Eagles-Cardinals Up-Down Drill: Dave Fipp’s special teams not so special again

👍 — The Eagles lost, but they have their quarterback for at least the rest of the season. Hurts has done enough to earn the job for the final two games. The bigger question, of course, is whether he’s the guy for next season and beyond. He made another strong case.

👎 — It’s no surprise Wentz isn’t happy about being benched. If he doesn’t want to return to compete with Hurts, that’s understandable as well. But he may have no choice in the matter. Hurts has clearly been the better quarterback this season.

👍 — Hopkins proved once again that he’s one of the best jump-ball receivers ever. The Eagles sure could have used someone like him this season. Too bad they didn’t have the opportunity to acquire him — oh, wait, forget that.

» READ MORE: Grading the Eagles’ performance in Sunday’s 33-26 loss to the Cardinals

👎 — The special teams coordinator’s overall record with the Eagles has been good. But his units, across the board, have been poor this season. Personnel and injuries have been an issue, but the Cards’ blocked punt and fake punt fall on Fipp as much as anyone.

👎 — The Eagles lost their punter in the third quarter, forcing them to scramble for his replacements. Jake Elliott did fine with punting. But Zach Ertz was forced to hold and Rick Lovato rolled a snap on an extra point that the tight end couldn’t handle.

🤷‍♂️ — The Eagles coach didn’t necessarily call a poor game. He correctly gave Hurts more to do after last week’s simplified game plan. And, again, Pederson’s players continued to give great effort for him. But the decision to kick the extra point after Johnston’s concussion was questionable and there was overall sloppiness.

👎 — The Eagles tight end had, overall, a solid game. He caught four passes, blocked well, and even chipped in on special teams. But it would have been nice to see Goedert pull in that contested pass in the end zone.

👍 — With the secondary battered and bruised, the slot cornerback stepped up and made several plays. Robey-Coleman had a strip sack and strong defense on Larry Fitzgerald all game. The veteran receiver had a touchdown catch vs. the corner, but it was an exceptional one against tight coverage.

👍 — For those arguing for more Travis Fulgham, Jeffery showed why Pederson has favored the veteran over the youngster. Jeffery caught only two catches, but they went for 24 and 39 yards, and he also drew two pass-interference penalties against Peterson.

👍 — The rookie receiver has been active the last few weeks because of his practice chemistry with Hurts. Watkins didn’t log a lot of snaps, but he made the most of his first touch. He took a third-and-20 screen to the house in the second quarter — courtesy of a nifty spin move — for a 32-yard touchdown.

👍 — All Ward does is catch touchdowns. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but on Sunday it was the case on the Eagles receiver’s first two receptions until he caught a fourth-quarter, third-down conversion. Ward ran crisp routes and caught 4- and 5-yard touchdowns in the second quarter.

🤷‍♂️ — He had some tough moments against DeAndre Hopkins, but who doesn’t? The rookie cornerback, in his first career NFL start, was around the ball all first half. He forced an early Hopkins fumble, broke up a pass, and split a sack with Robey-Coleman, who forced a Kyler Murray fumble.

👍 — These two teams always seem to be engaged in wild affairs. The 4-9-1 Eagles fell and are still on the outside looking in at the NFC East race. But they’ve at least been fun to watch the last two weeks.

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ loss to the Cardinals showed they don’t have enough help for Jalen Hurts, or Carson Wentz