Lions 24, Eagles 23: 5 standout plays

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Reviewing the standout plays from the Eagles' 24-23 loss to the Lions:

1. Fourth quarter: Ryan Mathews' fumble
Obviously.

It shouldn't have come down to this, but because the Eagles were hungover in the first half, it did.

And what a brutal time it was for the Eagles' first turnover of the year. Third-and-2 at the Eagles' 45, 2:41 left in the fourth quarter, 23-21 Eagles.

Mathews took the pitch and was drilled by cornerback Darius Slay, who got his head/shoulder on the ball, jarring it loose

During the battle for the ball, a Lions player may have made contact with the ball while out of bounds — which would have given the Eagles the ball — but on the replay it was tough to see through the pile of players and overturn it. 

Matt Prater gave the Lions the lead with a 29-yard field goal.

2. Fourth quarter: Carson Wentz's first interception
Just minutes after the fumble, on first down, head coach Doug Pederson went for the home run.

Swing and a miss.

Wentz went deep to Nelson Agholor but threw it over the wrong shoulder — Agholor's outside shoulder — and Slay came down with a tough catch. Agholor stumbled while turning and wasn't able to play D-back and break it up.

Game over.

Wentz made some tremendous throws and finished 25 for 33 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, but this one was off-target.

3. First quarter: Theo Riddick's 17-yard touchdown catch
The Lions had their way with the sleepy Birds' D in the first half, and this play in the first quarter symbolized it. Matthew Stafford faked a screen pass, then turned around and tossed it to a wide open Riddick, who cruised in for the score.

The Eagles entered the game third in the NFL against the run, allowing 71.0 rushing yards per game. Riddick in the first half had more than half that. He piled up 43 rushing yards on seven carries and 28 receiving yards on three catches, two of which were touchdowns. He finished with just 49 yards rushing and 33 receiving.

4. Fourth quarter: Brandon Brooks' holding downfield
Tough to pick on just one penalty when the Eagles had so many —14 for 111 yards — but there was no need for this one. Mathews already had a big run, and Brooks' block wasn't needed. 

Was it really holding? Just another questionable call in a game full of them. And it's tough to blame Brooks in that spot. His job is to block, not do nothing to avoid a potential holding call.

Nevertheless, it negated a 23-yard gain, and the Eagles settled for a 49-yard field goal to take a 23-21 lead. Had they scored a touchdown ...

Fletcher Cox's roughing the passer penalty on third down in the first half was costly, but chalk that up to bad luck.

5. Third quarter: Dorial Green-Beckham's 26-yard catch
Green-Beckham had been quiet through the first three games, but he had a standout play Sunday. 

Early in the third quarter, DGB galloped for his longest reception of the season, stiff-arming linebacker Tahir Whitehad, a Temple product, in the process.

That set up a one-yard TD catch by Josh Huff, who reached up to snag the bullet pass from Wentz.

Each of the wideouts made plays. Earlier in that drive, Agholor made a great leaping catch for 18 yards. But on two other key plays, he looked disoriented. Agholor got turned around on a pass to the end zone early in the third quarter and couldn't come down with it. And then there was aforementioned interception. 

Late in the first half, Jordan Matthews made a leaping catch over a defender on a great by Wentz.

Beckham finished with three catches for 43 yards. He came close to recording his first touchdown as an Eagle, but Lawson got his arm in the way (flag?) and caused the incompletion.

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