Eagles Week 5 game balls: Philadelphia survives in Arizona

Well, that was close, but it’s a win. In the end, that’s all that matters. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Arizona Cardinals to improve to 5-0 on the regular season.

It wasn’t pretty. The offense and defense didn’t play their best game, but they were good when they had to be. That’s what good teams do. Let’s hand out some game balls.

Here are our MVPs following the Eagles’ Week 5 victory.

Thanks to a 20-17 win, the Eagles are 5-0 for only the third time in franchise history. Next up is a date with the hated Dallas Cowboys. Here are a handful of game balls that we have to pass out after this one. As always, we’re handing out more than any coach normally would.

Jason Kelce, center

Perhaps one of the greatest warriors the NFL has ever seen, Jason Kelce battled through injury and the limitations of his body to inspire his teammates yet again. We’re running out of superlatives to describe this guy.

Jalen Hurts, quarterback

26 completions on 36 attempts for 239 yards… 15 carries for 61 yards and two rushing touchdowns… It was another day at the office for QB1 Jalen Hurts, and even though he wasn’t at his best all game, he was great when his best was needed. He led a 17-play, 70-yard drive that drained 7:58 off of the clock late in the fourth quarter, and that helped put a bow on this one.

DeVonta Smith, wide receiver

DeVonta Smith led all Eagles receivers with ten catches. The Birds may not have won this game without him.

Dallas Goedert, tight end

The YAC monster, Dallas Goedert, racked up a team-best 95 yards receiving, hauling in eight receptions on nine targets, including one on 3rd-and-11 during the final offensive drive with a little over four minutes remaining. He was, in a word, spectacular.

C.J. Gardner Johnson, safety

C.J. Gardner Johnson’s interception wouldn’t lead to any points, but any time a defense can stop an opposing team’s drive and create extra opportunities for the offense, that’s a good thing, especially when we’re discussing a one-score game. He also led the team in tackles.

Haason Reddick

Haason Reddick had one tackle for loss and one sack, but what a sack it was. With a little under five minutes remaining in the third quarter halted an Arizona Cardinals drive that was approaching midfield. That was huge when it happened. Those are the moments that help win games, and it most certainly helped the Eagles win this one.

Darius Slay/James Bradberry

Every time we watch these guys play, we keep coming back to the same conclusion. There is no better cornerback tandem in the NFL than this one.

Cameron Dicker (the kicker)

How about a hand for the new guy? Cameron Dicker was signed to the Eagles’ practice squad on October 4th. He was elevated to the active roster for this one on Saturday, and on Sunday, in Week 5, he nailed two extra points and two field goals. His second put the Birds up on the scoreboard for good.