Sizing up the Eagles' Week 12 matchup at Ford Field against the 3-7 Detroit Lions:
When the Eagles have the ball
Whether Mark Sanchez or Sam Bradford starts, the offense just simply needs to be better.
Bradford was starting to get more comfortable before his injury against the Dolphins but he still wasn’t playing at the level the Eagles had hoped.
Sanchez, meanwhile, has something Bradford doesn’t. Sanchez is considerably more mobile. No, he’s not Michael Vick but he’s not Sam Bradford either. Sanchez actually pulled the ball once on a read-option for an 11-yard gain Sunday, so teams have to at least respect that part of his game. The bad news is that Sanchez still turns the ball over way too much. He had three interceptions Sunday, and now has the same amount of touchdowns and interceptions (84) in his career.
The Eagles should be able to move the ball against the Lions. That, of course, doesn’t mean they’re going to. The Lions are 20th in overall defense, giving up 367.2 yards per game.
The Lions have given up 116.7 yards per game on the ground this year (24th in the NFL) so there will be some opportunity for DeMarco Murray and the run game. The problem is the Eagles are still without Ryan Mathews, who continues to go through the NFL’s concussion protocol. The Eagles managed 136 yards Sunday without him but Murray had just 64 yards.
Zach Ertz will be out with a concussion he suffered against the Bucs, which changes the Eagles’ offense some. Over the course of the 2015 season, the team has used 12 personnel (two tight ends) more and more. Without Ertz, the Eagles are much less likely to use Trey Burton and Brent Celek on the field together.
NFL
And the wideouts … oh, the wideouts. The Eagles’ wide receivers just haven’t been very good this season. The Lions are in the middle of the pack in terms of the passing yards they allow per game.
There’s some room to move the ball through the air, but are we confident the Eagles are going to be able to get the ball to their receivers?
Yeah, probably not.
When the Lions have the ball
Despite being ranked toward the bottom of the league in total offense, the Lions have some weapons.
Calvin Johnson might not be the best receiver in the NFL anymore, but he’s still a big-time threat. He has 59 catches for 828 yards and three touchdowns. To put it in perspective, that’s 263 yards more than the Eagles’ top receiver (Jordan Matthews).
The Lions also have two other players with 50-plus catches in Golden Tate and Theo Riddick.
Matthew Stafford has 15 touchdown passes to go along with 12 interceptions. He’s not having a great season, but Stafford is a veteran who has thrown for over 4,000 yards in each of his last four seasons. He threw for over 5,000 in 2011.
Rookie Ameer Abdullah has been the Lions’ best running back this year, overtaking Joique Bell. Abdullah has rushed for 284 yards on 80 carries for an average of 3.6 yards per carry.
The Lions' big tight end, Eric Ebron (6-4, 250), has had an up-and-down season but is still a big threat. He's struggled with dropping passes and had an injury, but he has the potential to be a weapon.
The Eagles’ defense is coming off its worst performance of the season. It gave up 521 yards to the Buccaneers and was really burned on the ground, giving up 283 yards.
Special teams
Abdullah isn’t just showing something in the offense; he’s statistically the best kickoff returner in the NFL. He hasn’t broken one off for a touchdown yet this season but has 23 returns (which leads the league also) for an average of 31.5 yards per return. Abdullah’s longest return went 104 yards but he was tackled at the 1.
Sproles is still ranked as the fourth-best punt returner in the NFL with an average of 11.7 yards per return but hasn’t done much in the return game in recent weeks.
Prediction
I see no reason to pick the Eagles after the way they lost the last two games. They blew a lead against the Dolphins and were embarrassed by the Bucs. No, the Lions aren't a good team but neither are the Eagles.
Lions 27, Eagles 24