Lions @ Eagles
Final Score: Eagles 16, Lions 9
Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1.bsky.social on Bluesky)
On a blustery night in Philadelphia, two of the NFC’s Super Bowl hopefuls met in a huge game at this stage in the season. The weather certainly played its part, but essentially this was a defensive battle from the start in which both offenses struggled to move the ball – partly due to poor quarterback play, partly due to poor offensive play calling, the latter more notable given Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell assumed that responsibility last week. The Lions had only 70 yards of offense, trailing 6-0 with 5 minutes left in the half. However, back-to-back passing plays for 34 and 40 yards saw Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams for chunk plays, the latter going all the way for a touchdown to draw Detroit level. In what had been an uninspiring first half to this point, the Eagles answered back thanks to some smart running by Tank Bigsby and two tough competitive catches from A.J. Brown, who caught his fifth pass of the half to take the ball down to the Lions’ 5-yard line. Jalen Hurts gave the Eagles a 13-6 lead at the half thanks to a tush push score with 16 seconds remaining.
It proved to be only one of two touchdowns of the game (unthinkable really!) as Campbell seemed to “get in his own way” by going for it on fourth down on the first three drives of the second half, all of which failed. Indeed, the Lions have almost become too reliant on four downs to achieve their offense, and that came back to haunt them in this contest as they left points on the field that could have changed the dynamic of the game. They failed on all fourth down attempts, and their 3rd down efficiency ended up at a measly 27% on the night. The Eagles fared little better on offense, adding just a field goal to the scoreline while punting four times and turning the ball over on downs at their own 29-yard line after two failed tush pushes.
Essentially, those looking for fantasy output were sorely disappointed as only a couple of players of significance got anywhere near their projected fantasy score in this contest. Yikes!
Two Up
- Jahmyr Gibbs – the only key player on the field who showed any kind of explosive playmaking skills on the night, with his 107 receiving yards pleasing those in PPR leagues. Gibbs only averaged 3.3 yards per carry, though, as the Lions couldn’t get anything going on the ground once again between the numbers.
- Jameson Williams – the only great thing about Campbell now calling plays is that Williams is once again front and centre in this offense. Williams was the target on a couple of red zone plays as well as a lovely crossing route that he took to the end zone.
So Many Down
Detroit Lions
Quarterback
Jared Goff: 14/37, 255 Yards, TD, INT, 2 Sacks | 1 Carry, -1 Yard
For the second straight week, Vic Fangio‘s Philadelphia defense made a top 10 NFL quarterback completely break down mentally. The pressure put on the Lions quarterback from this elite defensive line affected Goff’s performance to the tune of a career-worst 38% completion rate. Goff was hit hard and often, and he could be seen grimacing on multiple occasions in the first half after being dumped to the turf as Jaelen Phillips and Jalen Carter took turns nailing him. Goff also saw a number of his passes batted at the line of scrimmage, including on the first drive of the game as the ball looped up into the arms of Cooper DeJean. Goff was shook. His mechanics completely broke down, and he started getting rid of the ball far too quickly, spooked as he was. Goff finished 1-of-14 under pressure and went 7-for-24 in the second half as the Lions turned the ball over on downs on three straight drives. What a disaster! But credit must be given to the Eagles’ defense to do this two weeks on the trot. A night to forget.
Running Back
Jahmyr Gibbs: 12 Carries, 39 Yards | 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 107 Yards
Showing his ability to break off long runs, Gibbs twice made a splash with catch-and-runs of 17 and 42 yards in the second half on drives that both resulted in the Lions turning the ball over on downs in Philadelphia territory. He also had a strong 33-yard run in the first half, and this was actually the first time in his career that he topped 100 yards through the air. He was used when he shouldn’t have been in short-yardage situations, and that limited him on the ground to just 3.3 yards per carry. He looked like the only Lions player who looked fired up and ready to play, which is unusual for this often free-scoring offense. Gibbs did enough to make fantasy managers happy, and it shows his high floor when the offense struggles like it did in this game.
David Montgomery: 6 Carries, 27 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Oddly enough, it was Gibbs and not Montgomery who was given the bulk of the short yardage work in the first half with Campbell calling plays. Montgomery saw his second-lowest number of touches this season and did little with them. He touched the ball just twice in the second half and also got trucked by Nakobi Dean late in pass protection which took away a chance at a touchdown score.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jameson Williams: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 88 Yards, TD
Williams was the only Lions receiver to come out of this game unscathed in terms of fantasy, and that was mainly due to his 40-yard score in the second quarter that should have given the Lions the lead. Why didn’t it? Because, as usual, his antics drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of 15 yards for an excessive celebration, and the Lions missed the long extra point. His maturity is still a big issue for this team, and in close, big games like this, it matters most. Williams (like many) saw little joy in the second half as Goff went on a ghastly run on one completion across 12 passing attempts in three drives, but he did show up on a perfectly run seam route for 27 yards on third down with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter. A few plays later, however, with Goff all over the place, the Lions punted, and the catch was wasted.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 12 Targets, 2 Receptions, 42 Yards
The usually explosive wideout was a non-factor in the second half after connecting with Goff in the first half just twice, one catch going for 34 yards on the play before Williams’ touchdown catch and run. St. Brown faced his toughest matchup of the season, and he was clearly beaten by great cornerback play on several contested catches in the second half. Both Quinyon Mitchell and veteran Adoree’ Jackson made excellent plays on St. Brown to negate big gains. The other incompletions were down to Goff’s poor performance under immense pressure. A total off night for Detroit.
Brock Wright: 7 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Sam LaPorta he is not. And the Lions tried very hard to make him useful in this game with little success. Wright was well marshalled on obvious passing downs when lining up in LaPorta’s usual role in the slot. The pressure put on Goff meant many passes his way were in the dirt before he had a chance to make a play. Any hope of a fantasy bump looks premature.
Isaac TeSlaa: 1 Target
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 14/28, 135 Yards, Sack | 10 Carries, 31 Yards, TD
The Eagles were dreadful on offense but benefitted from reckless play calling from Campbell to maintain a lead throughout the game – Hurts found himself once again saving his fantasy day with a tush push touchdown, but his 135 yards through the air are the second lowest he has recorded this season. Hurts flashed on a couple of throws, notably out of his own endzone in the third quarter to hit Jahan Dotson between coverage for 34 yards. He also failed on four consecutive tush push plays in the fourth quarter, which is unheard of. It shows the limitations of the decision-making from Head Coach Nick Sirianni as much as Hurts’ reliance on the play to move the sticks when things aren’t going well, and he is lacking rhythm. He missed Barkley on a deep ball on first down midway through the fourth quarter that would have given the Eagles a two-score lead. Instead, they settled for a field goal after a throw short of the sticks on third down. That was enough to get this one over the lin,e but his 14.50 fantasy points were far below expectations against the Lions defense, which has to be said played a phenomenal, physical game.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 26 Carries, 83 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
For only the second time this season, Barkley mustered more than 20 carries on the ground (something that was a given all of last season). He turned that into 83 yards at 3.2 yards per carry, and after a lacklustre first half, that was a good result given his struggles and the fact that injuries across the offensive line once again inhibited the run game. Barkley broke off carries of 13 yards and 9 yards on successive drives in the fourth quarter to allow the Eagles to move the chains and drain the clock. He also ended the game with an impressive, determined run for 8 yards on third down to ice the contest. Whilst not pretty and lacking any kind of explosive play, Barkley has seen an uptick over the past three weeks. He could have had a long touchdown late in the game after beating his man on a wheel route down the sideline, but Hurts overthrew him by some distance.
Tank Bigbsy: 4 Carries, 34 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 49 Yards
It seems all the grumbling pays off…a little. The disgruntled wideout, who once again made unwanted media comments in the week advising fantasy managers not to start him, led the Eagles in targets, catches, and yards, albeit a paltry 49 yards through the air. Brown’s biggest contribution came on the only Eagles touchdown drive of the game as he caught two contested balls in heavy coverage, the second a brilliant catch over the middle for 11 yards. He simply gave up on a couple of balls in tight coverage that were overthrown in the second half, but he just about did what he needed to do for the team in this game – fantasy managers will still feel short-changed after another mediocre outing. He’s now been held to under 50 yards receiving in 6 of his 9 starts this season.
Jahan Dotson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 43 Yards
Dotson has established a role in this offense as the third wideout, and he showed why with a strong catch deep down the right sideline for 34 yards in the third quarter that also drew a flag for a high hit that tagged on another 15 yards. It was his only other catch apart from a nice grab in the first half. The lack of a consistent passing game significantly limits Dotson’s ability to be a fantasy asset.
Dallas Goedert: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 Yards
Disappointingly, this was the usually reliable tight end’s second dud in as many weeks as he hauled in just two passes on a night where the Lions defense got to Hurts quickly and limited the opportunities to pass-catch out of initial blocking assignments. Much of his fantasy value comes from his touchdown production ( 7 in the first 8 games), but that seems to have dried up of late. His biggest contribution was a 17-yard catch-and-run on a dump-off with less than 10 minutes left in the game. It was a quiet night for the big tight end.
DeVonta Smith: 5 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
A complete disaster of a night for Smith, whose 20% catch rate and 8 yards total were by far his worst showing of the season. He didn’t seem in sync with Hurts, and this passing offense is now in the bottom half of the league in several key metrics. Not where you want to be as an elite receiver. Smith struggled to haul in balls at the sideline, not his specialty, of course, and not as common as his playmaking down the middle of the field and deep.
Kylen Granson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards