This is about as heartbreaking as it can get for the Philadelphia Eagles! After they snapped their three-game losing streak on December 25, things took a turn for the worse today. Many fans thought that the 11-4 Eagles would have a field day against the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals, and it would rain points for Philly. However, what unfolded on Sunday Night Football could not have been predicted by any football enthusiast.
The Arizona Cardinals stunned Philadelphia on Sunday by coming back from a 15-point deficit to win 35–31 and obstruct the Eagles’ playoff hopes. Jonathan Gannon, the former defensive coordinator for the Eagles, made a triumphant return to Philadelphia after taking over as Arizona’s coach, grabbing an astonishing fourth victory for the Cardinals. However, this month’s fourth loss for the playoff-bound Eagles—their second at home—was a major blow to their NFC standing, gaining immediate criticism from fans all over the football community.
The Cardinals upset the recovering Eagles with an unanticipated turnaround
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In the initial phase of the game, matters were going as expected with the Eagles leading the match at 21-6 by the end of the second quarter. However, it was the third quarter that brought an absolute shocker for the Philly team, with them giving up 15 points and not being able to grab any themselves. The turn of events for the recovering Eagles brought with it a completely unexpected result.
In a last-ditch attempt to win the game, Jalen Hurts, who completed his stat line with three touchdown passes, was intercepted in the end zone. There was no shortage of blame during the game: a defense that was unable to leave the field, a running game that never got going, and an offense that was out of control, including rash play-calling late in the game.
However, in the fourth quarter, the Philadelphia team looked to turn matters in their favor once again when Hurts gave the Eagles the lead with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert. That would normally be sufficient to win a game at the Linc. Still, Philly’s defense was unable to hold on.
With 5 minutes and 26 seconds remaining in the game, the Cardinals were able to tie the score at 28-28 thanks to a 29-yard penalty against cornerback Kelee Ringo for pass interference. After Murray’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson, Arizona had three touchdowns on three different possessions during the third quarter.
Their second half of the game was a pure display of dominance and reflected a completely different side of the Arizona team. They did not only grab a boosting win for themselves but also did a favor to the Dallas Cowboys, who can now win the NFC East division with a victory against Washington. These updates brought tremendous criticism from the Eagles’ fans who appeared to be utterly disappointed by the efforts displayed by their team in such a crucial game.
Eagles’ fan wants head coach sacked after Cardinals blunder!
MLFootball took to X to share a video of an Eagles fan who was severely agitated by her team’s loss to the third-worst team in the league. She was so overcome with fury that she could be seen shouting, “What the hell are you doing?!” The account also reported that several fans were calling “TO FIRE HEAD COACH NICK SIRIANNI” for his blunder on national TV.
#EAGLES FANS ARE DONE WITH THIS TEAM.
SOME ARE CALLING FOR THEM TO FIRE HEAD COACH NICK SIRIANNI, EVEN AFTER A SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE LAST SEASON. pic.twitter.com/AIqsh5SuI6
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 31, 2023
One fan under the tweet called out the poor decisions made by Coach Sirianni throughout the game, mentioning how the team looked nothing short of ‘mishandled’ at this point:
I mean y’all saw how badly mishandled this team is. The make every wrong decision imaginable.
— Philly Philly 🦅🅰️🐕 (@MonsieurPhilly) January 1, 2024
Another fan pointed out how the timely replacement of the HC is quite essential for the Eagles at this stage, as per him, delaying matters would only end up turning ugly for the side going forward in the tournament. He also addressed the coach needing a slight push to get things together and turn it around for himself:
It’s only going to get worse if they don’t fire him.. you can see it trending in the wrong direction.. his OC and DC don’t know ball clearly and are pulling plays out of their behinds.. nip it now. Doug got fired and he actually won a superbowl.. Siriana not safe
— B.Juice🇵🇷 🇺🇸 (@LuisCollazo16) December 31, 2023
One spectator even went on to directly state how the only solution for the Eagles remains in the firing of their coaching staff:
Fire Nick Sirianni and his entire coaching staff.
He has totally lost this team.— Brian Basile (@imisscarlin) December 31, 2023
A football fan also supported the idea of firing Sirianni, shedding light on how bad the team has been performing in the past month. Despite the Coach’s insight of, “We’ve got to get things fixed,” the playing pattern hasn’t been the usual Eagles style, drawing such responses from the fans:
They should. The last 6 weeks has to be one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the league.
— Robert (@rblum22) December 31, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
One comment reflected the disappointment of the whole Eagles fanbase, remarking how the fans seem to have lost all hope in their team:
FANS ARE DONE WITH THIS TEAM.
— Amber Awan (@amber09203608) December 31, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
While the team failed to secure a potentially easy win, they still have their last game left in the regular season to turn matters right for themselves and gain the faith of their supporters. Do you think the Eagles can gain back momentum in the crucial clash? Let us know your thoughts below.
Watch This Story: “Be an Example”: Jalen Hurts Reveals His Role in ‘Difficult’ Locker Room Conversations