Week 2 Preview: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Detroit Lions
Week 2 Preview: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Detroit Lions
Sunday, September 22 at Lincoln Financial Field, Eagles 6 point-favorites
The Eagles lost a heartbreaker last week against Atlanta after Julio Jones took a screen pass to the house late in the fourth quarter. After a rash of injuries, the Eagles look to bounce back on Sunday with a depleted roster.
Injury Report:
OUT:
Philadelphia: Corey Clement (RB, shoulder), DeSean Jackson (WR, groin), Timmy Jernigan (DT, foot)
Detroit: Da’Shawn Hand (DT, elbow)
DOUBTFUL:
Philadelphia: Kamu Grugier-Hill (LB, knee)
Detroit: —
QUESTIONABLE:
Philadelphia: Dallas Goedert (TE, calf), Alshon Jeffery (WR, calf), Nate Sudfeld (QB, wrist)
Detroit: Jarrad Davis (LB, ankle), Taylor Decker (OT, back), Rashaan Melvin (CB, knee), CJ Moore (S, foot)
WILL PLAY:
Philadelphia: Derek Barnett (DE, shoulder), Fletcher Cox (DT, foot), Johnathan Cyprien (S, knee), Rudy Ford (S, hamstring), Nathan Gerry (LB, knee/calf)
Detroit: —
The Eagles come in extremely short-handed, with their top two receivers both listed on the injury report. Jackson won’t play, and it remains to be seen if Jeffery will. The top team in terms of defensive tackle depth has become one of the bottom, with the #2 DT out for the year and the #3 (Jernigan) expected to miss some time. LB Grugier-Hill will likely return next week. If Goedert can’t roll, the recently promoted Alex Ellis will become the second tight end. Sudfeld wasn’t limited at all in practice, but with Josh McCown around, there may be no reason to activate him. Jordan Mailata was placed on IR, replaced by receiver Greg Ward.
Analysis:
Philadelphia should be hungry coming off of a tight loss, but is their hunger enough to overcome all the injuries? The Lions haven’t looked all that great this year, tying “Kliff’s Kardinals” in Week 1 and squeaking past the Chargers in an ugly Week 2 affair. One takeaway from those games: Matthew Stafford hasn’t been afraid to sling it. He’s racked up 630 yards in the first two weeks, which is bad news for a pass defense near the very bottom of the league. Their run game doesn’t pose much of a threat to Philly’s third-ranked run defense, so slowing down Kenny Golladay and Co. could push Detroit out of the game quickly.
The Eagles offense has been spectacular in the second half of both of their games so far, but they’ve been unable to do anything in the first thirty minutes. They’ve scored a grand total of zero points in the first quarters. If the Lions turn this into a track meet, the Eagles won’t be able to keep up if they start off the way they have been. They simply don’t have the same personnel that allowed them to dismantle the Redskins over the second half of Week 1’s game. The run game just hasn’t been successful for Philadelphia so far. It’s impossible to play ball control if your backs can’t get any yardage. They’ve tried to feed Miles Sanders but he’s not at the point where you can rely on him to churn out 4-5 yards a carry. It would be nice to see Jordan Howard get going, especially if the Eagles would like to avoid seeing Carson Wentz taking as many hits as he did last week. Isaac Seumalo remains in the starting lineup, so if Wentz has to continue dropping back, he might see Honolulu Blue in his nightmares.
While the Eagles are pretty big favorites, I’m not going to underestimate the Lions. If Darius Slay is assigned to Nelson Agholor and removes him from the equation, someone outside of Zach Ertz (ahem, Hollins and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside) is going to have to step up to make life easier.
Even though the pass rush hasn’t been as effective as it needs to be, Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett have racked up quite a few pressures on the year. Detroit’s offensive line isn’t exactly a wall, so it’s about time our DEs convert those pressures into sacks. I expect this game to be close and to be won in the final two minutes.
Here’s to Matt Patricia continuing to be a bad coach.
Prediction: Eagles 23, Lions 21
-By: Micah Jimoh