Detroit Lions photo by Jeff Nguyen
The good news is that the Detroit Lions’ defense on Sunday night was impressive despite missing some key starters. The bad news: the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense looked great and put so much pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff that he wasn’t able to complete many passes, resulting in a 16–9 loss.
Many framed the game as a test to see whether the Lions were Super Bowl–worthy against last year’s Super Bowl champions. The Lions failed. Philly was clearly the better team. But it certainly doesn’t mean the Lions can’t make the playoffs, do well, and even beat Philly in a potential postseason rematch.
“I don’t want to take any credit away from them, but we shot ourselves in the foot a whole lot,” Goff said in a postgame press conference, adding: “Ifs and buts, like you know, it means nothing. They played good and we didn’t.”
The Lions had little luck, aside from a 54-yard field goal and one touchdown by wide receiver Jameson Williams — who then messed up the extra point. He celebrated in the end zone by straddling the goalpost. The refs called a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a longer extra-point attempt on a very windy night, which kicker Jake Bates missed.
Tight end Sam LaPorta was out with a bad back, which didn’t help. It allowed Philly to focus more on wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had little success during the game. Goff targeted St. Brown five times on key third and fourth downs and completed none of the passes.
The Lions’ defense gave up only 16 points and stopped Philly’s famous tush-push multiple times on third and fourth downs — quite an accomplishment, considering few teams in the league have had much success doing that.
But the Lions’ offense looked frustrated all night long and seemed off. Goff had five throws blocked by linemen and often found himself on the ground even when he got a pass off. The team was 4-for-15 on third down and missed all five attempts on fourth down.
According to The Detroit News, Goff set a career low in completion rate (14-for-37, 37.8%) as he threw for 255 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, with a passer rating of 60.1.
The Chicago Bears defeated the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, leaving them in sole possession of first place with a 7–3 record. The Green Bay Packers beat the N.Y. Giants, giving them a 6–3–1 record and second place. The Lions sit in third place at 6–4.