PHILADELPHIA – The script was perfect for the Cardinals.
Control possession. Use your best offensive player this season -- running back James Conner. Re-discover rookie wide receiver Michael Wilson. Get the best game of the season from quarterback Kyler Murray.
And coach Jonathan Gannon stuck to his script after an emotional 35-31 victory over his former team, the Eagles, on New Year's Eve at Lincoln Financial Field. "I'm happy for the players," Gannon said after. "It's been a tough year."
It's hard to believe it wasn't more than that after James Conner's two-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left stunned the playoff-bound Eagles and their boisterous crowd.
"Nah, it wasn't just another game," quarterback Kyler Murray said with a smile. "I knew he wanted to win it. (Expletive), I would want to win it, so I know the guys felt that energy from him, that we wanted to come out here and do it for him."
Murray was fantastic in his best game of the season, completing 13 of 14 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone, wiping out a 21-6 halftime deficit. Conner had his best game, rushing for 128 yards on 26 carries, and also catching a touchdown pass.
The Cardinals (4-12) rushed for 221 yards, the second time in three games they grinded their way past the 200-yard barrier and possessed the ball for a remarkable 39 minutes and 39 seconds of the 60-minute game.
"We tried to keep (Eagles QB) Jalen (Hurts) off the field," Gannon said.
But it was a play that didn't work that might've been Gannon's best call of the game. He and special teams coordinator/assistant head coach Jeff Rodgers went with an onside kick after tying the game at 28 with 5:30 left. The Eagles (11-5) recovered, but at the Cardinals 40.
Eventually, Philly kicked the field goal to take the lead, in a nice hold by the defense. But because the field had been shortened, Murray still had 2:33 on the clock.
"That worked. That worked," Gannon said. "You don't want to be bled out. I wanted to make sure, at all costs, Kyler had the ball in his hands at the end of the game."
The Cardinals got the ball on their own 30. It took Murray – 25-of-31 for 232 yards overall – just seven plays to get Conner in position for his score.
Gannon said at the two-minute warning, after seeing the look in Murray's eyes, he got on the headset and told the coaches "We're going to win the game."
"He actually told me, 'Go win it,' which at that point, he didn't even need to say," Murray said. "At that point, that's just the killer instinct you have to have in this sport, not only sport but life for me, as far as making the most of the moment."
The Cardinals never punted. They went field goal-interception-field goal with their first three possessions despite getting inside the Philadelphia 25 each time, and could've had their collective back broken when Murray and Wilson had a miscommunication that led to Eagles safety Sydney Brown picking the ball off at the Eagles 1 and racing 99 yards the other way for a touchdown.
"We didn't do enough to earn the right to play in January," Gannon said of the season. "I was proud of them. Down 21-6 there against a good team, you could lay down there and get beat by 30."
Wilson caught a touchdown and a two-point conversion later in the game. Fellow receiver Greg Dortch had seven catches for 82 yards and drew a key pass interference call in the fourth quarter. Running back Michael Carter had 61 yards rushing and a TD catch himself, overshadowed only because Conner was a monster.
When safety Joey Blount picked Hurts' final Hail Mary try off in the end zone, the boos rained down from the fans, who had been hoping 24 hours earlier to still have a chance to clinch the NFC East.
"It shows the true aspect of the NFL," linebacker Zaven Collins said. "Everyone is on the field for a reason. There is no such thing as a bad team in the NFL."
There is also no such thing as a bad victory.
"We just wanted to make this meaningful," Conner said.
"We wanted to do it for J.G."
