PHILADELPHIA — Last season, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles were fortunate to escape with a victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
A 23-yard field goal by contingency plan kicker Cameron Dicker in the last two minutes was the difference in a 20-17 decision at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
When the Cardinals got the ball back, quarterback Kyler Murray needed 10 yards for a first down. He took a knee on second down after nine yards, and with no timeouts remaining had to burn third down with a spike to get his kicker on the field with 23 seconds left.
A first down at the 24-yard line would have given Murray at least two, and probably three shots at the end zone and a victory. Instead, Matt Ammendola missed a 43-yarder, and Hurts knelt to kill the remaining time.
Little did Murray know that his season would be over in a couple of months, the rehab for a torn ACL keeping him off the field until this November. Or that the coordinator of that Eagles defense, Jonathan Gannon, would be his head coach this season. Small world.
“I’m happy to see him back on the field,” Hurts said of Murray. “He’s a very unique player in how he plays. He’s a very special player. That’s a better way of saying it. He’s always been a special player since high school. So, it’ll be a challenge for us having to deal with him.”
Murray outplayed Hurts and a more talented Eagles team that October day, only to lose because of the premature slide. The Cardinals (3-12) have been flailing away this season in a rebuild that, considering the issues plaguing the front office and ownership, has been rougher than necessary.
At this point the Cardinals are trying to build momentum for next season with the always dangerous Murray, whose arm talent and running ability gives them a chance to win on any given Sunday.
Eagles acting defensive coordinator Matt Patricia knows a lot about Murray having been haunted by him over the years.
“He’s extremely explosive, very fast, very quick,” Patricia said Wednesday. “Unbelievable athlete. I think the thing about him is you go out there and you’re like, ‘all right, I’ve got this guy lined up, and we’re good.’ And then he’s gone. He does a great job with the angles. He manipulates the angles on the field and you can see where his other sports athleticism comes into play here. He just does a great job. He sets you up. He’ll go and he’ll get real tall and then you start to rise up and all of a sudden he’s gone. He’s just down and he moves and he’s quick.
“The biggest thing with him that’s interesting since he came in the league that I’ve noticed is, he will hit top speed right now. Like there’s no buildup to it. It’s not like he has to get going for five yards before he’s running full speed. He can just go. I think that’s what surprises everybody right away is how fast he moves and how quickly he can get to that top speed. So, you start there obviously with him.”
Hurts is every bit as explosive as Murray and much more productive, having accounted for 35 touchdowns this season, including 15 rushing. Murray has six TD passes and three scoring runs in six starts.
The Eagles (11-4) are much more talented on offense than the Cardinals and are favored by 10.5 points Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. A win over the Cardinals and a Dallas Cowboys (10-5) loss to the Detroit Lions (11-4) clinches a second straight NFC East pennant for the Eagles. The latter outcome, however, would make it more difficult for the Eagles to secure the No. 1 seed.
If the Eagles and Lions win, out the Lions would prevail by better record against common opponents. If the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers (11-4) win out, the Niners own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles.
Then again, winning the last two games is anything but a given for an Eagles team that last week needed a Kelee Ringo interception on the last play of the game to defeat the 14-point underdog Giants and snap a three-game losing skid.
“There’s value in losing,” Hurts philosophized. “That does something to you. As a competitor, it drives you and pushes you forward. You don’t want to feel those feelings you felt when you came up short in situations. Every competitor is different. Every competitor handles and channels different emotions in different ways. And so, how we channel that as a team, as long as we’re doing that together, and as long as we’re on the same page, that’s all that matters.
“I just want to continue to grow through these experiences — the lessons that we’ve had the last month and channeling it in the right way for us as a team so we can be as successful and be who we’re called to be on the field.”
