PHILADELPHIA – Anquan Boldin was blunt in his personal assessment.
The Cardinals' wide receiver had five catches for 63 yards, but he had two drops – including one in the end zone – and fumbled twice. He only lost one, but it ended whatever hopes the Cards had to rally in what turned out to be a blowout 48-20 loss to the Eagles Thursday night.
"That was probably the worst game I have ever had," Boldin said. "I have to make sure I don't have a repeat. I have never played like this and there is no excuse.
"I blame myself for this loss, completely."
Boldin's troubles didn't impact the two early poor interceptions thrown by quarterback Kurt Warner, or a defense that was unable to slow what had been an impotent Eagles' offense.
"I have been around a number of great players and not every player is going to play great every game," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "That is human nature. It was unfortunate it happened tonight."
GASHED UP FRONT
The struggling Eagles whipped the Cardinals from the outset, driving rather easily for touchdowns on their first two drives and setting an ominous tone. The Cards' defense looked lost at times, perhaps a product of the short week.
"We just weren't sound today, especially defense," safety Adrian Wilson said, noting the missed assignments and empty gaps. "We weren't sound at all."
The Eagles rushed for 185 yards, almost 100 yards more than the NFL's leading rushing team, the Giants, got against the Cards for four days earlier. Philadelphia's total even included the three kneel-downs (for minus-one yard each) backup quarterback Kevin Kolb took at the end of the game.
"I was surprised," safety Antrel Rolle said, noting the Eagles' reliance on the pass earlier this season. "Watching film, they are a passing team. They came out and ran the ball successfully. They stuck with it and why not?"
RUNNING ON EMPTY
On the Cardinals' first run Thursday, Tim Hightower lost one yard. On their second, Hightower lost three more. That set an ugly tone for the struggling Cards' running game, which gained only 25 yards and had Boldin's lone run of eight yards keep him as the team's top rusher through most of the game.
The Cardinals only attempted to run 10 times in the game while trying to catch up.
"I really don't think it is anything teams are doing," said Hightower, who had just seven yards on seven rush attempts. "We aren't making plays we were making in games we won. We have to get back to executing our game plan."
Warner said it was possible to fix the problem despite it being so late in the season and added it was important to do so.
"Against good teams with good schemes, it's tough to throw all the time," Warner said. "If we want to progress forward, we have to figure something out. It is tough to be a one-dimensional team."
MAYBE MATT
With the game looking out of hand in the fourth quarter, Whisenhunt said he considered taking Warner out and replacing him with Matt Leinart, just to give Leinart some playing time.
"I decided for our team it wasn't the right thing to do," Whisenhunt said. "I wasn't ready to concede at that point even though it looked pretty bleak."
EXTRA POINTS
The only injury reported was linebacker Pago Togafau, who left after hurting his knee. Whisenhunt said Togafau will under an MRI. …
Thanks in part to the early deficit and the need to mostly abandon the run game, running back Edgerrin James did not play a snap. …
In what came as no surprise, cornerback Rod Hood (ribs) was not active, nor was linebacker Clark Haggans (foot).
Contact Darren Urban at askdarren@cardinals.nfl.net. Posted 11/27/08.
