Jalen Hurts! More than anything, I wanted to see progression from Jalen Hurts today and he delivered in a big way. He threw with anticipation, made good reads, and was mostly accurate throughout the night. His aggressiveness downfield really opened up the playbook and led to some big plays. He really looked like a franchise QB with the way he elevated the players around him. He made them better. He threw for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 interceptions and added another 63 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Only two other QBs have passed for 300+ yards against the Cardinals, and only 1 other QB has thrown for 3 or more touchdowns against them this year. Just a really impressive performance all around.
As for the rest of the offense, there was some good and some bad. Quez Watkins really showed his abilities after the catch today with his 32 yard touchdown. According to next gen stats he got up to 20.35MPH. Pretty good for a screen pass. Alshon Jeffery also showed up with 63 yards and a few DPI’s forced. Nice to see him contribute. Jordan Mailata once again continued his streak of Dominance. Eagles really have something with him. However same can’t be said for the right side of the offensive line. The right side really choked away the game towards the end, giving up two straight sacks putting the offense in a 3rd and 21 situation. Just not good enough. Overall though you have to be impressed with the offense compared to the rest of the season.
It was a tale of two halves with the defense though. Giving up 26 points in the first half but only 7 in the 2nd half. As expected the beat up secondary struggled against the duo of Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald, but considering the amount of starters out you have to be somewhat pleased. The DL played a nice game, doing well against the run and applying some pressure to Kyler Murray which probably contributed to some of his bad throws tonight.
Overall I think the two biggest factors in the Eagles losing this game was Deandre Hopkins being a monster, and the right side of the line giving up bad pressure at the worst time. It’s unfortunate they lost, but atleast they saw some development from some of the young guys. Will be interesting to see the All-22 when that comes out.
The Philly Blitz 