Photo Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images.

The Lions are coming off a disgusting 16-9 loss at the hands of the reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. It was a hard watch offensively for Detroit, but the defense played well, and kept the game close throughout. However, the defense couldn’t do enough to carry what was an all around abysmal performance by the offense. Play calling was suspect, Jared Goff was bad, Amon-Ra had multiple drops, and the run game couldn’t get anything going. The offensive line has also been a weak spot this season, compared to the last few years where we saw overall elite play from that unit. Sewell and Ratledge were particularly bad this game, but Decker, Awosika, and Glasgow all had their bad moments as well. On top of that, this was one of the poorer performances from our coaching staff, outside of Sheppard. It is safe to say the Lions were just off this week, as none of our guys really got it going. Dan Campbell took over play calling duties, and while the calls weren’t always the issue, it definitely could’ve been better all around from a game management standpoint. Too many passes in a row, running similar plays back to back, running naked boot actions when our offensive line has been weak. It was an overall bad performance.

The Lions were coming off a game against Washington where they put up 546 total yards, 44 points, 0 turnovers, and allowed 0 sacks, so Lions fans were expectantly optimistic about the offense coming in. The Eagles have a very talented defense, ranking 8th in points allowed, 17th in total yards, 15th vs the run, 18th vs the pass, and 23rd in sacks percentage, but I doubt anyone saw that type of dominance coming. The Lions have been an elite offense for two years now, but on Sunday night, they were far from it. Everyone expected the Lions defense to struggle in this match-up, missing starters all over the defensive backfield, but we were very wrong.

It all starts with the run game in Detroit. The Lions’ offense is predicated on being able to run the ball to set up the pass, which they struggled to do all game. Jahmyr Gibbs ended the night with just 39 yards on 12 carries (3.2 YPC), and Mongomery had 6 carries for 27 yards (4.5 YPC), which is abysmal compared to the 130.1 yards the Lions average per game this season. This happened for a lot of different reasons, mainly the interior offensive line losing their one on one match-ups, making it hard for the backs to find a hole. As far as the run game goes, this was an issue of the offensive line not getting the job done and poor play calling at times, mixed with Philadelphia having a very good gameplan coming into the game.

The Lions’ offensive line as a whole was not good against the Eagles. Even Penei Sewell got beat a few times. The worst one came on a 4th and goal, where if Sewell makes the block, the Lions score. But before we get there, lets take a look at what went wrong on every Lions drive of the game.

DRIVE 1:
The Lions’ offense got off to a solid start, at least for the first two plays. Goff hit Amon Ra on the sideline for 8 yards on first down, and then found Gibbs on a check down which ended in a first down. It felt as though the Lions could start the game pretty well offensively, which we somewhat expected. However, all of that went down the drain on the following play, when Goff’s pass was tipped by Jordan Davis, ultimately being intercepted by Cooper DeJean. This was the beginning of the end for the Lions offense, as Goff would see four more batted passes throughout the night.
3 Plays, 12 yards, INT.

Eagles kick a field goal to go up 3-0.

DRIVE 2:
This drive was even worse than the first, as there really was no positivity to take away from it. On first down, Gibbs ran right but couldn’t find anywhere to go, play goes for -1 yards. On second down, Goff was sacked by Jaelan Phillip for -5 yards, making it 3rd and 16. This sack isn’t necessarily ‘on’ anyone specific, as Phillips did not rush immediately, which made Sewell believe he was dropping back, which left a lane wide open for Phillips. On third, Goff misses St Brown, forcing a Jack Fox punt. This was just a miss by Goff, both sides of the defensive line stunted, but were picked up. Goff might’ve felt them coming and rushed it, ultimately resulting in a throw that hit the ground before it could ever reach St Brown. Lions punt.
3 Plays, -6 yards, Punt.

DRIVE 3:
This was the best drive of the night so far, as Goff and the run game seemed to get it going. On first down, Jameson Williams took an end around 9 yards, making it 2nd & 1. On second, Montgomery ran it up the middle for 6, resulting in a first down. Then, Goff threw a check down to Montgmery for a again of ten and a first down. Again, Goff hits a receiver, this time Jamo, for a gain of 19. The Lions’ offense was finally moving, and were on the Eagles side of the 50 for the first time all night. However, things went downhill from here. Monty ran it up the middle for two yards on first, then Goff threw an incompletion, resulting in 3rd and 8. This was another bad throw by Goff, while there was some pressure, it wasn’t enough to warrant him throwing it at his receiver’s ankles, yet again. The Lions then decided to run it on third down, getting just two yards. This was a bad call in my opinion, as the Lions really needed points. It does signal to me the Lions were playing for a field goal, and likely ran it due to the possibility of a sack knocking them out of field goal range. However, they ultimately decided to not kick it, instead lining up to try and get the Eagles to jump offsides. It didn’t work, and the Lions instead took a 5 yard delay of game penalty. Lions punt yet again.
7 Plays, 43 yards, Punt.

DRIVE 4:
The Lions start the drive with back to back runs by Gibbs that go for 6 and 3 yards each. They then ran it with Gibbs yet again, this time for no yards, bringing up 4th & 1. My pet peeve isn’t running it three plays in a row, it’s running very similar plays all three times. 1st: under center, motion, inside run. 2nd: shotgun, no motion, inside run. 3rd: under center, motion, inside run. While yes, they are a bit different in terms of formation and motion, you essentially ran to the same gap three plays in a row, without doing a great job of disguising it. The offense stayed on the field on 4th, and was unsuccessful in their attempt, when they ran it up the middle with Gibbs for the 4th play in a row. Not great play calling, with poor execution.
4 Plays, 9 yards, Turnover On Downs.

DRIVE 5:
Lions start the drive with 4 yards up the middle by Monty, then Goff finds Wright for a gain of 4, bringing up 3rd and 2. On third, Goff misses St. Brown badly again, this time, so far behind him that he barely was able to get a finger on it. Obviously, when your QB is missing throws like these in games like this, it’s hard to win. To make things worse, the Lions followed this up with a bad attempt at a fake punt, where they direct snapped it to a linebacker to run it up the middle. I don’t know if you are seeing a pattern; the Lions wanted to run it up the middle this game. Which doesn’t make a ton of sense, as the Lions run game has been best on the outside, and the Eagles defensive tackle duo is one of the best in the league. On top of that, it was not the correct field position for this move, as the Lions were on their own 43 yard line. If you are going to go for it, do it with your offense on 4th and 1. We essentially handed the Eagles a minimum of 3 points here.
4 Plays, 8 Yards, Turnover On Downs.

Eagles kick another Field Goal to go up 6-0.

DRIVE 6:
This was the best drive on the night for the Lions so far. Started off with an incompletion after the pass was batted down by Jordan Davis. That was followed up by a big 34 yard pass to St Brown on play action. The next play, Goff hit Jamo over the middle on a play action pass that he turned upfield and ran in for a 40 yard touchdown, tying the game. However, per usual, Jameson Williams made a boneheaded mistake, opting to ‘tackle’ the goalpost as his celebration. This ended in a 15 yard penalty unsportmanlike on the PAT, which Bates missed, keeping the game tied 6-6. Just another example of poor decision making on the Lions part in this game. While I understand Williams isn’t necessarily known for penalties, it seems he can’t get out of his own way sometimes.
3 Plays, 74 Yards, Touchdown.

Eagles scored a touchdown after a long 10 play 64 yard drive that took up essentially the entirety of the clock.

Dan Campbell mishandled the end of this half in terms of clock management. He should’ve taken his timeouts and tried to put more points on the board. That was a very, very poor management decision on his part. Yes, the Lions got the ball to start the second half. However, most coaches see that as even more reason to be aggressive. The Lions had 3 timeouts, and the Eagles had the ball in the red zone with over 1 minute left, which is the exact moment you use those timeouts. On top of that, Campbell then made the decision to kneel the ball to run the clock out, instead of being aggressive. In this game, Campbell was aggressive in all the wrong ways, and was passive in all the wrong ways. We left 6 points on the board by going for it on 4th, and essentially handed the Eagles 3 points after the fake punt.

DRIVE 7:
The Lions opened this drive nicely, with Goff hitting Gibbs for 17 yards on 1st, then hit him again on 2nd for a gain of 11. Then, the Lions ran it with Gibbs for just one yard, following it up with a four-yard pass to Brock Wright, making it 3rd & 5. Goff then had a rough incomplete pass to Amon Ra, this time just too far out in front of him. The Eagles did a good job of pressuring Goff, and keeping defenders in his face all game, which was part of the reason he played so poorly. Goff followed that up with an incomplete pass on 4th down, this time looking for Jamo over the middle. This was more on Jamo than Goff though, as it was a catchable ball, but the timing was off, as it hit him in the hands but bounced off his knee. Turnover on downs. It would’ve made a lot of sense to kick the field goal here as the Lions were on the Eagles 32 yard line, making this a 49 yard attempt, which is within Bates’ range.
6 Plays, 33 Yards, Turnover On Downs.

DRIVE 8:
The Lions’ drive starts well again, this time Monty running for 6 yards on first, and Gibbs followed it up with a huge catch and run of 42 yards on a screen where he was lined up at outside receiver. The Lions then gave it to Gibbs three plays in a row, going for 2, 4, and 10 yards, respectively, which got them inside the 10 yard line. Goff followed it up with a 2 yard completion to Jameson, then a Gibbs run for 2 yards, bringing up 3rd and goal at the 4. The Lions ran it again with Gibbs, getting just a yard. Campbell kept the offense out, which is somewhat understandable given they were on the Eagles’ 3 down by 7. They failed to convert though after Goff was pressured early and forced it to St. Brown. He had Brock Wright open, but with where the pressure was coming from it’s very possible he wasn’t able to see him at all. However, with how the game was going, I think they should’ve taken the points here as the score was 13-6 at this point. This one I will give Campbell though, as it makes some sense to go for it there. Especially due to the fact that the Eagles would start the drive on their own 4, and the defense was playing well all night. This was probably the best Lions drive of the night overall, showing what they have shown all season to this point, but the mistakes bit them yet again.
9 Plays, 69 Yards, Turnover On Downs.

DRIVE 9:
The Lions start this drive off not so great, as Campbell calls a play action pass that leaves the backside defensive end (Graham) completely unblocked. This causes the tight end to have to scramble to make a block, which to his credit he made, but Goff has to step up and deliver it. He misses St. Brown by a hair, but it was still a catchable ball and one you’d likely expect Amon-Ra to come down with 9 out of 10 times, but it was just one of those games. Next play, Sewell and Awosika both get beat inside which forces Goff to throw it a little earlier than he would’ve liked. However, he hit Teslaa right on the hands over the middle which would’ve been a first down and more, but Teslaa couldn’t make the catch in traffic. It’s now 3rd & 10, the Lions call a screen to Gibbs, which he breaks open and runs for 33 yards after a few dazzling moves in open space. Montgomery then runs it up the middle for 7 yards to bring up 2nd & 3 at the Eagles’ 45. The Lions dial up yet another play action, which leads to two unblocked defenders for Goff to roll into. He tried to get it to Wright, but the ball is too low and bounces off the grass. It’s now 3rd and 3, the Lions come out in shotgun, and Goff tries to find Williams but Jalen Carter gets his big mitts up and tips it, 4th down. Lions come out in shotgun again, with another pass. This time Goff has some time and St. Brown open towards the sideline for a first, but Goff throws the ball way too far behind him. I’m not sure what happened here, as there’s really no chance it’s a miscommunication, Goff just missed badly. Eagles ball.
7 Plays, 40 Yards, Turnover On Downs.

Eagles kick a Field Goal to go up 16-6.

DRIVE 10:
This drive starts with a solid run by Gibbs for 11 yards, but Goff gets immediately pressured on the next play by Jaelan Phillips and essentially throws it away by throwing it at the feet of Wright. Goff followed it up with yet another pass at the feet of the receiver, this time having a clean pocket. On 3rd and 10, Campbell dialed up another pass, and another target for Amon-Ra, and another incompletion. This time the pass wasn’t terrible, and it wasn’t a straight up drop either. The DB played it well and was able to get his arm across St. Brown’s chest and knock the ball away, 4th down. Lions punt this time.
4 Plays, 11 yards, Punt.

DRIVE 11:
This time the Lions come out passing. They run a play action screen to Gibbs, but it falls incomplete after the defensive end gets into the passing lane forcing Goff to throw it too far behind Gibbs. Next play is another pass, where Ratledge just gets absolutely killed, leading to a forced throw that is batted down. On 3rd, Goff has time and finds Jameson Williams over the middle for 27 yards. The Lions pass it again on first down, dialing up another play action where the backside defensive end is unblocked, which leads to pressure on Goff and ultimately an incomplete pass to Gibbs as it was just barely out of his reach. Next play is another pass, this time a quick concept so Goff doesn’t feel pressure, but Jalen Carter once again gets his hands on it and knocks it down. On 3rd and long, Goff gets pressured from both sides as both Decker and Sewell lose their man. He tries to find Williams deep but just barely overthrows him. Lions punt.
6 Plays, 27 yards, Punt.

DRIVE 12:
The Eagles turned it over on downs after a big defensive stand from Detroit, and the Lions offense started on the Eagles 29 yard line, down 11 points. The Lions start the drive off with another pass, and another incompletion to Jamo. The Lions dial up another pass, and this time Goff is sacked by Nakobe Dean after he absolutely destroyed Montgomery in pass protection. 3rd and 17 upcoming, the Lions are essentially forced to pass. Goff feels the pressure from both sides again, after Ratledge and Decker both get beat. He tries to step up from the Ratledge pressure, but that takes him directly into Decker’s man. He gets the throw off, but ultimately it doesn’t matter as it is tipped by the linebackers and falls incomplete, 4th down. The Lions brought out their Field Goal unit, and Bates knocked the 54 yard field goal through, cutting the lead to 7.
4 Plays, -7 Yards, Field Goal.

That was the final time the Lions offense trotted out onto the field.

This game was an ugly showing for the offense. However, I’m not all that worried. Sewell has been dealing with an injury, which likely plays into him playing poorly. Ratledge also had a rough game, but he is a rookie, and those will come. Decker also didn’t play well, but similar to Sewell, he’s had a nagging injury. Goff worries me the most, but even then I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. We saw Goff throw 5 interceptions vs Houston last year, and he got right back to it the following week. I believe that game wasn’t talked about as much simply because we won. I feel Campbell’s mismanagement was the bigger issue of the day, as the poor play calls, poor clock management, and just overall poor offensive gameplan coming in cost the Lions in the end. The simple fact that all of our stars played poorly, on top of bad coaching decisions, and we only lost by 7 to the reigning champions is an overall positive. If you add the 6 points from the two possible Field Goals, as well as the PAT mishap, the Lions score 7 more points and that would’ve tied the score, even with our poor play overall.

Personally, I am not letting a 7 point loss to a top 5 team in the NFL give me a negative outlook for the rest of the season. All of these issues are fixable, and I trust this staff and team to fix them.

The Lions will turn to the New York Giants at home to get back in the win column.

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