Eagles Defense Imposes Its Dominance Against the Lions
The Eagles’ defense demonstrated its power on Sunday night, limiting quarterback Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions’ offense in a crucial 16-9 victory, which favors the Eagles in the conference.Davis was key with three blocked passes, one of which resulted in an interception by Cooper DeJean. His former Georgia teammate, Jalen Carter, also contributed with two blocked passes. The strategy was no accident. The Eagles, after studying the videos, identified opportunities to deflect Goff’s passes, who throws at an angle, and practiced a blocked pass simulation during the week, including a defender behind for the interception. Goff had a difficult day, completing only 38% of his passes, the lowest percentage of any quarterback this season, while being pressured 20 times and taking seven hits.“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,” said defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
Jordan Davis
Goff did not complete any of his 12 passes under pressure, his second-most incompletions of this kind in his career. The last quarterback with 12 attempts and 0 completions under pressure was Blake Bortles in 2017. The defense was especially effective in high-pressure situations. The Lions failed on their five fourth-down attempts, which demonstrated the aggressiveness of coach Dan Campbell.“Those little things like blocked passes affect a quarterback’s mind, his mentality, the way he throws the ball, and it was noticeable in the game,” Davis said. “Fortunately for us, we made it very difficult for him, from the pressures to the blocked balls and everything.”
Jordan Davis
In the last two weeks, Philadelphia has held two NFC contenders, the Green Bay Packers and the Lions, at bay, allowing a total of 16 points. It’s the first time they’ve managed to hold their opponents under 10 points in consecutive games since weeks 2-3 of the 2022 season. The arrival of Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins, before the November 4th trade deadline, has been key. Phillips recorded six pressures and a sack on Sunday, following an equally outstanding debut against Green Bay.“The defense played incredibly, it was one of the best performances I’ve seen,” said Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. “A great game on that side of the ball. To be able to do what they did on fourth down against a very good offense… a powerful offense capable of doing really special things… I have a lot of respect for that.”
Jalen Hurts
“He integrated immediately,” said linebacker Nakobe Dean. “His personality, his way of playing, the physicality he brings.”
Nakobe Dean
“I think we pride ourselves on winning, period,” said coach Nick Sirianni. “I saw a lot of teams expecting to lose. Our team expects to win because it knows how to do it. There’s a lot to be said about knowing how to win and knowing how to find ways to win.”
Nick Sirianni
