December 20, 2015
Aaaaaaand there's the team that lost three straight horrific games to the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Lions earlier this season. As always, win or lose, we hand out 10 awards:
Cardinals star tight end Darren Fells caught a pass and ran 20 yards with Byron Maxwell draped on his back the same way I carry my 3-year-old daughter at the amusement park.
There was this:
💪 David Johnson 💪 47 yards of pure beast mode. #AZvsPHI https://t.co/13AQeQA9Kj
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2015
And this:
John Brown: Makes the catch ✔ Does a spin-a-rooni ✔ Tip toes six yards into the end zone ✔ #AZvsPHI https://t.co/6rkhS99fLy
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2015
And plenty of other tackling awfulness.
Against the Saints this season, Marcus Smith had the first tackle assist of his career. Against the Patriots, Smith had the first solo tackle of his career, on special teams. Tonight against the Cardinals, Smith not only had the first solo tackle of his career playing on the regular defense, he also had his first half-sack. This has truly been a magical season for No. 90.
It seems like after every Eagles loss, we say, "Still only a game out of first place!" Welp...
| NFC East | W | L | GB |
| Redskins | 7 | 7 | - |
| Eagles | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| Giants | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| Cowboys | 4 | 10 | 3 |
You know how semi-obscure players destroy the Eagles? Like James Mungro with the Colts like a decade ago? Or James Starks before anyone knew who he was in the playoffs against the Packers? Well, this will forever be known by me as the David Johnson game: 29 carries, 187 yards, 3 TD, to go with 4 catches on 4 targets for 42 yards.
Here were Larry Fitzgerald's numbers against the Eagles throughout his career:
| Larry Fitzgerald vs Eagles | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2005 | 5 | 91 | 18.6 | 1 |
| 2008 | 5 | 65 | 13.0 | 2 |
| 2008 (playoffs) | 9 | 152 | 16.9 | 3 |
| 2011 | 7 | 146 | 20.9 | 2 |
| 2012 | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 1 |
| 2013 | 5 | 72 | 14.4 | 1 |
| 2014 | 7 | 160 | 22.9 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 47 | 800 | 17.0 | 11 |
On Sunday night: 3 catches, 43 yards, 0 TD. Boom. How does it feel to be dominated, Larry?
For the majority of the season, the Eagles defense has actually been good. But when they're bad, they're reeeeeaaaally bad. Sunday night was the third time this season the Eagles got 40 burgered.
Gross.
Sammy Sleeves made some really nice throws against the Cardinals. He took a shot while throwing from deep in his own end zone to Josh Huff for a first down. He had great ball placement on a throw down the seam to Brent Celek. He dropped one in the bucket to a streaking Jordan Matthews down the field (although Matthews was wide open).
But those two picks... Yeesh. Sammy Sleeves, what were you looking at on those interceptions?
2 carries, 3 yards.
The Cardinals had one penalty and no turnovers. They have a wide assortment of weapons on offense, a good quarterback, and a defense that makes plays. That is what a good team looks like. The Eagles are not that.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
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