PHILADELPHIA -- For those who enjoy high-powered, clean offensive football, look away.
The Detroit Lions trail the Philadelphia Eagles, 13-6, on Sunday Night Football from Lincoln Financial Field.
The first half featured the first time in two years that Detroit’s offense failed to score across at least its first four drives. The last time they came out this flat was the 2023 debacle on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Lions finally scored on their sixth drive of the night, finding life on a three-play 74-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 34-yard gain. Then it was Jameson Williams to get open on the crosser for the 40-yard touchdown with 5:05 left in the second quarter.
Williams was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the score, though, forcing Jake Bates into an extra-long point-after attempt. The Lions kicker missed it in windy Philadelphia, and the game remained tied at 6-6. Williams has caught a touchdown in three straight games, but it was an inopportune time to get flagged for celebrating.
That was quite the flip from last week, when the Lions scored on all eight possessions against the Washington Commanders. Detroit went into the second quarter with only 54 yards of offense.
On the first offensive drive, Jared Goff had an open Brock Wright at the sticks with nothing but daylight in front of him. But Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis jumped and swatted the pass into the air and the waiting grasp of defensive back Cooper DeJean.
However, the defense held strong despite the Eagles starting on Detroit’s 11-yard line -- notice the theme. They held Philadelphia to only 2 yards and a short field goal with 9:47 left in the first quarter.
Lions had a chance early in the second quarter near midfield. But they ran quickly on third-and-1, and then again on fourth-and-1, but both times they got stuffed at the line of scrimmage. There was no interior pressure, with Gibbs running into a wall.
Once again, the defense came out swinging, forcing a three-and-out despite the Eagles starting near midfield. The Lions forced three incomplete passes, and that was that.
But the offense failed to take advantage of the opportunity, even after getting a penalty boost on the punt return. They tried the direct-snap fake punt to Grant Stuard after failing on their fourth consecutive third-down play, and it didn’t work.
The Eagles once again started with prime field position at Detroit’s 43-yard line with 11:16 left in the second quarter. Dan Campbell is always going to lean on the aggressive side. But the Lions coach put his defense in another tough spot via that fake.
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s group answered the call again, though.
Cornerback Amik Robertson played a screen for A.J. Brown perfectly. A couple of plays later, linebacker Alex Anzalone was all over a screen pass for Saquon Barkley. Anzalone got the Eagles star running back for a loss of 8 yards. Philadelphia’s offense settled for another short field goal, extending its lead to 6-0 with 6:02 left in the first half.
Finally, the Lions hit a big play on second-and-10 on the next drive, with St. Brown catching a 34-yard pass via the play-action pass. That put the offense at Philadelphia’s 40-yard line, and Williams took it to the house to get the Lions on the scoreboard.
Philadelphia responded on the next drive in a hurry. They chipped away at the defense, then Eagles running back Tank Bigsby broke a couple of tackles on a 17-yard run down to Detroit’s 23-yard line on the play heading into the two-minute warning.
Brown got a desirable matchup with Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, overpowering him on the slant to set up first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with less than a minute in the half. Barkley nearly scored on the next play, but it was overturned after a closer look, putting the ball at the 1-yard line.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scored on the “tush push” on the next play, leaving only 16 seconds on the clock.
Heading into halftime, the Eagles are two-for-eight on third down with 138 net yards of offense. Hurts has only 63 passing yards, and Barkley just 32 yards on a 2.7-yard per-carry average.
Detroit’s offense has been blanked across four third-down attempts and two fourth-down attempts. They have only six first downs and 145 net yards of offense. Goff had most of 119 passing yards on one drive. The running game has been a disaster, as David Montgomery has 14 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs just 8 yards across five carries.
The Lions will open the second half on offense.
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