J.J. Nelson wore an ice bag on his side, courtesy of the first hit he took in the game Sunday. The last one left more of a mental bruise — one in which it looked like the wide receiver would make the final score look a tad better on a 29-yard touchdown catch from Carson Palmer, only to have the TD erased and the ball lost when replay showed Nelson losing a fumble at the 1 and through the end zone.

"I was just trying to make a play, stick it out there (across the goal line)," Nelson said, shaking his head. "The guy hit me, and made a nice play."

The score wouldn't have really made a difference, but it figured to end like that. The loss in Philly couldn't have been much uglier (although someone on Twitter suggested it was the Cards' worst game in 10 years, and wow, that anyone could forget the 2012 Seattle trip stuns me). All the Cardinals' current issues were laid bare — a failure to run, problems on the offensive line, an inability to score, giving up too many big plays — and then you add it a breakdown on third down defense. The Eagles weren't just converting third downs but long third downs.

The backbreaker, although the game was basically secured by then, was the 72-yard TD on third-and-19, with the blitzing Cardinals unable to get to the quarterback. That was a common theme. The pass rush took a step back, and whether that was Markus Golden missing or something greater, it's not a great sign.

Bruce Arians took the blame a couple of times in his press conference. He said he didn't have the Cardinals ready to play. From a 40,000-foot level, seems an apropos assessment.

-- The offensive line started Earl Watford at left guard. At one point, when right tackle Jared Veldheer had to leave briefly with a knee issue, the line was, from left tackle to right tackle, John Wetzel, Watford, A.Q. Shipley, Evan Boehm and rookie Will Holden. Veldheer did come back into the game, although Arians said Veldheer will be sore (and said the same about DT Corey Peters, who also left for a time with a knee.)

If Veldheer is OK, and maybe D.J. Humphries and Alex Boone can come back next week …

-- It did seem like Arians stuck to the run more. It still didn't produce. Only 2.2 yards a carry.

-- Larry Fitzgerald keeps grinding. He didn't have a catch for a while until grabbing one for a reception in his 200th straight game. He finished with six receptions for 51 yards.

-- The Cardinals have lost long snapper Aaron Brewer with a broken wrist/hand, Arians said. So they'll be in the market. Josh Mauro and Boehm filled in and did OK. But the blocked field goal was because of the snap. It wasn't bad, it was just a tick slow — which is all it takes for a guy coming off the edge.

-- Haason Reddick did play some outside linebacker, but he was having trouble getting past the blocking when rushing the passer. There will definitely be a learning curve there.

-- Palmer didn't have bad stats, but they could have been. He was nearly picked off three times on plays that were broken up by his wide receivers. Nelson had one and John Brown had two, showing off two different cornerback skills. The first Smoke did a nice job simply knocking it away. The second was in the hands of Jalen Mills — and Brown timed his hit perfectly, landing a heavy body blow as Mills was coming down, jarring the ball loose.

It was a day to seek such silver linings.