ALLEN PARK — Kelvin Sheppard has garnered significant praise through his first nine games as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator, and the numbers back it up.
The Lions are fourth in sacks (30), fifth in turnovers (six), and seventh in yards allowed per game (294). So far, it’s proof that Dan Campbell made the right call promoting him, as the defense is playing above expectations despite missing key pieces at different stretches of the season.
As strong as Sheppard’s unit has looked, Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles — the reigning Super Bowl champions — presents a different type of challenge. It’s the kind of matchup that tests whether a coordinator has truly arrived.
When asked how long he’d been looking forward to this specific test — stopping an Eagles offense that’s controlled the Lions in their last two meetings — Sheppard said he hasn’t spent much time thinking about them outside of postseason prep windows.
“I think last time we played them I think it was 2022 Week 1. So, I really haven’t had any thoughts, really,” Sheppard said. “Obviously, the past couple of years, there’s been kind of early conversations because once you get into postseason, you’ve got to try to start to plan for who it could be for your breakdown guys and things like that. So, it’s been things that pop in mind, so to speak.
“But all I remember is the last time we played these guys, I think they ran for over 200 yards. So, I’m just really, really excited for the opportunity of our guys to go out again. It’s a great litmus test for us. A dominant front they have, a dominant running back, and to see where we stand as far as the front seven in the physicality department this Sunday night.”
Sheppard isn’t exaggerating. In their 2021 meeting on Halloween, the Eagles gashed Detroit for 236 rushing yards on 46 carries with four rushing touchdowns in a 44-6 rout. The following year, in the season opener, the Eagles piled up another 216 rushing yards and four more rushing scores in a 38-35 win.
This season, however, has been a bit different for Philadelphia. Their offense is middle-of-the-pack across the board — hovering around 24 points per game, sitting in the high 20s in total offense, and running the ball at a clip that lands them in the low 20s league-wide. Their rushing attack, typically their identity, hasn’t fully clicked. Saquon Barkley is 15th in rushing yards with 579, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry with four touchdowns.
Jalen Hurts is playing efficient football — 16 touchdowns to one interception with a 69% completion rate — but the offense as a whole hasn’t found its rhythm. A defense like Detroit’s could easily push them deeper into that slump.
Still, Sheppard isn’t getting caught up in who the Eagles currently are on paper. He knows what Sunday means — physically, mentally, and for playoff positioning.
“I just think it’s from a standpoint of — I’ll tell you what I was taught and continue to learn from our head coach — you better treat them all the same because that’s how you end up walking away from games. ‘How did we do that? How did we lose that game?” Sheppard said. “But I’ll also be kidding you to say that we are not aware that we’re walking into the Super Bowl Champions’ house. They’ve won a lot of games the last three, four years, and there’s a standard that’s been set over there.
“Walking into that stadium — Lincoln Financial — is going to be an explosive atmosphere, and you want to see how your players respond in those situations. But for me, it’s not just the players. I want to see how our coaches respond, whether we go in there and go up three touchdowns, or we fall into an adverse situation when you’re playing an elite opponent like this across the board. O-line — there’s no deficiency in their team, so that’s why you say it’s kind of different. There’s no deficiency — show me what it is.”
And with the Eagles presenting the most complete opponent the Lions have faced this season, Sheppard sees Sunday as a chance to measure exactly where his defense truly stands.
“So, I think that’s more the excitement, not that this game is different than the Vikings game or that game’s different,” he added. “I think it’s just the situation dictates kind of the circumstance of why this is a tick bigger.”
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