National Football League

There's no defense (again) for the Eagles in very costly loss to Cardinals

Published Dec. 31, 2023 5:39 p.m. ET

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Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

Jonathan Gannon wasn't exactly a beloved defensive coordinator in Philadelphia, but he helped build a championship-caliber defense in his two seasons with the Eagles. They were the second-best defense in the NFL when he left after last year.

Surely he couldn't recognize the mess he left behind.

That Eagles' once-proud defense showed once again how much of a liability they are — and are going to be in the playoffs — when they were steamrolled by Gannon's Arizona Cardinals in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. The Cards put up 449 yards, 221 on the ground, and scored touchdowns on all four of their second-half possessions. That included a 2-yard run by Cardinals running back James Conner with 32 seconds remaining, giving the Eagles a shocking, catastrophic 35-31 loss that probably cost them the NFC East.

It was the culmination of a month-long slide in which they ruined a 10-1 start by losing four of their last five games.

"We got to get things fixed," said Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. "We've got to get them fixed fast."

It feels like the Eagles have been saying that for a while — especially about their defense. But here's even more urgency now after what is no doubt the worst loss of the Sirianni Era. All the Eagles (11-5) had to do was win their last three games against two awful opponents to clinch the NFC East and maybe even get the No. 1 overall seed. Instead, the loss to the 4-12 Cardinals handed the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) control of their destiny in the division.

And it very likely means the Eagles are going to have to play all their playoff games on the road.

Not that their stay in the postseason is going to be very long with the way their defense is playing right now. Their tackling has been atrocious, especially in the second half of the season. Even Sirianni's decision to demote defensive coordinator Sean Desai two weeks ago and turn the play-calling over to Matt Patricia hasn't helped. They've given up an average of 150.3 yards per game on the ground in the seven games since their bye week.

That's quite a fall for a team that gave up 66 yards per game on the ground through the first nine games of the year.

This was rock bottom, though. Not only did Conner rush for a season-high 128 yards, but Jets castoff Michael Carter chipped in 61 yards on seven carries. The Cardinals, who came in with NFL's 24th-ranked offense, had seven drives against the Eagles — not including their two plays at the end of the first half. They averaged 10.3 plays for 62.4 yards on those drives and held the ball for nearly 40 minutes (39:39).

The Eagles defense just couldn't get them off the field.

"There have been times when we've played well in spurts on defense," Sirianni said. "Tonight wasn't one of those times."

There were really no good spurts of defense in this game. The only time the Eagles stopped them was when rookie safety Sydney Brown picked off Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray (25 of 31, 232 yards, three touchdowns) at the 1 and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. But that only happened because wide receiver Michael Wilson ran the wrong route and left Brown as the only player in the area of the ball.

In fact, Gannon was so confident of his anemic offense's ability to shred the Eagles defense that he called for an onside kick in a tie game with 5:26 remaining, because he knew that if the Cardinals got the ball back, they'd score.

Not that the Eagles defense got much help from the offense. Jalen Hurts did throw three touchdowns — two to veteran receiver Julio Jones — but he was just 18 of 23 for 167 yards. The big play in the passing game was missing. And it certainly didn't help that offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was calling the game like the Eagles were trailing by 25 points from the start. Despite the fact that they are one of the best-rushing teams in football and have one of the best offensive lines, he called just eight runs on the Eagles' first 24 plays.

That is a ridiculous strategy against the NFL's worst rushing defense — a team giving up 147 rushing yards per game. The Eagles rushed more in the second half — 16 times on 26 offensive plays — but they still finished with only 91 rushing yards. And by then the defense was gassed and the damage was done.

That damage is also severe. The Eagles no longer look or even feel like a dangerous team. They might still believe they're capable of making a run to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season, but they look a lot more like a team that is headed toward a one-and-done.

"All this is building character for us," said Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham. "I know for us, man, it's going to happen. We've just got to make it through this little storm."

Sirianni added: "Obviously, we're not playing the type of football we want to be at this time. We have to go back to the drawing board, think through everything. Concerned? No, I don't think we think that way. I think we think ‘How do we get these things fixed?' That's what's going to be on our minds.

"Worry and concern doesn't get any problems fixed. It doesn't fix anything."

In fact, there might be no way at this point to fix all of the Eagles' problems, especially the ones they have on defense. This wasn't a one-game problem. It's been more like a two-month trend. It's almost cost them everything — the top seed, the division, a home game in the playoffs. And if they can't fix it by the time the postseason starts, it's going to cost them a whole lot more.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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National Football League

Philadelphia Eagles

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Ralph Vacchiano