Defense Defines the Night in Clash of the Top NFC Contenders
At primetime this past Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Detroit Lions 16-9 in another high-stakes, low-scoring NFC showdown. The matchup was defined by defensive dominance, with a few explosive plays that broke up the grind. The Eagles made a point to feed AJ Brown after another week of public drama, while Dan Campbell’s play-calling once again proved to be a crucial piece of Detroit's offensive identity. Outside of Jared Goff looking unusually flustered, both teams played like true top NFC contenders. Here are my takeaways from an NFC brawl worth watching.
Eagles Are Their Best When Hurts Uses His Legs
Though the Birds didn’t have an exceptional game offensively, we saw flashes of what can happen with Jalen Hurts’ scrambles to make plays. He finished with only 31 rushing yards, but his carries were timely and effective. The offense hasn’t been consistently successful all season, and I think his immobility could be a major factor in the struggles. Hurts making explosive runs out of the pocket has been a rare sight this season, but when he’s got his legs on like he did Sunday, the offense looks complete and versatile. This was made obvious, especially with his 12-yard run for a first down that put the team in position to secure a field goal. The moral of the story is that tonight proved the Eagles' offense could be more lethal if Hurts starts making the moves that brought them success in their Super Bowl run.
Jahmyr Gibbs Looked Unstoppable
Anytime the Lions got a sense of momentum downfield, Jahmyr Gibbs was probably behind it. His ability to break tackles and make explosive plays, especially against a defense that was more solid than we’ve seen all season, was remarkable to watch. The running back was effective on run plays, with 39 yards over 12 carries. However, where he made magic happen was after his receptions. He had 107 yards on only five catches with explosive runs after each. Most notably, he had a 42-yard catch and run, passing nearly every defender with sheer dominance through heavy contact and breaking tackles left and right. His power and speed were the constants that carried the Lions' offense. Goff was seemingly shaken, but he should have kept feeding Gibbs all night.
Eagles Defense Dominated
In the absence of a consistent offense all season, the defense has been carrying the Eagles from week to week. In their game against the Lions, however, they looked to be on par with the 2024 top-ranked defense that won them a Super Bowl. Every level of the defense came together tonight, but to name a few standout players, Jordan Davis had three pass deflections, while Quinyon Mitchell and Jalen Carter had two apiece. Cooper Dejean earned his first interception of the season, while Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips each got their first sacks with the Birds this season. I suspect that Phillips was the missing piece on the edge with a talent and energy that has ignited the group as a whole. Jared Goff was completely disrupted by the Eagles' defense, which caused five turnovers on downs. If the Eagles' defense stays hot like this, and defense wins championships, the league could be in a world of trouble this postseason.
