Eagles crush Lions: Dominant defense, Goff frustrated and heading to NFC lead

The Eagles’ defense demonstrated its might on Sunday night, silencing quarterback Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions’ offense in a crucial 16-9 victory, favoring Philadelphia in the championship race.

We’re talking about going out and being physical, playing our style of game. They have to go through us. They have to go through Philadelphia if they want to advance.
Jordan Davis, Eagles defensive tackle

Davis led the defense with three blocked passes, one of which resulted in an interception by Cooper DeJean. His former teammate at Georgia, Jalen Carter, added two blocked passes to the count. The Eagles’ success was no accident. According to Davis, the team thoroughly studied the recordings and anticipated opportunities to deflect Goff’s passes, who has a particularity in his throw. They practiced a specific exercise to simulate blocked passes, with a defender ready to intercept the ball. Goff had a difficult day, completing only 38% of his passes, the lowest figure for any quarterback this season. He was pressured 20 times and received seven hits.

Small things like blocked passes affect a quarterback’s mind, his mentality, the way he throws the ball, and that was seen in the game.
Jordan Davis

Goff did not complete any of his 12 pass attempts under pressure, the second-most incompletions in a game in his career. The defense was especially effective in high-pressure situations, with the Lions failing on all five fourth-down attempts.

Eagles crush Lions: Dominant defense, Goff frustrated and heading to NFC lead — Jaelan Phillips, adquirido por los Eagles antes de la fecha límite de la NFL, registró seis presiones y un sack el domingo tras una destacada actuación contra Green Bay.

The defense played exceptionally; it was one of the best performances I’ve seen.
Jalen Hurts, Eagles quarterback

In the last two weeks, Philadelphia has limited the Green Bay Packers and the Lions, both NFC title contenders, to a total of 16 points. It’s the first time the Eagles have held their opponents to under 10 points in consecutive games since Weeks 2-3 of the 2022 season. The arrival of Jaelan Phillips, acquired from the Miami Dolphins before the November 4 trade deadline, has been key. Phillips had six pressures and a sack on Sunday, adding another dominant performance after his debut against Green Bay.