Eagles stunned at home by Cardinals, clinching NFC's No. 1 seed for 49ers

Tim Nwachukwu via Getty Images

The Philadelphia Eagles not only blew a 15-point lead on Sunday, but they also blew their shot at a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Arizona Cardinals rallied back in the second half to stun the Eagles 35-31 at Lincoln Financial Field. The loss was Philadelphia’s fourth in its last five games, and keeps the Dallas Cowboys in the running to win the NFC East next weekend.

But perhaps more importantly for Eagles fans, since the San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 27-10, the 49ers have officially earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the coveted first-round bye in the playoffs.

Kyler Murray, with Arizona down by three points in the final minutes, led the Cardinals storming down the field on a game-winning drive. He hit Greg Dortch on back-to-back passes for a combined 46 yards, which suddenly put the Cardinals at the five yard line.

James Conner then punched in a 2-yard run, which gave the Cardinals the four-point win.

The Eagles took a comfortable 21-6 lead into halftime on Sunday afternoon — thanks in part to a 99-yard pick-6 from Sydney Brown in the second quarter — and seemed poised to run away with the game. That didn’t leave anyone surprised, either, considering the Cardinals entered the game with just three wins under their belt and they were fresh off a rough loss to the Chicago Bears.

Yet it was the third quarter that Murray and the Cardinals finally took off. They opened the second half on a 10-play, 75 yard drive that Murray capped with a six-yard touchdown pass to Michael Carter. Then after forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back right away, Murray mounted another drive and hit James Conner — who made a ridiculous grab after Murray had to scramble in the pocket for a second touchdown.

The two-point conversion then tied the game back up suddenly, which led to a chorus of boos from Eagles fans.

Hurts responded right away in the fourth quarter, and hit Dallas Goedert for a 9-yard touchdown to take the lead right away again. But the Cardinals tied it up once again after Murray hit Michael Wilson on a fourth down for a four-yard touchdown on the very next drive.

Though the Cardinals went for the onside kick with more than five minutes left and failed, which gave the Eagles great field position, the Cardinals stopped them and forced a 43-yard field goal from Jake Elliott. That set up Murray’s game-winning drive.

Murray went 25-of-31 for 232 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the win for Arizona. Conner had 128 yards and a touchdown on his 26 carries, and Dortch had 82 yards on seven receptions.

Hurts went 18-of-23 for 167 yards and had three touchdowns and an interception for the Eagles. D'Andre Swift had 61 yards on 13 carries, and A.J. Brown had 53 yards on four catches.

49ers claim No. 1 seed in NFC

Things haven't gone great for the Eagles in recent weeks. After starting out the year 10-1, they've gone just 1-4 in the month of December and have suddenly slipped from the top of the NFC standings.

The 49ers, on the other hand, snuck in and claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs on Sunday. They rolled past the Commanders 27-10 behind a two-touchdown day from quarterback Brock Purdy, who set the franchise record for most passing yards in a single season. San Francisco will now have home field advantage through the playoffs. 

The NFC East now runs through Dallas, too. The Cowboys, who narrowly beat the Detroit Lions in a controversial finish, can claim the division with a win over the Commanders next week. That would suddenly send Philadelphia into a wildcard spot and force it to play its first playoff game on the road. 

The Eagles will wrap up their regular season against the Giants on Sunday.