The Arizona Cardinals came up big in the final two minutes on Sunday, getting a 75-yard touchdown reception from John Brown and a last-second defensive stop in a 24-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Our takeaways:
- The game ended with a showdown between Eagles coach Chip Kelly and Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Philadelphia steadily marched down the field in the last minute, but Bowles stayed aggressive and continued to send extra rushers at Nick Foles. On the final play, an intense rush forced Foles to backpedal 10 yards before throwing a pass that sailed too far out of bounds for Jordan Matthews to make a play on. Advantage: Bowles.
- Foles is impossible to figure out. Every week, he throws a handful passes that make you wonder if it's crazy to think he could wind up holding a clipboard in a few weeks. Then you look at the box score after four quarters and he has well over 300 yards and multipletouchdowns. He's a weekly grab bag. He made two poor throws in the final seconds that helped doom the Eagles. He also threw for 411 yards and set a franchise record with 36 completions.
- The Cardinals have their answer to T.Y. Hilton in John Brown. On the go-ahead touchdown, the rookie wideout out blew past Nate Allen and Cary Williams, then made an over-the-shoulder catch on Palmer's perfectly placed deep ball. This was the first 100-yard receiving game of Brown's career. We suspect it won't be his last.
- Larry Fitzgerald can still move. The Cardinals' wide receiver proved he still has more than enough speed on an 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the second quarter. It was the longest play of Fitzgerald's illustrious career and his 11th touchdown in seven career games against the Eagles.
- Maclin and Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson were both injured in a violent three-way collision with Cards safety Deone Bucannon during the second quarter. Both Peterson and Maclin went to the locker room for concussion tests (Maclin also had a bloody ear), but only Maclin emerged from the tunnel after halftime. Peterson was eventually ruled out and will go through concussion protocol, per coach Bruce Arians. Maclin had been getting the best of their head-to-head matchup before the collision.
- Carson Palmer enjoyed one of the most deceiving 300-yard games in recent history. The veteran quarterback struggled to move his offense for much of the afternoon, but Brown's 75-yard game-winner and Fitzgerald's 80-yard catch-and-go did wonders for the QB's stat line. Speaking of Palmer, his arm looks plenty healthy after his shoulder scare.
- Penalty flags kept this game from being as enjoyable as it should have been. The two teams combined for 21 penalties for 198 yards. Gross.
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