Here are all the Eagles' special teams breakdowns in their loss to the Cardinals

The Eagles' special teams units were far from special against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

That's because breakdowns both physically and mentally led to seven points for the Cardinals. The breakdowns also cost the Eagles two points – a missed extra point, followed by a made extra point that was taken off when the Eagles tried, and missed, a two-point conversion following a Cardinals penalty. 

All of it made a difference in the Eagles' 33-26 loss.

The Cardinals blocked a punt in the first quarter that led to a touchdown. They faked a punt early in the fourth quarter that led to a first down and bled nearly three minutes off the clock.

That was time the Eagles could have used on their last-second pass attempts into the end zone seeking a possible game-tying touchdown.

The Eagles also didn't generate much yardage on their kickoff and punt returns, a recurring theme this season except for Jalen Reagor's 73-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Packers on Dec. 6 (more on that later).

As a unit, the Eagles are ranked in the middle of the pack in the NFL in both punt returns and kickoff returns. Against the Cardinals, however, the Eagles' average starting field position was their own 25.

Take away a fumble recovery at the Cardinals' 21, and the average start was the Eagles' 21.

"That wasn’t one of my better days," Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. "We didn’t have our guys ready to go, and I need to do a better job."

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The breakdowns started in the first quarter as Cameron Johnston's punt was blocked by Ezekiel Turner, enabling the Cardinals to take over at the Eagles' 6 yard line. Arizona scored two plays later, taking a 16-0 lead with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

"We allowed a free rusher in the A-gap," Fipp said about a rush from up the middle. "We can’t do that. I think there were a number of guys who could’ve helped out on the play. I’m not going to get into all the specifics ... We didn’t handle and we have to be better on that."

Johnston suffered a concussion, presumably on that play, and had to leave the game at halftime. That left kicker Jake Elliott to serve as the punter for the second half.

Elliott did well enough, averaging 38.5 yards on two punts, including a 42-yarder that pinned the Cardinals back inside their 20 yard line.

Before that, the Eagles scored a touchdown late in the first half to cut their deficit to 26-20, pending the extra point.

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Elliott converted that, making the score 26-21. But the Cardinals were called for defensive offsides. The Eagles elected to take the point away and try for the two-point conversion from the 1-yard line.

That could have made the score 26-22. Instead, Miles Sanders was stopped short of the goal line and the score remained 26-20. 

Johnston also serves as the holder on field goals and extra points. That duty was left to tight end Zach Ertz, who Fipp said gets some work as the holder in practice. 

But that cost the Eagles after quarterback Jalen Hurts' 7-yard TD run tied the game at 26-all late in the third quarter.

The extra point would have given the Eagles their first lead of the game. But Rick Lovato's snap was low and bounced before reaching Ertz, who couldn't handle it. The game remained tied.

It's likely that Johnston would have struggled getting that snap down for Elliott, too.

"When somebody new comes in (Ertz), we all gotta step up our game, and be a little bit better and help make their job easier," Fipp said. "We kind of made their job a little harder right there. (Lovato) just didn’t have his best snap right there, and really at an unfortunate time."

The Eagles weren't done.

The Cardinals faced a 4th-and-2 from their 33 yard line in a tie game with 14:56 remaining when Andy Lee went back to punt. Fipp said he was aware of the possibility for a fake, so the Eagles kept their defense on the field.

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But Fipp said the Eagles' defenders were "skewed a little more heavy to stopping the run." Lee threw a pass to Turner, who gained 26 yards to the Eagles' 41 for a first down.

The Cardinals were eventually stopped on downs at the Eagles' 33, but they were able to take nearly three more minutes off the clock.

The Eagles did have a chance for a big play on special teams as Arizona punted the ball back to the Eagles with 1:35 left.

In late-game situations with the Eagles trailing, Reagor would return the punt instead of Greg Ward. But Reagor hurt his ankle earlier in the game and wasn't available. Ward called for a fair catch and the Eagles started at their own 22 yard line.

"Obviously, (Reagor) is the most explosive player with the ball in his hands back there," Fipp said last week. "We want the ball in Jalen’s hand when we think he can make an impact in the game." 

As it was, the Eagles reached the Cardinals' 31 with 15 seconds left. Hurts only had time for two passes into the end zone before time expired.

It was a fitting end to a miserable day for the Eagles on special teams.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.