Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson explains Eagles’ dubious calls late in loss to Cardinals
Johnson suggested that on third-and-long, the Eagles were content with a "safe" play to set up a field goal.
Two days removed from the loss to the Cardinals, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson explained the Eagles’ thinking on the series that preceded Arizona’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles recovered an onside kick in a tie game with five minutes left in regulation and quickly completed an 18-yard pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown. A holding penalty on Jordan Mailata negated a D’Andre Swift carry on the following play, pushing the Eagles behind the sticks and giving way to a dubious series of calls from Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and Johnson.
The Eagles ran a designed quarterback run by Jalen Hurts for a 4-yard gain on first-and-20 and a zone-read that went for a 3-yard loss on the following play. Johnson said Cardinals safety Budda Baker made “a fantastic play” to tackle Hurts for a loss on second down, forcing the Eagles into a third-and-19 from the Cardinals 29-yard line.
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Rather than taking a shot near the sticks, the Eagles ran a screen play that resulted in Kenneth Gainwell gaining just 4 yards, something Johnson suggested was to improve kicker Jake Elliott’s distance on a field goal into the wind.
“When you get in those type of four-minute situations, there are three different things that you’re managing at that point,” Johnson said. “I think the first is obviously down and distance. You’re managing the clock. Obviously, you don’t want to try to give them the ball back, and then you’re managing the kick line. All three of those things really come into play.”
“You get yourself into a third-and-20, and you want to put yourself in a position to score points,” Johnson added. “That’s not obviously an area on the field where you’re going to punt the ball, and with the way the wind was in that stadium on that side, like we had to get to the kick line.”
Elliott hit a 43-yard field goal to give the Eagles a three-point lead with 2 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, but the Cardinals responded with a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to upset the Eagles, 35-31. It was the Cardinals’ fourth straight touchdown drive in the second half, capping a 449-yard offensive performance that saw all seven of their drives reach the red zone outside of a two-play series to end the first half.
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It’s fair to wonder if the Eagles’ defensive struggles against the Cardinals factored enough into Johnson and Sirianni’s approach on their second-to-last drive. When asked why the defensive struggles weren’t considered when playing for a field goal on third down, Johnson said he didn’t know if the question was for him to answer.
“I don’t know if I can answer that question for you,” Johnson said. “… But for us, offensively in terms of the situation and what we were trying to accomplish, that was the mode that we were in offensively.”
Johnson’s reply may have been a way to avoid speaking for Sirianni’s decision-making. Earlier in the news conference, Johnson said Sirianni will often give direction during moments when situational football needs to be considered.
When asked what Sirianni’s messaging was on the three-play sequence before the field goal, Johnson said the priority shifted as the series unfolded, particularly after Mailata’s holding penalty.
“Before we got the penalty, we wanted to try to score,” Johnson said. “At the third-and-20, we’re trying to make sure that we can ensure some points and get a field goal and not put ourselves in a situation where we lose yardage, and you have something safe that’s going to get completed and that’s going to be a decent play vs. whatever looks they show.”
On Sunday, Sirianni said the successive quarterback run calls weren’t necessarily conservative based on the Cardinals’ defensive approach. The next day, Sirianni conceded he could have been more aggressive, further suggesting the late-game decisions were his rather than Johnson’s.
“I’m always going to look at myself first,” Sirianni said. “That’s one thing. We haven’t been great on four-minute offense and that’s me, right? That starts with me. And again, with how aggressive we play it.”