Eagles stunned by Kyler Murray, Cardinals, 35-31
JAMES CONNER rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 32 seconds to play and the Arizona Cardinals stunned the host Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 to leave the National Football Conference (NFC) playoff picture in disarray.
Needing a stop to halt their December slide, the Eagles’ defense fell flat, allowing touchdowns on all four possessions with 29 secondhalf points and dropping out of first place in the NFC East.
With the Philadelphia (11-5) loss, the Cowboys (11-5) are in the driver’s seat in the division and the San Francisco 49ers (12-4) clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Mr. Murray was rarely pressured after a first-half interception and completed 25 of 31 passes for 232 yards and three TDs.
James Conner had 26 carries for 128 yards and Greg Dortch caught a game-high seven passes for 82 yards. Murray hit Dortch for a 36-yard gain to the Eagles’ 5 and a first-andgoal with 41 ticks left.
If Dallas beats the Washington Commanders next week, the Cowboys win the division and host a playoff game in the first round. That result would send the Eagles on the road for a wild-card game.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles had only 275 total yards to Arizona’s 449. The Cardinals dominated time of possession behind Mr. Conner (39:39 to 20:21).
Mr. Hurts set the Eagles up for a go-ahead field goal with a short completion to Kenneth Gainwell to the Arizona 25. The Cardinals called timeout prior to Jake Elliott’s 43-yarder sailing through with 2:33 on the clock.
Mr. Murray had the Cardinals at the Arizona 43 at the two-minute warning and at Philadelphia’s 41 just 34 seconds later. Murray’s third touchdown pass of the second half, a 5-yard connection with Michael Wilson, tied the game at 28 with 5:26 remaining.
Arizona’s furious second-half comeback from a 21-6 deficit began with Mr. Murray’s 6-yard toss to running back Michael Carter before Mr. Murray and running back James Conner hooked up from 5 yards out just over six minutes later.
Mr. Wilson snagged the two-point pass from Mr. Murray to tie the game at 21. A sprint right away by Hurst from pressure on 3rd-and-4 with 9:55 left in the game allowed tight end Dallas Goedert time to shake loose two steps into the endzone and a 28-21 Eagles’ lead.
Mr. Murray overthrew everyone in the Arizona route pattern with the Eagles ahead 7-3 in the second quarter.
Eagles safety Sydney Brown caught the third-down floater at the 1 and returned it 99 yards for a pick-6 and 14-3 Philadelphia lead.
Wide receiver Julio Jones caught the opening score from Mr. Hurts and tacked on another to give Philadelphia its 21-6 lead when he caught a dart from Hurts at the 6 and plowed through three closing defensive backs. It was Mr. Jones’ 14th career two-TD game and first since October 2020. —