3 Takeaways from Eagles' Week 5 Win vs. Cardinals
The Philadelphia Eagles extended their undefeated start on Sunday with a 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Eagles played well enough to win, but they can come away from Week 5 with motivation to improve on certain things ahead of their Week 6 clash with the Dallas Cowboys.
Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia offense produced their lowest points and total-yard numbers of the season, and the struggles in the second half extended into Sunday.
The Eagles defense did enough to contain Kyler Murray, but the unit gave up a large yardage total on the road. That needs to be fixed in the coming weeks.
Philadelphia's lackluster offensive performance left it one or two plays away from either losing or going into overtime.
Arizona made a few crucial mistakes down the stretch to prevent either possibility from happening and for the Eagles to head into Cowboys week at 5-0.
Arizona's Mistakes Helped the Eagles
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The final two Arizona plays of the game featured a comedy of errors.
Kyler Murray slid before the first-down marker on a second-down run. Murray had to spike the ball on 3rd-and-1 to set up a field goal instead of running a few more offensive plays.
If Murray extended his run by even a half-yard, the Cardinals could have been in a spot to spike the ball on first down. They could have taken a few shots at the end zone or shortened the yardage on a possible game-tying field goal.
The short slide forced Matt Ammendola, who was signed to replace the injured Matt Prater, out for a 43-yard field goal to tie the game.
Ammendola struck his field goal wide to the right, and that allowed the Eagles to come away with a 20-17 victory.
Arizona's late blunders covered up some of the Eagles' shortcomings that led the potential game-tying field goal.
Second-Half Scoring Needs to Improve
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The Eagles' biggest offensive flaw has been the inability to score in the second half.
Philadelphia's poor trend started in Week 2 when it did not score a single point against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Eagles scored all of their Week 3 points in the second quarter against the Washington Commanders and produced nine points in the fourth quarter of the Week 4 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Philadelphia kicked two field goals in the second half on Sunday, and that was just enough to put the team ahead of Arizona in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
Nick Sirianni's team has just one touchdown after halftime in the last four games. The efficiency out of halftime must be fixed so that the Eagles do not sputter out against the Cowboys and other future opponents.
If the issue persists, the Eagles could go on a losing slide in a division where there is no margin for error with the Cowboys and New York Giants sitting at 4-1.
High Rushing-Yard Concession Could Be Concern
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It seems cruel to have nothing but negative takeaways for a 5-0 team, but the Eagles did not look too impressive on Sunday.
Philadelphia's defense gave up its second 100-yard rushing performance of the season to a combination of Kyler Murray, James Conner and Eno Benjamin.
The Eagles were unable to slow down Benjamin at parts of the second half once he took over for Conner as the top tailback.
Benjamin opened Arizona's final touchdown drive with a nine-yard run. He also chipped in with a 16-yard reception. Murray's 13-yard run into the red zone set up Benjamin's 11-yard dash into the end zone that leveled the score at 17-17.
Murray gained 24 yards on the drive that led to Ammendola's missed field goal.
The high rushing-yard concession is more concerning than it would be in other weeks because of the matchup awaiting the Eagles in Week 6.
Dallas may be more inclined to use Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott at a high rate if Dak Prescott makes his return to the field on Sunday night.
Pollard and Elliott could be used heavily if Cooper Rush is still under center as well.
The Eagles can't allow Dallas to punish their defense in the ground game because the Cowboys can hurt them in more ways than the Cardinals can.
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