Gameday – DET at PHI

The Eagles played on Monday night, but it still feels like this was a long week. I guess that’s to be expected after a week of discussing AJ Brown, Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game ad nauseam. We can set that aside a little and focus on an actual game. A big game. The Lions are in town for a showdown of NFC heavyweights.

The first thing to talk about is the weather.

Not the clearest view through press box windows, but the wind is whipping here at the Linc. #Eagles #SNF pic.twitter.com/fYyPmZzsh2

— Cory Nidoh (@Cory_Nidoh) November 16, 2025

We’ll see if that dies down in the next couple of hours. If not, wind will definitely be a factor. I think that would give Detroit an advantage because Jared Goff is a better intermediate passer. Jalen Hurts would prefer to attack vertically. You might not be able to do that effectively with high winds.

The wind could play a factor in strategy and decision-making by the coaches. Dan Campbell and Nick Sirianni are two of the most aggressive coaches in the league. The wind could push them to go for it on fourth down at an even higher rate if they don’t trust the kicking game.

As for the inactives, no real surprises.

Tonight’s Inactives #DETvsPHI pic.twitter.com/KpSHAAC0fJ

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 16, 2025

With Jurgens back, there is no need for Drew Kendall to play.

As I covered in the preview, the Lions are missing several key players. They are missing two CBs and a S, as well as their TE. The Eagles have the health advantage going into the game.

It will be interesting to see what Vic Fangio does in this game.

One thing I’ll be watching in Eagles-Lions tonight is how often the Eagles use mug blitzes to force Jahmyr Gibbs to block, as opposed to getting out there and being explosive. Vic Fangio can be creative with his mug blitzes with LBs at the LOS, and from the second level.

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 16, 2025

Will Fangio blitz? Will he show blitz and drop? The Lions have a really strong offense so anything you can do to make them think or change what they want to do is a good idea.

I don’t have a good feel for this game. The teams haven’t played in a couple of years. The Lions have a bunch of backup DBs, but they dealt with that last year and were able to overcome it for part of the season. It is hard to say if the AJ Brown situation will affect the Eagles. I’m also curious to see how the OL performs. Are they truly healthy?

The only thing that would surprise me is a blowout, by either team. We’ve waited a while for this game so let’s hope the teams put on a good show tonight.

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