NFL Recap (Arizona-Philadelphia)
Posted: Sun December 13, 1998 at 8:01 p.m. EST
ARIZONA 20, PHILADELPHIA 17 (OT)
PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Given a second chance, both kicker Chris Jacke and the Arizona Cardinals came
through.
After missing a 34-yarder at the end of regulation, the recently
signed Jacke kicked a 32-yard field goal 4 1/2 minutes into overtime to
give the Cardinals a crucial 20-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jacke's winning kick finally capped an afternoon of squandered
opportunities for the Cardinals (7-7), who blew a 10-point lead, botched a
fourth-down play and fumbled deep in Eagles territory. They could only
watch as Eagles kicker Chris Boniol missed a
potential go-ahead 33-yard kick with 2:29 left in regulation.
"It looked like we didn't concentrate enough on our field goal tries,"
Jacke said.
"I was relieved," Boniol said. "I was thinking that we had dodged a
bullet, but we had to get the ball back to give us a chance to win."
After Jacke's miss, the Cardinals received another big break when they
won the overtime coin toss. Jake Plummer found Rob Moore for 30 and 16
yards to again position Jacke, who made sure this time around.
"I was happy to go out and have another chance," said Jacke, who was
signed last week to replace the injured Joe Nedney. "I felt I
just hit the ball better on the second kick and I was more focused."
"Chris has kicked in pressure situations a lot of times and I didn't
think he'd miss twice in a row," Cardinals coach Vince Tobin said. "I was
disappointed he didn't make the first one."
Tobin would have been more disappointed if his team had given away
another game. Arizona had lost two in a row, including last week's 23-19
home loss to the New York
Giants that could have given them control of the final NFC wild card
berth.
Instead, the Cardinals are tied with Tampa Bay and finish the season
with home games against New Orleans (6-8) and San Diego. Arizona has not
made the playoffs since 1982, when the franchise was in St. Louis.
"We have New Orleans at home next week and they will be ready to
play," Tobin said. "Anytime you have two teams that are close in record,
you should have a playoff atmosphere. I would just hope that we get a big
crowd out there, and the fans get behind these Cardinals."
Plummer was 18-of-26 for 234 yards and an interception. Moore caught
seven passes for 109 yards, including a nine-yard TD with 8:14 to play that
gave the Cards a 17-17 tie.
"We have been through this before," Plummer said. "We had our backs
to the wall and we managed to rally again. We came up with the big plays
when we had to today."
"We knew we were going to have to do it again," Moore said. "I think
we've become real resilient in that respect."
Arizona also got a big game from Adrian Murrell, who rushed
for a season-high 174 yards on 32 carries. Murrell had 145 yards in a 17-3
win over Philadelphia on September 20th.
"We were in the red zone a lot but we just couldn't capitalize,"
Murrell said. "We've definitely got to correct that if we want to do
anything."
Rookie Duce Staley
had season highs of 30 carries and 141 yards and Koy Detmer threw for 219
yards and a touchdown for the Eagles (3-11), who failed in a bid for
consecutive wins and were swept by Arizona for the first time since 1984.
Boniol's late miss ended a streak of 67 successful attempts inside 35
yards as he pushed the kick to the right.
"I hit it low and it spun off my toe and went straight to the right,"
he said. "It never had a chance. The problem was with the kick. The hold
was good."
"You've got to make the field goal," Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said.
Jacke's 28-yard field goal and safety Tommy Bennett's 70-yard
interception return on the final play of the opening quarter gave the Cards
a 10-0 lead.
But Staley ran 30 yards for a score early in the second quarter and
Murrell fumbled at the Eagles 7 to kill a drive. Detmer found Jeff Graham for 45 yards
and Staley picked up 43 more on eight carries before Boniol kicked a
19-yarder to tie it with a
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