short? An almost safety when opting to throw in the end-zone despite having two explosive backs behind you? There were some questionable calls on both sides of the ball tonight and you could say the biggest mismatch of the day was between Arians and Billy Davis. It’s been worse..but there were some bad, bad decisions made on the field today.
Chip Kelly being on Santa’s naughty list:
Losing Byron Maxwell briefly (future status unknown) and Eric Rowe for the rest of the game really didn’t help the corner situation. The Eagles were relying on guys who have seen little action this season against some of the toughest receivers in the league..there’s only so much you can do in that situation to stop the bleeding..regardless of the poor play itself..the Eagles were hit with a streak of bad luck.
UGLY:
Happy Christmas Cardinals:
It’s something that’s haunted Ryan Mathews’ entire career and something that looks as though it will continue to do so. Sam Bradford threw two picks, one was down to a complete miscommunication whilst the other just appeared to be a dodgy read or an under throw..it happens. But they all came when the Eagles needed momentum the most and that’s what will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. That drive after drive, sloppy error after sloppy error continued to hammer this teams chances of winning into the ground..they have to protect the ball better. Allowing the Cardinals to have three takeaways when they rank among the top Offenses in the league is just a disaster.
Running wild….ly into oblivion:
It was clear after the first quarter that Murray was benched to the point where he has morphed into said bench..but what was also clear was this backfield struggles in the exact same scenarios without him. Whether the Cardinals Defense were just too good (plausible) or whether the Eagles inability to create a consistent rushing threat runs deeper than the former Cowboy remains to be seen, but this was a situation fans had prayed for since the beginning of the season and upon its arrival..we were greeted with stuffed runs and fumbles.
Get a grip!:
We all know about spygate and deflate gate..but vaselinegate has to stop. First the receivers and now the Defense..the Eagles were lazy and sloppy when it came to tackling today. The Johnson touchdown was just one example, the Kiko Alonso flinging himself out of a catapult into oblivion was another..oh and then there’s E.J Biggers seemingly over-running his man so much he may as well have ran to the half way line. Byron Maxwell finished second in tackles for the Eagles..THE MAN WHO TOOK A PIGGY BACK DOWN THE FIELD
When bae leaves Netflix and chill early pic.twitter.com/yuxRXwqvAt
— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) December 21, 2015
HAD MORE TACKLES THAN JENKINS, COX, THORNTON, BARWIN AND GRAHAM….H O W. Every single player appeared to be guilty of it. Jenkins missed some vital tackles whilst the corners struggled to get players out of bounds from the opening drive..this was a terrible game in terms of tackling..and it’s one of the biggest factors in this loss.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!
