Cardinals show grit, but can’t finish against unbeaten Eagles

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFC West Writer

The Arizona Cardinals went toe-to-toe with the only unbeaten team in the NFL and had them on the ropes late.

However, Arizona let the Philadelphia Eagles off the hook when newly signed kicker Matt Ammendola pushed right a 43-year field goal with 22 seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime.

Instead, the Cardinals will have to take solace in a cliched, moral victory after falling to Philadelphia 20-17 in the desert at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.

On the final drive of the game, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray ran for what appeared to be a first down at Philadelphia’s 24-yard line, which would have given the Cardinals potentially a couple shots at the end zone. Murray hurried the offense up the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball to stop the clock.

However, officials marked Murray just short of the first down marker, meaning he spiked the ball on third-and-1 from Philadelphia’s 25-yard line, forcing the Cardinals to kick the field goal on fourth down.

Still in his uniform an hour after the game, a visibly frustrated Murray tried to articulate his team’s struggles.

“The defense played their a– off,” Murray said. “Offensively, again it’s not up the standard that we’re used to playing around here. But at the end of the game, we had a chance and moved the ball down the field. That’s all you can for, is a chance.” 

Murray finished 28 of 42 for 250 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. Playing against his former team, tight end Zach Ertz total six receptions for 48 receiving yards on 10 targets for the Cardinals. 

The Eagles improved to 5-0 for just the third time in franchise history, while the Cardinals dropped to 2-3. 

“I just think we continue to battle,” Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “We’re kind of getting hardened throughout this process. Last year adversity came late, now it’s coming early, and so we ‘ve got to continue to build on that and grow from it.” 

Ammendola subbed for Arizona’s regular kicker Matt Prater, ruled out this week due to a hip injury. Two weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs went with Ammendola in place of an injured Harrison Butker in a 20-17 loss on the road to the Indianapolis Colts. Ammendola missed a field goal and an extra point in that contest and was let go on Sept. 26.

“It was a tough spot,” Kingsbury said about the missed kick. “But that happens. There were plenty of other moments that we could have won that game.” 

As Kingsbury said, Arizona’s new kicker was not to blame for this loss. Once again, the Cardinals started slow as they remain the only team in the NFL to not score a point so far in the opening quarter.

“To come out flat every single week for five straight weeks is something we’re still trying to figure out,” Kingsbury said. “We’ll keep working at it, try to see if we can get better in the first half. … It just comes down to coaches calling better plays offensively and defensively, and guys executing at a higher level. No feel out period. Let’s just play like we played in the second half from the start.” 

The Eagles took advantage of Arizona’s slow start, building a 14-0 advantage on scoring drives that ended in 1-yard runs by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. 

However, as they have done all season, the Cardinals clawed back behind their playmaking defense and the wizardry of Murray. 

While they can’t score early, the Cardinals entering Week 5 were No. 1 in fourth-quarter scoring margin (plus-36).

Down to one back at the end of the game, with James Conner (ribs), Jonathan Ward (hamstring) and Darrel Williams (knee) unable to return due to injury, Arizona’s only healthy running back Eno Benjamin scored on an 11-run to tie the game at 17 with 9:43 left. 

However, Hurts methodically led the Eagles on a 17-play, 70-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock, ending with Philadelphia’s replacement kicker Cameron Dicker drilling a 23-yard field goal for the winning score. 

While the Cardinals are 2-3, they are only a game out of first place in the NFC West behind the San Francisco 49ers (3-2) and tied with the Seattle Seahawks (2-3) and the Los Angeles Rams (2-3).

The Cardinals face the Seahawks next week in the Pacific Northwest, their final game without DeAndre Hopkins. 

The Cardinals need to figure out how to win at home. Arizona is 2-0 on the road this season and 0-3 at home. The Cardinals have not won a home game in nearly a year – a 31-5 victory on Oct. 24, 2021. 

Arizona could also used Hopkins for an offense averaging just 21 points a game. Without Hopkins last season, the Cardinals averaged just 19.75 points a game, finishing 1-4 at the end of the campaign before struggling in the postseason, getting trounced by the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. 

With Hopkins last year, the Cardinals averaged 30.2 points per contest. 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more