The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 on Sunday at State Farm Stadium, falling to 2-3 on the season. They had a chance to send the game into overtime with a 43-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the game but Matt Ammendola, replacing Matt Prater, who was out with an injury, missed the kick wide right.
It was a tough loss to a tough team, but what can we take away from the game?
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Still no first-quarter points
The Cardinals went scoreless in the first quarter against the Eagles again. They have not scored any first-quarter points this season. Kyler Murray was picked off in the first quarter.
Continued home woes
The Cardinals have now lost eight straight games at State Farm Stadium. They are 0-3 at home this season.
The stadium was full of Eagles fans and it felt like an Eagles home game at times.
The defense played well enough to win
The Eagles were held under 400 yards of offense for the first time this season. The Cardinals held them to 357 total yards.
Individuals had great games — defensive lineman Zach Allen, linebacker Isaiah Simmons, cornerback Byron Murphy.
However, they allowed a 70-yard drive that took almost eight minutes, giving up the game-winning field goal.
They were not great on third down as the Eagles were 6-for-13 but the defensive effort was good.
Ailing at running back
Three running backs got hurt in the game.
James Conner injured his ribs. Jonathan Ward injured his hamstring. Darrel Williams left in the second half with a knee injury.
Only Eno Benjamin finished the game and, according to head coach Kliff Kingsbury, he was cramping up.
Rondale Moore finally broke free
There was a lot of frustration building with Moore’s usage. He did not make an impact in his 2022 debut in Week 4 and, being given the ball behind or near the line of scrimmage multiple times early in the game did not result in much.
However, he broke free on a 17-yard pass he took behind the line of scrimmage and then was targeted down the field more later in the game.
He finished with seven catches for 68 yards.
Kyler Murray's 3 mistakes
Murray only had one touchdown pass to go with 250 passing yards but he only had three mistakes the entire game.
The first was the first-quarter interception. He underthrew it. It was going to be a tough pass but Marquise Brown was behind the defenders and had Murray gotten the ball over the top, it would not have been picked off.
He missed a wide-open Zach Ertz on the final drive.
Leading up to the missed field goal at the end, Murray slide half a yard too early. It led to confusion, forcing the field goal. If he had started his slide a little later, it would have been a first down and the Cardinals could have run a couple more plays to try a shorter field goal.
3-3 still a real possibility before Hopkins' return
The Cardinals will travel to Seattle to face the 203 Seahawks in Week 6. It is not a gimme by any means, but it is definitely a winnable game, setting them up for a potential 3-3 record when DeAndre Hopkins returns from his suspension.
Most people would have said that was the best-case scenario for the Cardinals to start the season without Hopkins, considering their schedule.
