Cardinals vs. Eagles: Philadelphia Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered yet another lopsided defeat as the Arizona Cardinals rolled to a 40-17 victory at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night.

With the victory, the Cardinals clinched the NFC West with a 12-2 record. Meanwhile, Philadelphia drops to 6-8 on the year, but it can still win the NFC East if it finishes out the regular season with two divisional wins over the Washington Redskins and New York Giants.

Arizona running back David Johnson put together a career performance with 187 yards and three touchdowns. Carson Palmer also continued to improve his MVP resume with 274 yards and a touchdown.

Arizona established its dominance from the very start as the Cardinals marched down the field on the first drive of the game to jump out to an early touchdown lead. The Cardinals are one of the most balanced teams in the league, and they showed it on that drive with four rushes and four passes.

Philadelphia kept the game close early, as Sam Bradford found Zach Ertz for a 22-yard touchdown following confusion in Arizona's secondary. Then the Cardinals broke off a 47-yard run as he shed tacklers on his way for his second touchdown of the day. The Eagles remained in reach, as they trailed by only seven points at halftime.

Then Arizona started to pull away almost immediately in the second half. Michael Floyd came down with a circus catch on the sideline to set up a one-yard touchdown run for Johnson.

The scare of the game for Arizona came in the third quarter when Carson Palmer jammed his finger against Connor Barwin. But the quarterback returned to the game with just some tape, and he delivered a 16-yard touchdown pass to John Brown.

The Philadelphia offense moved the ball effectively throughout the game, but turnovers plagued the team. The Eagles committed turnovers on three consecutive drives in the second half, including an interception by Bradford. Deone Bucannon returned the interception 39 yards to give Arizona a 37-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Matthews added a touchdown late in the game on a blown coverage, as he caught a 78-yard meaningless score. The Eagles lost 40-17 to the Cardinals, but Philadelphia cannot sulk. It still has a chance to make the playoffs if its turns its form around. 

Position Grades for Philadelphia

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Quarterback: B

Sam Bradford continues to impress, despite a difficult matchup against Arizona's stingy secondary. He finished 28-of-41 for 361 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bradford threw two interceptions on the day to ground his performance, but he is growing more and more comfortable in the offense.

The quarterback showed his toughness throughout the game, as he stood tall in the pocket and delivered strikes in the face of pressure. Bradford battled through a sore left shoulder, and he looks to be playing without the fear of injury.

Running Backs: C

Philadelphia's running backs carried the ball 19 times for only 70 yards on the day. The tailbacks failed to make an impact on the game, and they eventually became invisible once the Eagles fell behind significantly. Ryan Mathews led the team with 11 carries for 58 yards, but he also fumbled in the third quarter to cut an impressive drive short.

Wide Receivers: B+

Philadelphia's receivers benefited from Bradford's performance, as they received the ball on time and on the target as the quarterback hit them in stride throughout the game. However, drops continue to plague the unit, as errors in concentration cut several drives short.

Jordan Matthews continues to play through back pain, but the second-year wide receiver put together an impressive performance. Matthews caught eight passes for 159 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown reception in the second half.

Tight Ends: B-

Zach Ertz continues to feature heavily in Philadelphia's passing attack, as he caught eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. The tight end is becoming Bradford's favorite option, as the quarterback targeted him 13 times. But Ertz also continues to struggle at times with drops as well. Brent Celek came up with an impressive one-handed grab in the second quarter that helped extend a drive with his third-down conversion.

Offensive Line: C-

The Arizona defensive line abused Philadelphia's front men all game long in both the running and passing games. The Philadelphia offensive line failed to create a push on the fourth-down attempt in the second quarter. Arizona's pass-rushers got to Sam Bradford twice and put constant pressure in his face, as they hit him seven times in the game. Markus Golden abused Jason Peters, as he rounded the left tackle and blindsided Bradford for the strip-sack in the second half.

Defensive Line: B-

Fletcher Cox continues to be a dominant force on the defensive line, as he got to Carson Palmer once to raise his sack total to 7.5 this season. The line generated decent pressure, but it also struggled to control David Johnson on the ground. Bennie Logan started the year well but has struggled since returning from injury.

Linebackers: C+

The linebackers played a major role in Philadelphia's inability to stop Johnson on the ground. They failed to manage their gaps and shed blockers, which means Johnson did not face resistance until he reached the secondary on several occasions.

Connor Barwin and Marcus Smith combined for a sack in the fourth quarter. Barwin contributed consistent pressure, including when Palmer jammed his finger against the pass-rusher. However, the linebackers missed several key tackles on the day. Mychal Kendricks missed a tackle in the flat to halt Arizona's drive in the first half, but Johnson avoided the tackle and reached the first-down marker.

Defensive Backs: C+

Philadelphia already faced a tough matchup going against Arizona's receivers, and then injuries made the situation even worse. Eric Rowe and Byron Maxwell both suffered injuries in the first half, leaving E.J. Biggers and Jaylen Watkins as the outside corners. Biggers did well matching strides with Arizona's receivers, but they were too good for his coverage. Both corners also struggled to make tackles in the open field, which greatly hurt Philadelphia's rush defense.

Special Teams: B

Josh Huff provided the offense with great starting field position on several occasions. The second-year player showed his athleticism as he broke off a 39-yard return in the first half. Caleb Sturgis also converted his only field-goal attempt of the day from 36 yards out.

Coaching: B

Chip Kelly rolled the dice late in the second quarter with his decision to go for it on fourth down. With the ball deep in the red zone, Mathews failed to pick up the first down, and the Eagles came away empty-handed. Many would call for a field goal in that situation, but it was clear that Philadelphia would need touchdowns if it was going to keep up with the Cardinals. 

Kelly lost his only challenge of the day, but the play deserved a second look, as Michael Floyd hauled in a difficult catch near the sideline. Overall, the loss came down to a difference in talent level between the two teams, rather than a poor performance from Philadelphia's coaching staff. 

Important Note No. 1: DeMarco Murray

Michael Perez/Associated Press

DeMarco Murray's frustrations have been a point of contention essentially since the season started, but the tailback reached an all-time low on Sunday night.

Last year's rushing leader only carried the ball twice for a total of three yards against Arizona. The tailback did not see the field until the third quarter on Philadelphia's third possession of the game.

The lack of playing time leads to questions surrounding Murray's role in Chip Kelly's offense moving forward. Philadelphia has rotated its running backs all season, but this is the least action the high-priced free agent has seen this year.

In a true rotation, Murray would enter the game in favorable situations like short-yardage attempts. Murray is 12-of-12 on third or fourth down when there is only one yard to gain. The Eagles opted to go for it on a 4th-and-1 in the second quarter, but Kelly opted to stick with Ryan Mathews. Mathews failed to pick up the necessary yard, and Philadelphia turned the ball over on downs.

If Kelly did not call on Murray in a situation that favored his running style, then the 27-year-old must be further down the pecking order than expected. Mathews carried the majority of the load with 11 carries, and then Darren Sproles also contributed with six rushing attempts. Does that leave Murray as the third-choice running back on the roster?

A superstar running back should never receive his first carry of the game with about six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter. The blatant avoidance of Murray creates concern for the future of the tailback for the remaining two games and next season.

Important Note No. 2: Run Defense

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Philadelphia entered the game as the fifth-worst rushing defense, giving up 126.8 yards per game on the ground. But defending the run was not always the major concern for Billy Davis' defense.

The Eagles defensive front swallowed up running backs at the start of the season and forced teams to become one-dimensional and beat it through the air. In the second half of the season, Philadelphia's rush defense looks like a completely different unit.

The most recent benefactor was David Johnson, as he ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns. The rookie put together the best game of his young career, and it looked easy. Johnson broke a 47-yard touchdown in the second quarter as he broke through several tackles. The tailback deserves praise for the run, but Philadelphia's defenders put together pitiful attempts to get the running back on the ground.

Johnson had success throughout the entire game, as he averaged over six yards a carry on 29 attempts. The defensive line and linebackers failed to clog the running lanes, and Johnson did not face resistance until he reached the secondary most of Sunday.

Philadelphia's front line possesses talented run-stuffers in Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan, but the entire unit needs to improve. Cox continues to impress, as he had two tackles for a loss, but he often looks tired in the second half, as the defense relies too heavily on him. Bennie Logan also looks like a shell of himself after returning from injury.

The Eagles defense shut down LeSean McCoy last week, but it could not devote as many players this week to slow down the run because of the matchup. Philadelphia's safeties needed to hang deep and provide cover because of Arizona's dangerous passing options.

In the final two weeks of the regular season, Philadelphia will need its run defense to return to its early-season form to make both the Redskins and Giants more predictable.

Quote No. 1: Chip Kelly

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

"There are no asterisks. Everybody's hurt at this point in time during the season and we got to make do," Chip Kelly said about injured cornerbacks, per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Zach Berman.

Philadelphia lost its two starting cornerbacks in the first half, as Eric Rowe and Byron Maxwell both left because of injury. Rowe left because of a concussion, and Maxwell could not return because of a shoulder injury.

The Eagles looked fortunate coming into this week because of the lack of names on their injury report, but they still remained thin in the secondary. Nolan Carroll was Philadelphia's best corner on the season before he landed on injured reserve after breaking his ankle. That left Rowe as the starter in just his first season in the NFL.

The Eagles faced a tough matchup with Arizona already, and then they had to turn to E.J. Biggers and Jaylen Watkins on the outside. Bother corners fought valiantly, but Arizona's receivers outmatched them. Biggers tracked John Brown well on deep patterns, but he failed to tackle him in the open field as the receiver found his way into the end zone on the catch-and-run. Michael Floyd (6'2", 220 lbs) and Larry Fitzgerald (6'3", 218 lbs) were also too big and physical for either corner.

Injuries are often a poor excuse, but the loss of both corners threw Philadelphia's game plan into a flux. Malcolm Jenkins is the starting strong safety, but he was forced to play nickel corner the entire game because of the lack of other options. Walter Thurmond, the other starting safety, also had to play corner in dime situations.

In the final two weeks, Philadelphia needs Rowe and Maxwell to return to health as the team faces more talented receivers in DeSean Jackson, Odell Beckham Jr. and others.

Quote No. 2: Mychal Kendricks

Elsa/Getty Images

"I know myself and I know my teammates. The Redskins got something coming to them," said Mychal Kendricks, per 97.5 The Fanatic's Tim McManus.

The Cardinals snapped Philadelphia's two-game winning streak, as they dominated the Eagles in every aspect of the game on Sunday night. Despite the humiliating loss, Philadelphia still seems confident heading into Week 16.

Kendricks' words to the Washington Redskins may be brash following a defeat, but it shows the belief in Philadelphia's locker room. Just a few weeks ago, there were questions about the players giving up on their coach, but now the Eagles are fighting for a playoff spot.

The Eagles are still alive with a 6-8 record, and they control their own destiny, as they take on the Redskins and New York Giants to finish out the year. New York also sits at 6-8, as it fell 38-35 to the undefeated Carolina Panthers. The Redskins sit in the best position in the NFC East with a 7-7 record following their 35-25 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Dallas Cowboys (4-10) were eliminated from the playoffs because of their 19-16 loss to the New York Jets on Thursday night.

Philadelphia faces Washington next Saturday as the Redskins come into Lincoln Financial Field. Washington came out on top 23-20 in the first meeting, but both teams are greatly improved since Week 4.

The Eagles must win on Saturday night, as the Redskins would clinch the NFC East with a victory in their Week 16 clash.