Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon made a curious choice after his team tied the Eagles 28-28 with under six minutes to play on Sunday.
Gannon opted to try an onside kick rather than kick deep and force the Eagles to drive the length of the field in order to retake the lead. The Eagles recovered the kick and drove for a field goal, but the Cardinals had 2:33 left on the clock to drive for a game-winning score.
That’s exactly what they did as Kyler Murray moved the team inside the 5-yard-line with the help of wide receiver Greg Dortch and James Conner ran for a short touchdown that made Arizona 35-31 winners on the road.
After the game, Gannon told reporters at his press conference that everything went as planned because his goal was to get the ball back to Murray as quickly as possible.
“It worked. That’s what we talked about,” Gannon said. “That’s what I’m talking about. The reason for that is you don’t want to get bled out. That team is too good. I trust the defense to get a stop right there and make them kick a field goal, which is what they did, but with five minutes left, what they’ve shown is they’re not going to give you the ball back. And I wanted to make sure at all costs Kyler had the ball in his hand. At the end of the game, whatever you’re down, and that’s what we did. So it’s just funny how it came up, but no, I thought the defense did excellent. Held them to a field goal there. Kyler went down, Dortch had a big play. Had a couple of runs in there. And then we pounded it in. James will not be denied. So it’s good job.”
Had the Eagles scored a touchdown and won the game, Gannon’s decision would likely be subject to a great deal of criticism. The risk paid off, though, because Gannon’s belief in his defense and his quarterback paid off in something the Cardinals can build off in the future.