Getty Eagles QB Jalen Hurts ran for two touchdowns in the first half during Philly's 20-17 win.
The Philadelphia Eagles remain the only undefeated football team in football. They survived a scare in Arizona to improve to 5-0 as they get set to host the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. That one is going to be electric.
First, the Eagles were enjoying their 20-17 victory in a wild locker room scene after Sunday’s game. Head coach Nick Sirianni credited the defense for bending but not breaking, then celebrated the man of the hour: Cameron Dicker. The undrafted rookie kicker – a guy signed four days ago to the practice squad, then elevated to the active roster on Saturday – kicked a 23-yard field goal to win it.
“Defense, you played you’re a** off the whole game. Great job,” Sirianni said. “Cam [Dicker] did that one feel a little better than Oklahoma-Texas? Great job! Great job!”
Nick Sirianni setting the mood for the post-game locker room … #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly
Dicker’s boot proved to be the eventual game-winner but it could have easily gone the other way. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray made a crucial mistake when he slid a yard short of the first-down marker despite open grass in front of him. He popped up and spiked the ball with 36 seconds left which made it fourth down.
DICKER THE KICKER FOR THE LEAD
Arizona had to kick it right then and there due to Murray’s mental lapse. They couldn’t run another play or gain more yards. And their own rookie replacement kicker Matt Ammendola sailed a 43-yarder wide right. What was eerie was FOX Sports had film ready to roll of Ammendola from pregame warmups missing in the same manner.
Matt Amendola’s slider is elite. 30 feet of break t.co/rkzLVIGlEx
Jalen Hurts Had ‘Mixed Emotions’ About Win
Jalen Hurts told reporters he had “mixed emotions” about the Eagles’ 20-17 win. He knows he left plenty of meat on the bone, specifically an opportunity to slam the final nail in the Cardinals’ coffin. On 3rd-and-5 with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter, Hurts threw an incompletion into tight coverage.
The pass was intended for Quez Watkins, but he had A.J. Brown open underneath. I sure looked like Brown could have walked a score in. Attention to detail was eating at the quarterback.
“I personally have mixed emotions about the game itself, but we found a way,” Hurts said. “As a competitor, when you have the ball in your hands at the end of the game, you want to take advantage of it and not give the opposition an opportunity to win the game, tie the game, whatever it is, and I don’t look at anybody else but myself.”
Jalen Hurts pass Incomplete wow #Eagles
Mixed emotions, mainly over the second half. Hurts scored two touchdowns to put Philly up 14-0 before the offense got stagnant. The Eagles wouldn’t score another point until Dicker’s field goal.
Hurts explained: “I look at myself in the mirror and I look at myself and I ask myself: what could I have done more to not put the team in this position at the end of the game? How could I have gotten us in the end zone? I feel like in many ways I let ’em down with opportunities we didn’t take advantage of with the ball touching my hands every play. Those are the mixed emotions I have.”
“I personally, honest, I hate hearing 5-0. I don’t like to hear it. Because nobody was talking about it when we were 2-5. Nobody wanted to talk about that [last year] so I don’t want to hear it now. We’re going to enjoy this because winning is hard. You earn it every week. We put a lot of work into this every week. And we just want to go out there and play up to the standard we set for ourselves.”
Donovan McNabb Visits Eagles Locker Room
Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb stopped by the locker room to say hello to Hurts. The two have forged a nice bond over the years, with McNabb calling him the “grown man in the room.”
Jalen Hurts and Donovan McNabb
McNabb, an Arizona resident, was there to show his support. A gesture appreciated by Hurts who also called out Randall Cunningham and Michael Vick for paving the way.
“I have a lot of respect for Donovan,” Hurts said. “They’ve been pivotal in my transition into this role now. I have a lot of respect for him [McNabb], we have a really good relationship, always helpful, everybody wants to see me win and do successful things.”
Hurts finished 26-of-36 for 239 passing yards, plus 15 carries for 61 rushing yards (two scores). More importantly, he kept the Eagles undefeated and one game ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East. They improved to 4-1 after a 22-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams.