Julio Jones' (Really!) 2 TDs Give Eagles Lead Over Cardinals at Halftime
Looking to remain in the driver's seat in the NFC East and in play for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles welcomed the Arizona Cardinals to Lincoln Financial Field for a New Year's Eve tilt Sunday afternoon.
USA Today
Coach Jonathan Gannon and the Cardinals won the opening kickoff and deferred to the second half, which immediately proved to be a wise decision. Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles went three-and-out, forcing a punt. Arizona and quarterback Kyler Murray took 7:46 off the clock in their opening drive, but weren't able to finish off the drive with a touchdown, instead settling for a 28-yard field goal from the ageless Matt Prater.
To their credit, the Eagles countered with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive that gave them the lead. While Hurts connected with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert early in the drive, it was future Hall of Famer Julio Jones who capped things off with a 12-yard touchdown reception.
Arizona was in the process of putting together a nice drive in response early in the second quarter, only for a miscommunication between Murray and receiver Michael Wilson to lead to an easy interception for safety Sydney Brown, who ultimately returned the ball 99 yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals put together another strong drive in response to the pick-six, holding the ball for nearly 10 minutes. Again, though, Arizona had to settle for a Prater field goal deep in Philadelphia territory, unable to produce a touchdown.
That really was the story of the first half, one where the Cardinals dominated time of possession, yardage and really, everything except the scoreboard. Despite hardly having the ball in the second quarter, the Eagles took a 21-6 into halftime thanks to a second touchdown reception by Jones before halftime.
The Cardinals will receive the second-half kickoff.
