Eagles rough up Cardinals, 34-7

Turning point

From the beginning, the Eagles (4-1) outclassed the Cardinals. They converted their first four third-down situations, throwing for two touchdowns in the process. They stifled the Cardinals offense and consistently flipped field position via special teams.

The tone for this game was set in the opening minutes. The Cardinals Kerwynn Williams returned the kickoff to just the 18. Three plays gained one yard. Andy Lee punted 54 yards and the Eagles returned it 19 to their 46.

It was a process that was repeated throughout the day.

The Cardinals gave up three touchdown passes in the first quarter, and the offense was just as bad. The result was a 34-7 loss that should have the Cardinals questioning everything they believe in.

They played poorly in every phase and are now 2-3.

The Eagles led, 21-7, at halftime and scored 10 points on the first two possessions of the second half.

The touchdown came on third down and 19. Quarterback Carson Wentz hit Nelson Agholor deep, and he twisted rookie Budda Baker into the ground as he made his way to the end zone.

Despite being third and long, the Cardinals blitzed and had man coverage in the secondary.

Eagles extend their lead, 34-7

Jake Elliott connected on a 28-yard field goal and the Eagles now lead the Cardinals 34-7 as we’ve reached the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

This one was a complete disaster for the Cardinals across the board. The only good thing now would be if nobody else gets hurt.

Injuries are mounting for Cardinals

The Cardinals have had at least three players suffer injuries today, with the latest being defensive tackle Olsen Pierre. He’s questionable to return because of an ankle injury.

Also injured were defensive tackle Corey Peters (knee) and long snapper Aaron Brewer, who is said to have suffered a fractured wrist. That’s the third Cardinals player this year to suffer a fractured wrist. Rookie running back T.J. Logan suffered one in the preseason and running back David Johnson suffered one in a Week 1 loss at Detroit.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ streak of preventing an opposing team from rushing for 100 or more yards ended at six games when LeGarrette Blount broke four or five tackles during a 37-yard run in the third quarter. That gave the Eagles 117 yards overall.

Arizona hasn’t allowed a single 100-yard rusher in 17 games. Blount has 65 yards thus far on nine carries.

Cardinals are getting torched

Carson Wentz, facing an all-out blitz, still had time to go deep and Nelson Agholor beat rookie safety Budda Baker over the top for a 72-yard touchdown.

The Eagles are now up 31-7 and are an astounding 8 of 11 on third downs. Yes, the Agholor TD came on third down.

There is 6:16 left in the third quarter and the Cardinals are pretty much toast. Wentz’s fourth TD pass of the game is a career high.

FG extends Eagles’ lead

Jake Elliott kicked a 36-yard field goal and it’s now 24-7, the Eagles over the Cardinals, with 9:18 left in the third quarter in Philadelphia.

Look for the Eagles to employ a lot of six defensive backs as Carson Palmer and the Arizona offense try to get points in a hurry.

Fast start key

The Cardinals looked down and out after falling behind 21-0 to the Eagles in the first quarter and finished the half trailing 21-7, but a strong start to the second half could change the feel of this game.

Fox’s Laura Okmin reported coach Bruce Arians said, “We could have not started any worse, but the first five minutes right now can turn this whole thing around.” 

Eagles lead 21-7 at halftime

Phil Dawson missed a 51-yard field goal at the end of the first half and the Eagles lead the Cardinals 21-7.

With long snapper Aaron Brewer out with an arm injury, the Cardinals have used both defensive tackle Josh Mauro and right guard Evan Boehm as Brewer’s replacement. Boehm held on the field goal try and although it was accurate, it was a little slow getting to holder Andy Lee and the Eagles got a hand on the kick.

Meanwhile, Larry Fitzgerald finally hauled in his first catch of the game – a 15-yard reception with 21 seconds left in the half. That makes 200 straight games for Fitzgerald with at least one catch. Only Jerry Rice (274 games) and Tony Gonzalez (211) have had longer such streaks in NFL history.

The Eagles lead the Cardinals in total offense, 208 yards to 140. The Eagles have rushed for 59 total yards, the Cardinals 32.

Carson Wentz is 12 of 18 for 158 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Carson Palmer is 11 of 19 for 123 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Bethea’s pick could be huge

By intercepting Carson Wentz in the end zone with 47 seconds left in the first half, safety Antoine Bethea prevented the Eagles from getting a touchdown or a field goal and the pick, only Wentz’s third of the season, could swing momentum in the Cardinals’ favor.

If the Eagles had scored another TD, it would have been 28-7 and that would have been absolutely demoralizing to the Cardinals.

The Eagles will get the ball to start the second half, but the turnover was huge for Arizona.

Cardinals get on the board

Carson Palmer connects with John Brown for a 13-yard touchdown and the Cardinals have cut the Eagles’ lead to 21-7 with 11:42 left in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.

We’ll see if the Cardinals can swing the momentum from that, but they have two players who are injured – long snapper Aaron Brewer and nose tackle Corey Peters. Peterson hurt his knee, and we’ll update as details come in.

The rout is on, it’s 21-0

There looked to be some miscommunication between the safeties and cornerback Justin Bethel, but whatever it was, it was exploited and Carson Wentz went deep to Torrey Smith for a 59-yard touchdown as the Eagles are now pouring it on the Cardinals, 21-0, with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.

Bethel was expecting some help from Tyvon Branch or Antoine Bethea and he never got it.

This could get ugly real quick, as if it isn’t already.

Not so special, special teams

The Eagles extend their lead to 14-0 thanks to an 11-yard scoring pass from Carson Wentz to tight end Zach Ertz on play action with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.

The play that set up the score was a 76-yard punt return by Kenjon Barner, who broke at least four tackles to bring the ball to the Arizona 15-yard line. Barner has also had a 19-yard punt return in the game, and the tackling on both was just abysmal.

Defense on hot seat

How the Cardinals fell behind early to the Eagles seemed to be stoke some concern about the team’s defense.

The unit couldn’t stop the Eagles on third down three times en route to Philadelphia’s first score, committing a neutral-zone infraction penalty and then giving up a pair of passes.

Eagles go up 7-0

Carson Wentz found a wide-open Trey Burton in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown and with the point after, the Eagles take a 7-0 lead over the Cardinals with 8:19 left in the first quarter.

Burton, a tight end, beat Deone Bucannon with a burst to get behind him in the end zone and haul in the pass. The coverage just wasn’t there.

How to watch

Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Time: 10 a.m. Sunday

Television: Fox Ch. 10 / Play-By-Play: Kenny Albert. Analyst: Ronde Barber. Sideline: Kristina Pink. 

Cardinals Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM / Play-By-Play: Dave Pasch Analyst: Ron Wolfley Sideline: Paul Calvisi

Cardinals Spanish Radio: 100.3 FM Latino Mix / Play-By-Play: Gabriel Trujillo Analyst: Rolando Cantu 

Fitz on verge of another milestone

Larry Fitzgerald needs one reception in today’s game at the Eagles to extend his consecutive-game streak with at least one catch to an even 200 games. Jerry Rice holds the longest such streak at 274 straight games and Tony Gonzalez is second at 211.

I asked Fitzgerald about how magical the moment will be once he gets it and  here’s what he  told me:

“Don’t jinx me, man,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t like to talk about that stuff. I just want to focus on the game, do my job and execute my assignments to the best of my ability.”

–Bob McManaman

Inactives for Cardinals at Eagles

PHILADELPHIA – Cardinals coach Bruce Arians knocked on wood this week when asked if guard Alex Boone would be able to play the Eagles on Sunday.

The knock didn’t work.

Boone (pectoral) is among the team’s inactive players, and Earl Watford will get his first start of the season at left guard. Watford is the fourth different left guard to start for the Cardinals in five games.

Also inactive are left tackle D.J. Humphries, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, receiver Chad Williams, running back D.J. Foster, linebacker Scooby Wright and defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche.

For the Eagles, backup running back Wendell Smallwood is inactive because of a knee sprain. The Eagles also will be missing defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and cornerback Ronald Darby. Both are starters.

Cardinals-Eagles game notes

Prediction and scouting report: Cardinals vs. Eagles

This week’s Cardinals-Eagles game is the 117th all-time regular-season meeting in a rivalry dating back to 1935. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 57-54-5, and have one five of the previous six meetings.

Including postseason play, this week’s game is just the eighth game between the two teams in 10 seasons. The Cardinals and Eagles faced off twice annually between 1970 and 2001 when the Cardinals were members of the NFC East.

If Larry Fitzgerald has a catch Sunday, he would have at least one in 200 consecutive games. Fitzgerald has 50 in eight career games vs. the Eagles, averaging more than six a game.

The Eagles have rushed for 407 yards in their last two games, but the Cardinals haven’t allowed an opponent rush for 100 yards in their last six. As Bob McManaman wrote recently, something has to give.

Outside linebacker Markus Golden is out for the season, being replaced by Kareem Martin and Haason Reddick, for who Philadelphia is something of a homecoming for the Temple grad. The questionable starter might be Alex Boone, who missed last week’s game against the 49ers with a pectoral strain. Boone is expected to replace John Wetzel, who was filling in for Mike Iupati. “I feel good,” Boone told azcentral sports on Thursday. “I hope things go well and we can have some fun Sunday.”

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