Posted November 16th, 2025 | Comments Off on 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.
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.
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.
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.
Another week, another test. The Eagles strength of schedule to this point has been the fifth hardest in the league. Their remaining strength of schedule is fourth hardest. No rest for the wicked. This has been a challenging season and that will certainly be the case on Sunday night when the Lions come to town.
The last time they met was the 2022 season opener. Both were thought to be teams on the rise at that point. They hadn’t yet become the juggernauts they are today. The Lions played in the NFC title game in 2023 and were the #1 seed last year. The Eagles won the Super Bowl last season. Both teams are in the hunt this year. That’s what makes this game so intriguing.
The Lions and Eagles are complete teams, as the above rankings show you. The worst unit in the game is Philly’s STs. There are good coaches, good starters, good backups. You have two of the very best organizations in the NFL. It feels funny to say that. Detroit has been a terrible organization in the past. They went 0-16 in 2008. From 2019-2021 the Lions won a total of 11 games. The Eagles have had some low moments of their own. But now these teams are at the top of the league.
While both teams are having good seasons, there are issues for each.
The Lions placed TE Sam LaPorta (back) on IR, which means he will miss at least 4 games
Going off their Week 1 lineup, the Lions will be without six starters in tomorrow’s game against Eagles: TE Sam LaPorta (back), LG Christian Mahogany (leg), DE Marcus Davenport (chest), S Kerby Joseph (knee) and CBs D.J. Reed (hamstring) and Terrion Arnold (concussion).
You’ll be shocked to find out the Lions are a seriously banged up football team. I don’t know if this is bad luck or something about their style of play. Injuries ruined the 2024 season for them. They are hurting the team again this year.
We all know the Eagles issue – an erratic offense. They played well in wins over the Vikings and Giants and then disappeared on Monday night in Green Bay. AJ Brown’s comments add a layer of complication. The Eagles need to score points or there will be tremendous scrutiny, from inside and outside.
The Lions banged up secondary should present an opportunity for Jalen Hurts and his receivers to have a good night. Detroit also likes to play man coverage. That usually brings out the best in Hurts and AJ Brown. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles come out throwing the ball around, and if Brown is the key target. You want to get him involved, but also want to be smart. If the Lions focus on Brown, you can’t force that.
The Eagles OL should be back to the original five. Cam Jurgens practiced this week and will take back over at center. If the big boys are relatively healthy and play well, it will make all the difference in the world. They will be going against one of the best pass rushers in the league in Aidan Hutchinson. He’s not as versatile as Micah Parsons, but is just as disruptive. The Eagles were very conservative at times last week as they focused on protection. With a healthy OL and this being a home game, the coaches might be more aggressive.
I will be disappointed if the Eagles have another bad offensive game. Detroit has given up 27 or more points in four games. They have a good defense, but will give up points to good offenses. The Eagles have the firepower to score on them, especially with the Lions missing so many starting DBs.
Will this be a shootout? Or will the Eagles defense continue their recent hot streak? Eagles starters gave up 13 points to the Giants and Green Bay only scored 7 points in the whole game. One of the big differences with Detroit is the quality of their OL and their ability to run the ball.
.@GregCosell analyzes how the Lions open the field with their run game schemes#OnePride
Vic Fangio has to figure out how to limit the Lions run game without exposing his secondary. If you go with a heavy box, you’ve got Adoree Jackson going up against a good receiver one-on-one. That’s not ideal. The Lions average 4.7 yards per carry. They have real speed with Jahmyr Gibbs.
As good as the Lions are, Jared Goff can struggle when he’s pressured. The Eagles rush had its best game of the year last week. They’ll be facing a better OL, but still need to come up big. Detroit will make it tough on the Eagles by using play-action passes. Dan Campbell calls a lot of those. The Eagles defense isn’t nearly as good when facing play-action passes.
It feels like the team that wins the line of scrimmage will win this game. With the OL seeming to be healthy and the improved pass rush, that should give the Eagles a good chance to win.