PHILADELPHIA – The second-highest scoring team in the NFL ran into one brick wall after another – otherwise known as the Eagles’ defense. The Detroit Lions came to Lincoln Financial Field in a Sunday night primetime NFC bout averaging 31 points per game.
After two quarters, they had just six as the Eagles used a late. scoring drive to take a 13-6 lead at halftime. The Eagles lost right tackle Lane Johnson to a foot injury in the first quarter. It was the second straight game Johnson left early with an injury.
The Eagles’ defense intercepted Jared Goff on the Lions’ first possession. The ball was deflected at the line by Jordan Davis. It was Davis’s fourth batted ball this season. He had just four in his first three seasons in the NFL. He added another deflection in the second quarter for his fifth of the season.
Cooper DeJean caught the deflection for his first career regular-season interception and returned it 21 yards to the 11. The Eagles had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from jake Elliott to grab a 3-0 lead. It was just Goff’s fourth interception thrown this season.
From there, the Eagles’ defense got a sack from Jaelan Phillips, his first in two games with the Eagles. The sack was helped by Jalen Carter, who ran over right guard and former Georgia teammate Tate Ratledge to get Goff moving.
Phillips and Carter teamed up to stuff a third-and-one run near midfield. The Lions went for it on fourth down, and Jahmyr Gibbs ran into Moro Ojomo and crumpled to the ground for no gain.
The Eagles’ offense was a much sadder story until their final possession of the half, when they marched 64 yards in 10 plays, consuming 4:49 to take a 13-6 lead on Jalen Hurts’ tush-push TD with 16 seconds to play in the second quarter. It was the quarterbacks’ first rushing score since Oct. 9 in a loss to the Giants.
Until then, they had squandered good field position a couple of times, including gaining just two yards after DeJean’s interception gave them the ball at the Lions’ 11. After Ojomo’s fourth-down stuff gave Philly the ball at the Detroit 48, the Eagles went three-and-out without gaining a single yard.
Ojomo made a big play again when the Lions attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-one and bottled up the play to give Philly the ball at the 44. Again, though, the Eagles weren’t able to cash the good field position into a touchdown.
Instead, they settled for a 34-yard field goal from Elliott to take a 6-6 lead with 6:02 to go in the second quarter.
Less than a minute later, the explosive Lions finally reached the end zone on a 40-yard strike to Jameson Williams with 5:05 remaining in the second. The receiver was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty to turn the PAT into a 48-yard try. Jake Bates missed, and it was 6-6.
Hurts finished the half 9-for-18 with 63 yards and a 52.5 passer rating. Goff was 7-for-12 for 119 yards, a TD, an interception, and a passer rating of 85.1.
A.J. Brown caught his first pass of the game on the Eagles’ first possession, drawing a hearty cheer from the sold-out crowd at the Linc. He was targeted eight times, making six catches for 43 yards. DeVonta Smith was targeted four times but did not have a catch.
Barkley ran for 32 yards on 12 carries, with Tank Bigsby adding 29 yards on three runs and Hurts 14 yards on four runs.
The Eagles had 138 yards of total offense and won the time of possession, 18:512 to the Lions’ 11:09. The Lions had 144 yards of offense but were 0-for-4 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
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