Monday Night Football this week proved to be...quite the snooze fest.
It was to be expected. The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers are not known for their high-flying offense this year. Instead, both squads helm some of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, which led to a low-scoring affair that resulted in a 10-7 win for the Eagles.
The Detroit Lions benefited from this contest, regardless of how boring it was, as they slid up to 1st place in the NFC North following the Packers' loss. Next up, the Lions have the Eagles to deal with on the road for Sunday Night Football in Week 11. And, Detroit's defense has to be excited about the prospect of taking down Philadelphia's offense just like the Packers did.
Lions defense could feast in Week 11 against Eagles
Philadelphia managed to post 183 passing yards, one touchdown, and just 60 rushing yards from star running back Saquon Barkley against a Packers defense Lions fans are all too familiar with from Week 1. The Eagles have struggled to get their offense jumpstarted for most of this season, but this contest against the Packers proved they can be stopped with a strong defensive front.
Now, the Lions have a bit of an issue with their secondary at the moment. They saw Terrion Arnold, their current-best option at cornerback, go down with a concussion in Week 10. His availability for this game is uncertain. We don't know when D.J. Reed is expected back, but it doesn't seem like it'll be for this game. And, Kerby Joseph is being eased back into practice at a very slow pace by Detroit.
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That leaves just Brian Branch as the only starting safety available against Philadelphia, and another tall ask by Kelvin Sheppard of the "Legion of Whom" that charmed Lions fans in Week 7.
So far this season, Detroit has held opponents to just 22.2 points per game and 199.7 net passing yards per game - close to what Green Bay managed to hold Philadelphia to in Week 10 behind some excellent Xavier McKinney playing time. On the flip side, the Eagles are only averaging 24.2 points per game and 191.7 passing yards per game.
This bodes well for a Lions D-line that continues to get healthier, and a secondary that continues to figure itself out amidst a season full of longer-term injuries.