Postgame Report: Eagles Demolish Lions

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles entered the half dominating an inferior Lions team.

The drubbing only got worse later in the game as the Lions seemed entirely unable to keep up with the Eagles offense or defense.

The game got so out of hand the Eagles put in their back-end guys who would otherwise not see the field outside special teams into the game.

12 carries for 60 yards made Scott the top running back in this one, who established a run game and gave Hurts room to run and throw. Scott also registered two touchdowns, both hard fought through tackles to break the goal line.

With Eric Wilson a healthy scratch, Edwards had to step up and play many more snaps, though he remains a two-down back for the most part. He paced the team with 13 tackles (two for loss) and registered a QB hit of his own. All respect to the DL, but Edwards was impressive in his role today.

• Hurts continues to be a concern. The Eagles were dominant in this win, but were largely carried by great catches and the running game as Hurts continued to make poor throws, miss open targets, and even step out of bound 20 yards behind the line (a play he lucked out with the Lions committing a called penalty on).
• Credit the coaching staff for making adjustments to their schemes this week. Gannon finally brought some pressure and Sirianni finally ran the football.
• In relation to the two above points, the Lions appear to not even be an NFL-caliber team. As such, it’s even more concerning that Hurts was lackluster as a passer with an established run game and an inferior opponent. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see if the coaches could get these adjustments to be effective against a real team.
• It’s interesting to note that Kenneth Gainwell had been more active in the offense than Sanders was most of this season, however, with Sanders out, he was essentially non-existent (until garbage time) as the team heavily leaned on both Jordan Howard and Boston Scott. That tandem had a combined three touches all season.
• Eric Wilson was a healthy scratch this week, so hopefully the Eagles can get something for the veteran linebacker in a trade. Wilson has been a major disappointment and his absence is unlikely to be noticed even if he is traded.
• With a win in Detroit, the Eagles essentially sealed their chance at the number one pick as there’s virtually no chance the Lions find another win on their schedule; the Broncos are the worst team they have remaining.
• While Shaun Bradley impressed with three tackles once the replacements were brought in, Gardner Minshew didn’t do much to impress. He completed both of his pass attempts, but only for 11 yards and the Eagles leaned more into the run. This should have been a good opportunity for the Eagles to better evaluate the QB in a game situation, but they did not do so for some reason. The team couldn’t be THAT concerned with losing a game in the situation that they were in.

Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions – October 31, 2021