On a cold, blustery prime-time Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles rode a tremendous defensive performance to win a key NFC game, beating the Detroit Lions 16-9 in a physical, bruising game that highlighted just how devastating Vic Fangio's group is becoming in this 2025 season.
With the win, the Eagles remained atop the NFC with an 8-2 record thanks to a defense shutting down an offense that came in ranked second in the NFL with a 31.4 point-per-game average and doing it in no-doubt-about-it fashion.
Here are some observations from the victory from the Eagles' Salute To Service game …
### 1\. Vic Fangio dialed it up and the players executed it
The artistry of what Fangio is doing with this defense is remarkable.
He gave Detroit quarterback Jared Goff all kinds of different looks with his front and in coverage. The players did the rest. Detroit's potent running game gained just 74 yards on 21 carries with a long of 11 yards. All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had two receptions for 42 yards on, get this, 12 targets. Jameson Williams grabbed four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, but the damage was minimal, and his post-touchdown celebration was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty and the 15 yards cost Detroit on the extra point when placekicker Jake Bates pushed the 47-yard PAT wide right.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was a factor with five receptions for 107 yards, but he was really the only weapon who inflicted damage. The Eagles sacked Goff twice, intercepted him once, and pressured him much of the night which allowed the Lions to score all of 9 points. That is the overarching picture of a dominating night for the defense. More observations will follow breaking down some of the specific successes.
### 2\. This front four (and five) is dominant
Adding Jaelan Phillips, getting Nolan Smith back from injury, and having Brandon Graham unretire has totally transformed the defensive front. Going against one of the very best offensive lines in football, the Eagles dominated. The numbers tell a lot, but there was more. Jordan Davis batted three passes, one on Detroit's first possession that Cooper DeJean intercepted and led to three points. Jalen Carter had two passes tipped at the line of scrimmage. Crazy good.
"I thought we did a great job of playing together," said Phillips, who had five total tackles, six pressures, one of the two quarterback sacks the Eagles registered, and two quarterback hits. "Played really good complementary football. Definitely got after Goff, got after other key players, definitely were physical. It was a great game. It was like the grittiest defensive performance I've ever been a part of."