ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions are back home at Ford Field for a date with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, with the team looking for their first win of the season. Detroit (0-7) remains the league’s last winless team, while the Eagles (2-5) have lost five of six since opening the year with a win.
This week’s game marks the return of former All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay to Detroit, where he spent the first seven years of his career. Slay has two interceptions this year, which happened to come in the same game. He’s been locking people down, not allowing many looks or touches his way. Pro Football Focus ranks him ninth among corners with enough snaps to qualify in terms of coverage, not to mention the sixth-best overall at his position. Detroit, under former general manager Bob Quinn, traded Slay to Philly for Pick 85 (used to trade up for guard Jonah Jackson) and 166 (receiver Quintez Cephus) in the 2020 draft.
This post will run through team stats, taking a look at the series history, betting lines and spotlight players for the Eagles:
2021 Team stats:
DVOA offensive ranking: Lions 28th | Eagles 21st
DVOA defensive ranking: Lions 27th | Eagles 23rd
Net yards gained per passing attempt: Lions 5.6 (28th) | Eagles 6.3 (22nd)
Rushing yards per attempt: Lions 4.2 (18th) | Eagles 5.0 (4th)
Points per game: Lions 18.3 (28th) | Eagles 22.7 (18th)
Points allowed per game: Lions 28.6 (25th) | Eagles 26.4 (24th)
Net yards allowed per passing attempt: Lions 8.4 (31st) | Eagles 6.5 (18th)
Rushing yards allowed per attempt: Lions 4.1 (11th) | Eagles 4.1 (9th)
Takeaways: Lions 7 | Eagles 7
Spotlight players for Philadelphia: Jalen Hurts leads the offensive charge for Philadelphia, both through the air and on the ground. Hurts, in his first season as full-time starter, has completed 61.2% of his attempts for 1,716 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s added 66 rushing attempts for a team-leading 361 yards and five touchdowns. Hurts has endured some bright moments and some not-so-bright moments through seven games this year, struggling with consistency which is nothing out of the ordinary for a young quarterback.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has continued to run the offense through the versatile quarterback, even through those passing struggles. Prized rookie receiver DeVonta Smith leads the passing attack, with 32 catches for 406 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles recently shipped longtime tight end Zach Ertz to Arizona, clearing the runway for Dallas Goedert to see increased looks. Goedert has 18 catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns, catching three of five looks for 70 yards last week.
Miles Sanders is dealing with a bum ankle out of the backfield, with Sirianni already saying it’s unlikely he plays in Detroit. Sanders has done a little bit of everything for Philly’s offense, catching 19 balls for 118 yards, adding 63 carries for 300 yards. Kenneth Gainwell has been next in line, getting 26 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Boston Scott remains in the mix, getting season-high seven rushes for 24 yards and one touchdown last week.
Detroit’s rushing defense has taken steps forward this season, with this week’s challenge coming in the form of Hurts and his ability to make you pay. Pro Football Focus reports Hurts has 145 yards on designed runs, adding another 216 yards on the scramble. There have been 37 design running plays for the quarterback, with 20 deemed scrambles.
It’s hard to ignore how effective Darius Slay has been at eliminating a team’s top wideout or side of the field. Slay allowed no catches on two targets against Falcons wideout Calvin Ridley in Week 1. He then stifled Brandon Aiyuk (one catch for six yards), Amari Cooper (one catch for six yards), Tyreek Hill (one catch for 15 yards), D.J. Moore (two catches for 14 yards) and Mike Evans (two catches for 27 yards). Slay allowed only two receptions for 10 yards in Philly’s loss in Las Vegas last week, so yeah, he’s rolling.
“Yeah, we love having Slay on this team,” Sirianni said. “He comes to work to every day, trying to get better every single day. I love his personality and the leadership he brings to our organization. Just well respected around the locker room. He’s just a great guy to be around. Obviously, his play speaks for itself. He’s been tasked with covering the leading receiver on the opposite team almost every week and he’s just done a great job. I know you guys are well aware of the playmaker that he is. Obviously, had the big game with two interceptions that helped us win the game against Carolina. Really glad he’s on this football team and he just brings a lot of personality, lot of playmaking ability, a lot of leadership, a lot of toughness. I could go on and on. I love the guy. I love that he’s on the football team and value him.”
It’s been a little more hit or miss outside of Slay for Philly’s defense, though. They’ve been more consistent stopping the run, showing an ability to stifle passing attacks when locked in. Javon Hargrave (23), Josh Sweat (19) and Fletcher Cox (16) led the team in pressures, with Hargrave’s five sacks tops on the defense. Cox offers a little bit of everything in terms of stopping the run and getting after the pass, despite being a little more inconsistent on the ground than usual this year.
“Shoot, every team in the NFL is good and the parity in this league is just so tight. We’ve seen, for the most part, they’ve been in every game,” Sirianni said of the Lions. “We see the talent they have and have a ton of respect for coach Campbell and his staff, Anthony Lynn, Duce Staley, just that entire staff, knowing what type of coaches they have, knowing what type of talent that they have. We just have to come and do our part, be ready to play and go to work each week like we do each and every week. Because we know in this league anyone is capable of beating anybody, and then we also know this team has been in every single game. I know the wins haven’t come yet, but you can see they’ve been in every single game. They play hard, they play tough, they play together, and I always respect that about (that) team.”
Betting line: The Lions are considered 3.5-point underdogs from most oddsmakers, with the over/under total at 48/48.5 points. Detroit is 4-3 against the spread this season, while Philadelphia is 3-4.
Series history: The all-time series between these two is tied 16-16-2. See below for the five most recent meetings, with the Lions winning four of those five:
2019 -- Lions 27, Eagles 24
2016 -- Lions 24, Eagles 23
2015 -- Lions 45, Eagles 14
2013 -- Eagles 34, Lions 20
2012 -- Lions 26, Eagles 23 (OT)
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