Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17

Posted: October 12th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 7 Comments »

Put simply, the Cardinals have been a pain in the ass for decades, most especially since they went to Arizona. If I took the time to cover every miserable trip to the desert, I would need therapy. The loss in the NFC title game in 2008 was pure torture. The losses in 1994 and 1996 were miserable experiences. For some odd reason, it always feels like the Cardinals bring out the worst in the Eagles.

This certainly was the worst performance by the Eagles this year. The offense was up and down against the blitz. There were some crucial penalties that killed drives. The defense missed some tackles that kept Cardinals drives alive. The special teams allowed a fake punt to be converted.

But…the Eagles won.

They didn’t have their A-game. They had to deal with some tough injuries. They were on the road and way out west. There were plenty of excuses for them if they lost. But this Eagles team has a different feel. They find ways to succeed. Jack Driscoll makes his first start at LT and gets the job done. Cameron Dicker signs with the team a few days before the game and then hits the game-winner in his Eagles debut.

Give Nick Sirianni a lot of credit for this. He’s established a strong culture that really focuses on doing things the right way. When teams buy in to that mentality, they are going to win a lot of games, even some when they aren’t at their best.

The Eagles did get up 14-0 and looked good. The Cardinals responded and made a game of it. The Eagles could not put them away until Matt Ammendola’s field goal went wide right in the final seconds. Arizona really battled in this game. They made some clutch plays on offense, defense and STs. Until the last FG attempt.

For the second week in a row, the offense had a long, time-consuming drive that helped to win the game. This week it was 17 plays, 70 yards and ate up 7:58. It resulted in the winning FG. That was a thing of beauty, with the OL doing some great blocking and the runners fighting for every yard.

One of the things that kept the game close was key mistakes by the Eagles. There was a holding penalty on a drive in the 3rd Qtr that negated a good run that had the team at the 4-yd line. They had to settle for a FG. There was a holding call on the next drive. That call came at the ARZ 40. It was followed by a drop and a sack so the team had to punt. Those drives could have ended with a TD and FG, respectively. Instead the Eagles came away with just a FG.

The Eagles improved to 5-0 for the third time in franchise history (1981, 2004). They won in Arizona for the first time since 2001.

COACHING

Sirianni didn’t have many tough decisions in this game. The Eagles went for it on 4th down once and it wasn’t anything crazy. There weren’t any plays to challenge. Sirianni seemed to do a lot of pacing on the sideline. He looked more nervous than the other games. Maybe he sensed that this one would come down to the end.

The offensive gameplan was a bit odd.

The screen game was mostly effective, but it did feel like the Eagles went to it too much. It is possible the coaches were nervous about having a backup LT and banged up LG and C in the game so they focused more on small-ball. Hurts didn’t launch any deep balls.

Jonathan Gannon was a bit conservative on defense, playing a lot of off coverage. I think he did this so his DBs would be watching Kyler Murray. If you play aggressively go with lots of man, the DBs run with receivers and a running QB can break off big runs. Jalen Hurts did this to the Lions in the opener.

The strategy helped hold the Cardinals to 17 points. If the Eagles tackling had been better, the Cards might not have scored that much. The Cards made this more of a space game and the Eagles were inconsistent with how they handled that. They did have 8 TFLs, but were sloppy on other plays and let short plays turn into bigger gains than they should have been.

OFFENSE

357 yards
6 of 13 on 3rd downs
1 of 1 on 4th downs
2 of 4 in the red zone
3 plays of 20 or more yards

That’s a low number of big plays. The Eagles had to work to sustain drives in this game.

-QB-

Jalen Hurts had a good game, going 26-36-239. He also ran for 61 yards and 2 TDs. No turnovers, although one pass was almost picked off. His best throw came when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a gain of 22. QBs have to be careful when throwing back toward the middle while moving outside. Hurts saw his receiver and made a good throw with a defender coming at him. This was aggressive, but not reckless.

The play of the game came on the final drive when Hurts hit Goedert over the middle. The ball was on the money and Hurts took a good hit on the play. He is tough. Hurts is also smart. He adjusted the play before the snap. The play had been a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was open and Hurts got him the ball.

One throw that stood out to me was a quick screen to DeVonta on the right side. Hurts threw that side-arm. I don’t recall him doing this in other games. Maybe I never noticed it. The throw was quick and accurate. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts specialty so this was cool to see. Hurts made good decisions as a runner. He did slip on a 3rd/1 play when he went wide, but the DB was in good position and might have gotten him anyway.

There were 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he got the 2 TDs and several first downs. That feels like it ought to be a record for sneaks in one game.

-RB-

Miles Sanders was 15-58 on the ground and 2-6 as a receiver. His long run went for 12 yards. The Cards can be tough to run on and they clogged the running lanes pretty well. Sanders got almost half of his carries on the final drive. He did a good job of fighting for yards in that series.

Kenny Gainwell was 3-20, with all his carries coming on the final drive.

-WR-

DeVonta Smith had a big game. He caught 10 passes for 87 yards. He caught a lot of screens and made them work well with his running after the catch. He was elusive, as you would expect, but also tough. He ran through some tackles and bounced off one big hit. He did drop one pass. His yards per catch was low because he was tackled for no gain or a loss on a couple of plays.

AJ Brown started off red hot, going 3-32 on the opening drive. He didn’t catch a pass after that. There were other passes that came his way, but he and Hurts weren’t able to connect. Brown was called for holding on a run play.

Quez Watkins caught passes on a couple of screens. He was 3-19 overall. Hurts hit him on 3rd/goal at the end of the game, but a DB hit Watkins just after the ball got there and broke it up.

-TE-

Dallas Goedert had a terrific game, going 8-95. He caught several screens, but also a couple of downfield passes. The long pass went for a gain of 31. The highlight play came on 3rd/12 on the final drive. Goedert got open and Hurts hit him. The play was short of the sticks, but Goedert fought through a pair of tackles to get the first down and keep the drive alive. Clutch.

Goedert did a solid job as a run blocker.

The Eagles used 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE) a decent amount in this game. Jack Stoll was up and down as a blocker. No passes for him or Grant Calcaterra.

-OL-

The Eagles had Jack Driscoll making his first start at LT. Sua Opeta had to come in at LG and played 47 of 73 snaps. Cam Jurgens came in for 3 snaps. When you can do that and still gain 357 yards and score 20 points against the defense that blitzes at the second highest rate in the league, that is impressive. Great job by the blockers and Jeff Stoutland.

Lane Johnson had a great game. He shutdown pass rushers, as he usually does. He also had some outstanding run blocks while on the move. He got a DB in the box and moved him to create a nice running lane. He pulled and had an excellent block on a run by Hurts.

Jason Kelce was excellent, despite battling a lower-leg injury. He pulled to the right on a couple of runs and opened good holes for Sanders. You don’t run that many successful QB sneaks without the center doing a good job of firing off the ball and getting movement.

Isaac Seumalo had some outstanding seals on running plays up the middle.

Landon Dickerson only played 26 snaps, but had some dominant moments. He threw a DL out of the way and then went and got a LB on a run play to his side. Dickerson was called for holding and that hurt one drive. He was in on the final drive and helped the Eagles control the LOS.

Jack Driscoll played well. He got pushed back at times, but always battled and never had his rusher get a free run at Hurts. Driscoll plays angles well and makes sure not to get beaten inside. He had some good run blocks.

Sua Opeta played well. He was called for holding, but it didn’t look bad to me.

DEFENSE

363 yards
8 of 14 on 3rd downs
1 of 1 on 4th downs
1 of 2 in the red zone
2 plays of 20 or more yards
1 takeaway

-DL-

The DL had a tough task. They had to rush Murray, but also make sure to stay disciplined. Go as fast as you can, but stay under control and be ready for your target to make unexpected and explosive moves. Sounds easy, right?

The Eagles DL did a good job in this game. They only got one sack and a couple of QB hits, but they were close a lot. And Murray was making a concerted effort to get rid of the ball quickly.

Josh Sweat played well. He was in on 2 tackles and had a TFL. He got pressure on several plays. He pursued really well, which was critical when facing a team making so many short throws. The TFL came when he chased down a jet sweep for a loss. Great effort.

Jordan Davis played the best game of his career. He had 3 solo tackles. He got push up the middle on multiple plays and was disruptive vs both the run and pass. Davis won with power, athleticism and effort. He seems to be getting better each week.

Fletcher Cox got the biggest hit on Murray. He just shoved the OG out of his way and then lit Kyler up. He drew a holding call on a run play. Not credited with any tackles, but did hustle in pursuit.

Marlon Tuipulotu got in on a couple of tackles. He always plays really hard.

Javon Hargrave was in on 3 tackles. He blew up a run with penetration. He got pressure up the middle on a pass play and that led to Reddick’s sack. Murray had nowehere to go.

Brandon Graham had a couple of tackles and a TFL. He just missed a sack.

-LB-

Haason Reddick had the team’s only sack. He was disruptive on multiple plays. His pressure threw off the timing on a screen. He looped inside on another pass and got pressure. Reddick hustled in pursuit on plays away from him.

TJ Edwards was up and down. He had 8 tackles and a TFL. The downside was multiple missed tackles. He missed Hollywood Brown on his TD catch and run. Edwards also missed Conner up the middle. Most of the time, Edwards tackled well, but those hurt. The TFL came when he hustled outside and blew up a quick screen.

Kyzir White had 6 tackles. His hustle and speed were important as he covered a lot of ground. He was used as a spy on Murray at times. He did miss a tackle on a 3rd down play when he could have kept the receiver short.

-SAF-

CJ Gardner-Johnson had his most productive game as an Eagle. He led the team with 10 tackles. He also had a TFL, PD and INT. The pick was on a deep ball. CGJ read the play and got to the right spot, then made the catch. He generally tackled well. He did miss on Brown’s TD (along with Edwards).

Marcus Epps was in on 6 tackles. He had a TFL and PD. The PD came when he hit the TE as the ball got there. Epps physicality is his calling card. He took a bad angle on a 3rd/17 play and Moore got free in space and got 17 yards on the play. Ugh.

-CB-

Darius Slay was in on 9 tackles. He played a lot of off coverage and didn’t get his hands on any passes. On one of his tackles, he made it near the goal line and kept the RB from scoring. The Cards had to settle for a FG.

James Bradberry had 2 tackles. He broke up one pass. He had tight coverage on a throw to Green down the sideline that was incomplete.

Josiah Scott was in on 4 tackles, including a pair of TFLs. He read quick screens and got to the ball right away. Those were impressive.

ST

Cameron Dicker made his NFL debut. He was 2 of 2 on extra points and FGs, including the game-winner with 1:48 left. Great performance.

Arryn Siposs had his best game of the year. 3 of his 4 punts were inside the 20. They were downed at the 7, 10 and 12. That’s impressive. Arizona doesn’t have an explosive offense so pinning them deep made it hard for them to sustain long drives and score points.

Britain Covey had a 15-yd PR. He also muffed a punt. He was hit as the ball got there. Covey should have called for a fair catch.

Zech McPhearson had another strong game in kick coverage. He had 2 STs tackles.

Reed Blankenship made his NFL debut and looked good in KO coverage. He got in on one tackle.

The Eagles were burned on a fake punt. It was 4th/4 from the ARZ 28. Michael Clay said the Eagles had 8 guys in the box in case of a fake. The players were reminded to look out for it. You have to give the Cardinals some credit. They ran to the LOS quickly and were in an unbalanced formation. They had a numbers advantage and were able to run for 7 yards. Really good execution by them. You really wish someone had called a timeout as they lined up so quickly. That should have been a red flag.

_

7 Comments on “Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Jordan Davis is making a big impact - realquicks.com said at 7:03 AM on October 12th, 2022:

    […] Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a good game, going 26-36-239. He also ran for 61 yards and 2 TDs. No turnovers, although one pass was almost picked off. His best throw came when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a gain of 22. QBs have to be careful when throwing back toward the middle while moving outside. Hurts saw his receiver and made a good throw with a defender coming at him. This was aggressive, but not reckless. The play of the game came on the final drive when Hurts hit Goedert over the middle. The ball was on the money and Hurts took a good hit on the play. He is tough. Hurts is also smart. He adjusted the play before the snap. The play had been a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was open and Hurts got him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was a quick screen to DeVonta on the right side. Hurts threw that side-arm. I don’t recall him doing this in other games. Maybe I never noticed it. The throw was quick and accurate. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts specialty so this was cool to see. Hurts made good decisions as a runner. He did slip on a 3rd/1 play when he went wide, but the DB was in good position and might have gotten him anyway. There were 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he got the 2 TDs and several first downs. That feels like it ought to be a record for sneaks in one game. […]

  2. 2 Eagles News: Jordan Davis is making a big impact – texttospeech said at 7:31 AM on October 12th, 2022:

    […] Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a good game with 26-36-239. He also ran for 61 yards and 2 TDs. No turnover, although a pass was almost picked off. His best throw came when he rolled left and hit DeVonta for a gain of 22. QBs need to be careful when throwing back toward the middle while moving outside. Hurts saw his receiver and made a good throw with a defender coming at him. This was aggressive but not reckless. The play of the game came on the final drive when Hurts hit Goedert over the middle. The ball was on the money and Hurts hit a good shot on the play. He is tough. Hurts is also smart. He adjusted the play before the snap. The play had been a man beater and he adjusted to a zone beater. Goedert was open and Hurts got him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was a quick screen to DeVonta on the right side. Hurts threw that sidearm. I don’t remember him doing this in other games. Maybe I never noticed. The throw was quick and accurate. Making throws off the platform hasn’t been Hurt’s specialty, so it was cool to see. Hurts made good decisions as a runner. He slipped on a 3/1 play when he went wide, but the DB was in good position and could have gotten him anyway. There were 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he got the 2 TDs and multiple first downs. Feels like that should be the record for sneaks in one game. […]

  3. 3 Eagles Information: Jordan Davis is making a giant have an effect on - noooracademy said at 4:27 PM on October 12th, 2022:

    […] Sport Evaluate – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a excellent sport, going 26-36-239. He additionally ran for 61 yards and a pair of TDs. No turnovers, even if one go was once virtually picked off. His best possible throw got here when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a achieve of twenty-two. QBs should be cautious when throwing again towards the center whilst transferring out of doors. Hurts noticed his receiver and made a excellent throw with a defender coming at him. This was once competitive, however now not reckless. The play of the sport got here at the ultimate force when Hurts hit Goedert over the center. The ball was once at the cash and Hurts took a excellent hit at the play. He’s tricky. Hurts could also be good. He adjusted the play earlier than the snap. The play have been a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was once open and Hurts were given him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was once a snappy display screen to DeVonta at the proper aspect. Hurts threw that side-arm. I don’t recall him doing this in different video games. Perhaps I by no means spotted it. The throw was once fast and correct. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts area of expertise so this was once cool to peer. Hurts made excellent selections as a runner. He did slip on a third/1 play when he went extensive, however the DB was once in excellent place and may have got him anyway. There have been 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he were given the two TDs and several other first downs. That feels love it should be a document for sneaks in a single sport. […]

  4. 4 Eagles News: Jordan Davis is making a big impact - Momento geek said at 4:41 PM on October 12th, 2022:

    […] Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a excellent recreation, going 26-36-239. He additionally ran for 61 yards and a couple of TDs. No turnovers, despite the fact that one go was once nearly picked off. His very best throw got here when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a achieve of twenty-two. QBs should be cautious when throwing again towards the center whilst shifting out of doors. Hurts noticed his receiver and made a excellent throw with a defender coming at him. This was once competitive, however no longer reckless. The play of the sport got here at the ultimate power when Hurts hit Goedert over the center. The ball was once at the cash and Hurts took a excellent hit at the play. He is difficult. Hurts is additionally good. He adjusted the play sooner than the snap. The play were a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was once open and Hurts were given him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was once a fast display screen to DeVonta at the proper aspect. Hurts threw that side-arm. I don’t recall him doing this in different video games. Maybe I by no means spotted it. The throw was once fast and correct. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts area of expertise so this was once cool to peer. Hurts made excellent selections as a runner. He did slip on a Third/1 play when he went vast, however the DB was once in excellent place and may have got him anyway. There had been 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he were given the two TDs and a number of other first downs. That feels find it irresistible needs to be a document for sneaks in a single recreation. […]

  5. 5 Eagles Information: Jordan Davis is making a giant have an effect on - tiolinguica delivery said at 5:49 PM on October 12th, 2022:

    […] Recreation Assessment – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a just right recreation, going 26-36-239. He additionally ran for 61 yards and a couple of TDs. No turnovers, even if one go was once nearly picked off. His absolute best throw got here when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a acquire of twenty-two. QBs must be cautious when throwing again towards the center whilst shifting outdoor. Hurts noticed his receiver and made a just right throw with a defender coming at him. This was once competitive, however now not reckless. The play of the sport got here at the ultimate power when Hurts hit Goedert over the center. The ball was once at the cash and Hurts took a just right hit at the play. He’s tricky. Hurts may be good. He adjusted the play prior to the snap. The play were a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was once open and Hurts were given him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was once a handy guide a rough display screen to DeVonta at the proper facet. Hurts threw that side-arm. I don’t recall him doing this in different video games. Possibly I by no means spotted it. The throw was once fast and correct. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts distinctiveness so this was once cool to look. Hurts made just right selections as a runner. He did slip on a third/1 play when he went extensive, however the DB was once in just right place and would possibly have got him anyway. There have been 7 QB sneaks. That’s how he were given the two TDs and several other first downs. That feels love it must be a report for sneaks in a single recreation. […]

  6. 6 Eagles Information: Jordan Davis is making a huge impact - cialissmart said at 4:46 AM on October 13th, 2022:

    […] Recreation Evaluation – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a very good recreation, going 26-36-239. He additionally ran for 61 yards and a pair of TDs. No turnovers, though one move was nearly picked off. His finest throw got here when he rolled to his left and hit DeVonta for a acquire of twenty-two. QBs must watch out when throwing again towards the center whereas shifting exterior. Hurts noticed his receiver and made a very good throw with a defender coming at him. This was aggressive, however not reckless. The play of the sport got here on the ultimate drive when Hurts hit Goedert over the center. The ball was on the cash and Hurts took a very good hit on the play. He’s robust. Hurts can also be sensible. He adjusted the play earlier than the snap. The play had been a man-beater and he adjusted to a zone-beater. Goedert was open and Hurts acquired him the ball. One throw that stood out to me was a fast display screen to DeVonta on the proper facet. Hurts threw that side-arm. I do not recall him doing this in different video games. Perhaps I by no means observed it. The throw was fast and correct. Making off-platform throws hasn’t been Hurts specialty so this was cool to see. Hurts made good selections as a runner. He did slip on a third/1 play when he went vast, however the DB was in good place and may need gotten him anyway. There have been 7 QB sneaks. That is how he acquired the two TDs and a number of other first downs. That feels prefer it must be a file for sneaks in a single recreation. […]

  7. 7 Eagles News: Jordan Davis is making a big impact - Bleeding Green Nation - Shark News said at 9:13 AM on October 13th, 2022:

    […] down Sunday’s game, discuss what they’re most impressed by at 5-0 and what’s still concerning.Game Review – PHI 20, ARZ 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts had a good game, going 26-36-239. He also ran for 61 yards and 2 TDs. No turnovers, […]