Eagles rookie tight end Zach Ertz emerged as a favorite target of Nick Foles, hauling in two touchdown passes in Philadelphia's victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
It wasn't pretty by any stretch, but then again few December victories in the NFL ever are.
But, by the end of Sunday the Philadelphia Eagles behind Nick Foles three touchdown passes had earned their fourth straight win by topping the Arizona Cardinals 24-21 at Lincoln Financial Field to move to 7-5 on the season.
Foles inched ever closer to tying Peyton Manning's NFL record for tossing 20 touchdown passes before throwing his first interception on the season. The second-year University of Arizona product connected with his tight ends three times for scores, including rookie Zach Ertz twice.
"I've never had two touchdown catches in college either," Ertz joked afterwards. "It was a lot of fun today. Nick did a phenomenal job, standing in the pocket and making some of the throws he made under pressure was really neat to watch. He's such a warrior out there."
Veteran Brent Celek who caught his fourth touchdown of the season knows that the role of the tight ends is certainly an integral one as the Calendar turns to December and the games become more meaningful.
"Anytime we're running routes or doing anything, we have to be viable options for Nick." Celek pointed out. "We're an integral part of this offense, too."
Foles finished 21 of 34 for 237 yards, three touchdowns and a 112.0 passer rating.
Along the way, DeSean Jackson surpassed the 1,000 receiving yard mark for the season by catching three passes for 36 yards.
For the second week in a row the Eagles scored 24 points but could only muster a single touchdown in the second half, leaving it to the defense to hang on for the win by any means necessary.
"We'll take games like this all day, we'll take them all day," Trent Cole said in the afterglow of his two sack, two tackle performance. "It don't matter what the situation is. If it's on us as a defense, we're going out there and doing what we have to do. If they back us up to the five-yard line, we know that we have to go out there and stop them. That's just the way it is."
The quarterback had been brilliant through the first half of the game but with 4:37 on the clock Foles dropped back and was intercepted by Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson which would have ended the second-year signal caller's bid for history had it not been for an Arizona defensive holding penalty.
Ultimately the defense held.
It's almost fitting that the game was left in the hands of the defense after forcing a Carson Palmer fumble that led to the first score of the game, sacking him five times and picking up two interceptions.
By day's end, Palmer finished 24 of 41 for 302 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Brandon Graham who has seen limited playing time this season exploded for two sacks and practically took up residence in the Cardinals backfield.
"It felt good and to get the W on top of that, that was the biggest thing. To get that win," Graham exclaimed. "I'm just happy that we all came together at the end to get that win."
Ideally the Eagles would find a way to close out opponents much easier than they have in recent weeks, but at the end of the day, a victory with destiny still in their control is about all you could ask for from a team that steadily has been on the rise in recent weeks.
Having passed this test against a multi-faceted offensive and defensive attack, the red hot Detroit Lions await next Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles now sit tied atop the NFC East standings alongside the Dallas Cowboys.
Meaningful wins in December are rarely pretty, but one thing they do is breed more meaningful games.
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
