The Philadelphia Eagles seemed to have momentum to go on a winning streak after a 33-27 overtime win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9. Instead, they have lost three games in a row, and now have a an overall record of 4-7 on the season.
Simply put, the Eagles didn't play well on offense, defense or special teams in a 31-point blowout loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
On the opening drive of the game, a 14-yard catch by Nelson Agholor put the Eagles in field goal range. However, a facemask penalty by Lane Johnson on third-and-seven pushed the Eagles back 15 yards. Kicker Caleb Sturgis missed his third field goal of the season on a 50-yard attempt, and the Eagles missed out on an opportunity to take a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles defense has now given up five touchdown passes in back-to-back games. Jameis Winston tied a rookie record with his five touchdown passes against the Eagles in Philly last week. This week, Matthew Stafford was chomping at the bit to see what he can do against the Eagles secondary.
Stafford threw five touchdown passes on the day. However, it was all about the running backs on the Lions first scoring drive. A 23-yard run by Ameer Abdullah and a 23-yard reception by Theo Riddick put Detroit in scoring position. A couple of plays later, Riddick beat linebacker Mychal Kendricks to score an eight-yard touchdown pass from Stafford, and the Lions took a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing drive, the Eagles responded. Running back DeMarco Murray gained 19 of his 30 total rushing yards on one play. On the next play, tight end Trey Burton came away with a 43-yard reception, which was his first catch of the year. Three plays later, a second-effort by tight end Brent Celek was enough to get into the end zone, and Philadelphia tied the game at 7-7.
On the next drive, an 18-yard reception by running back Joique Bell and a 14-yard sideline catch by wide receiver Lance Moore set the Lions up in the red zone. Another first-down catch by Riddick gave the Lions a first-and-goal. Wide receiver Golden Tate scored a two-yard touchdown reception to give Detroit a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Tate was lined up at the fullback position on the play.
On their next two drives, the Eagles offense couldn't manage to get a first down. In the meantime, the Lions offense added to their seven-point lead. Kicker Matt Prater made a 48-yard field goal to put the Lions up by the score of 17-7.
On the next drive, wide receiver Calvin Johnson scored his first of three-straight touchdown receptions. Johnson beat rookie cornerback Eric Rowe on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to give Detroit a 24-7 advantage the end of the first half. On the opening drive of the second half, Johnson beat Rowe in coverage again to give Detroit a 31-7 lead. Rowe was inserted into the game after Nolan Carroll left the game with a broken ankle.
Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was sacked six times on the day, fumbled on a strip-sack by Ezekial Ansah. Ansah, who came into this game as the NFC's leader with eight sacks, had 3.5 sacks in this game. Eagles starting left tackle Jason Peters was assigned to block Ansah, left the game with an ankle injury on the opening drive of the game. Lane Johnson slid over from right tackle to play left tackle, and Dennis Kelly was inserted into the game at right tackle.
The Lions capitalized off of the game's only turnover, and Johnson scored his third touchdown reception of the game. This time, he beat Malcolm Jenkins in man-to-man coverage. Detroit now took a resounding 38-7 lead.
Stafford would of came away with a record six touchdown passes against an Eagles defense, but Bell came up one yard short of a 40-yard touchdown reception. He scored on the next play to give the Lions an insurmountable 45-7 lead.
In garbage time, A 23-yard touchdown reception by Jordan Matthews put the score at 45-14, which ended up being the final score of the game.
Look, I understand. Not many Eagles fans want to even consider the idea of the Birds making the postseason, especially after their performance over the past three games. But Philadelphia is only two games back of the New York Giants in the loss column for the NFC East lead. However, things aren't going to get much easier next week, as the Eagles travel to Gillette Stadium to play against Tom Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots on Dec, 6.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
