The Arizona Cardinals have one of their toughest matchups of the year Sunday afternoon as they host the 4-0 Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5. The actual game will start at 1:25 p.m. Arizona time and we will see how it actually plays out.
But if it is anything like the simulation of the game I ran Saturday night on Madden NFL 23, Cardinals fans will go home happy.
The simulation was adjusted to have no Rodney Hudson for the Cardinals and no Jordan Mailata or Avonte Maddox for the Eagles.
They start quickly, building a 24-7 first-half lead, but the Eagles rally back and tie the game but, thanks to a drive led by Kyler Murray and a 29-yard Matt Ammendola field goal with 28 seconds left in the game give the Cardinals a 27-24 win.
The Eagles scored first, getting a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith on their first possession.
The Cardinals responded with a touchdown drive, a two-yards rushing score from James Conner.
After forcing an Eagles punt, the Cardinals got a 49-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead.
The Cardinals then forced two straight punts and Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes to Rondale Moore, one for eight yards and one for 12 yards, building the lead to 24-7.
The Eagles drove down the field at the end of the half making it 24-14 on a four-yard rushing touchdown from Jalen Hurts.
After halftime, it was a punt fest for the Cardinals.
They punted on five straight drives, while the Eagles tied the game. They got a 56-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker on their first drive to make it 24-17 and then tied the score 24-24 with a five-yard rushing touchdown from Miles Sanders.
The Arizona defense held the Eagles scoreless on their final three possessions and Kyler Murray took over inside their own 10 with under three minutes remaining in the game. He drove them down the field and James Conner burned clock and got them into short field-goal range.
Ammendola hit the game-winning from 29 yards and the Eagles ran out of time.
For the game, Murray was 20-for-36 passing for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 12 times for 47 yards.
James Conner rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown in 17 carries.
Rondale Moore led the Cardinals with seven catches for 96 yards and two scores. Zach Ertz had four for 40, A.J. Green had three for 34 and Marquise Brown had two for 42.
Defensively, Dennis Gardeck had 1.5 sacks and cornerback Byron Murphy had half a sack.
Hurt was 18-for-32 passing for 242 yards and a score. Miles Sanders was held to 66 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. DeVonta Smith led the Eagles with five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, while Quez Watkins added five receptions for 64 yards.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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