Most pundits and reporters will tell you the Eagles lost this game because of a late 4th-quarter fumble by Ryan Mathews. But to me that was not the real story. Somehow the Eagles came out flat on defense and offense in this one. Couple that with the worst referee crew in the NFL working this game, and an imbalance of clearly bad (or at least questionable) calls and non-calls which stymied any early progress the Eagles were making. The result was a first-half 10-21 hole for the Birds to have to fly out of.
Eventually they did take the lead with some sound playcalling on offense and a defense which adjusted at halftime.
The problem with the final paper cut (Mathews’ fumble with the game and the clock seemingly in hand) was it left too little time for another recovery. Young Carson Wentz was left with a minute-and-change and no time-outs to drive 40 yards to set up a potential winning FG. Somewhat unexpectedly (to me) he went for it all on one big play which Detroit’s DB Darius Slay made a great play on as he tussled with Nelson Agholor on the deep route. INT— game over.
Matt Prater kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:28 left and Darius Slay made an over-the-shoulder interception on the next snap, helping the Detroit Lions hand Carson Wentz his first loss with a 24-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The Lions (2-3) had lost three straight.
The Eagles (3-1) turned the ball over for the first time this season with 2:34 remaining when Ryan Matthews fumbled on a hit by Slay. The loose football was recovered by Tyrunn Walker at the Philadelphia 45.
Matthew Stafford set up the game-winning kick by converting a third-and-4 from the Eagles 39 with a perfectly placed pass on a crossing route to Golden Tate, who drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on Malcom Jenkins (another unbelievable call by the refs, if you ask me!).
Philadelphia had the ball at its 25 with 1:28 remaining and no timeouts left. Wentz, who did not turn the ball over in his first three games, heaved a pass toNelson Agholor on first down and Slay made the game-sealing interception at the Detroit 23.
The Lions scored on all three of their drives in the first half, building a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter.
Stafford threw two TD passes to Theo Riddick in the first quarter and another to Marvin Jones in the second. The Eagles hadn’t given up a passing touchdown, a point in the first quarter or allowed offenses to combine to score three TDs through three games.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who led the Lions from 2009 to 2013, seemed to make some adjustments. Mostly it seemed he decided to seal the edges with coverage by his DE’s and his outside linebacker at the expense of a dedicated pass rush.
The Lions then gained just 19 yards on the first four possessions of the 2nd half, fumbling once and punting three times.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, opened the second half with Wentz capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard TD pass to Josh Huff.
Stafford’s unforced fumble on the ensuing drive was recovered by Nigel Bradham, who was arrested last Sunday on a misdemeanor concealed weapons charge, at the Lions 16.
The Lions held Philadelphia to a field goal, allowing them to cling to a 21-20 lead.
Caleb Sturgis‘ 49-yard field goal, his third, put the Eagles ahead for the first time with 6:45 left, but they couldn’t hold on.
INJURIES: Eagles CB Leodis McKelvin returned after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, aggravated it, but was cleared to return in the fourth quarter. … Lions DT Haloti Ngata left the game with a shoulder injury.
UP NEXT: The Eagles play at Washington Sunday. The Lions host Los Angeles on Sunday.
I’ll take this game with some appreciation for the learning experience gained by Carson Wentz. Sooner or later he would have to deal with coming back from a deficit. He did okay in my book. Better luck next time…
Final:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 0 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| DET | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| FIRST QUARTER | PHI | DET | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
TD
9:37
Theo Riddick 1 Yd pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Prater Kick)
11 plays, 75 yards, 5:23
|
0 | 7 |
|
TD
0:53
Theo Riddick 17 Yd pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Prater Kick)
9 plays, 80 yards, 5:09
|
0 | 14 |
| SECOND QUARTER | PHI | DET | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
TD
10:21
Ryan Mathews 1 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Caleb Sturgis Kick)
9 plays, 75 yards, 5:32
|
7 | 14 |
|
TD
3:08
Marvin Jones 1 Yd pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Prater Kick)
12 plays, 75 yards, 7:13
|
7 | 21 |
|
FG
0:00
Caleb Sturgis 50 Yd Field Goal
11 plays, 43 yards, 3:08
|
10 | 21 |
| THIRD QUARTER | PHI | DET | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
TD
9:18
Josh Huff 1 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Caleb Sturgis Kick)
9 plays, 75 yards, 5:42
|
17 | 21 |
|
FG
6:47
Caleb Sturgis 33 Yd Field Goal
4 plays, 2 yards, 1:00
|
20 | 21 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | PHI | DET | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
FG
6:40
Caleb Sturgis 49 Yd Field Goal
11 plays, 49 yards, 5:21
|
23 | 21 |
|
FG
1:28
Matt Prater 29 Yd Field Goal
7 plays, 34 yards, 1:06
|
23 | 24 |
| Matchup | |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 18 | 21 |
| Passing 1st downs | 12 | 10 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 6 | 6 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 0 | 5 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 5-11 | 3-9 |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Total Plays | 57 | 56 |
| Total Yards | 346 | 244 |
| Total Drives | 9 | 9 |
| Yards per Play | 6.1 | 4.4 |
| Passing | 230 | 164 |
| Comp-Att | 25-33 | 19-25 |
| Yards per pass | 6.4 | 5.7 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 3-8 | 4-16 |
| Rushing | 116 | 80 |
| Rushing Attempts | 21 | 27 |
| Yards per rush | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Penalties | 14-111 | 2-18 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 29:36 | 30:24 |
Philadelphia Passing| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Wentz | 25/33 | 238 | 7.2 | 2 | 1 | 3-8 | 102.8 |
| TEAM | 25/33 | 230 | 7.2 | 2 | 1 | 3-8 | 102.8 |
Philadelphia Rushing| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Sproles | 5 | 45 | 9.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Ryan Mathews | 11 | 42 | 3.8 | 0 | 10 |
| Carson Wentz | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Josh Huff | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Nelson Agholor | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| TEAM | 21 | 116 | 5.5 | 0 | 15 |
Philadelphia Receiving| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Matthews | 4 | 65 | 16.3 | 0 | 27 | 4 |
| Dorial Green-Beckham | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| Zach Ertz | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 0 | 21 | 3 |
| Ryan Mathews | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 1 | 18 | 5 |
| Nelson Agholor | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 | 18 | 7 |
| Darren Sproles | 4 | 23 | 5.8 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Josh Huff | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Trey Burton | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| TEAM | 25 | 238 | 9.5 | 2 | 27 | 32 |
Philadelphia Defense| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| Rodney McLeod | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brandon Graham | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Nigel Bradham | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jordan Hicks | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jalen Mills | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vinny Curry | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Bennie Logan | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Nolan Carroll II | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mychal Kendricks | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fletcher Cox | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ron Brooks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Malcolm Jenkins | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Connor Barwin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Team | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marcus Smith II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jaylen Watkins | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Trey Burton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nelson Agholor | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leodis McKelvin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 55 | 44 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
Philadelphia Kicking| FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Sturgis | 3/3 | 100.0 | 50 | 2/2 | 11 |
| TEAM | 3/3 | 100.0 | 50 | 2/2 | 11 |
Detroit Passing| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford | 19/25 | 180 | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 4-16 | 135.0 |
| TEAM | 19/25 | 164 | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 4-16 | 135.0 |
Detroit Rushing| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theo Riddick | 11 | 49 | 4.5 | 0 | 17 |
| Matthew Stafford | 6 | 16 | 2.7 | 0 | 14 |
| Zach Zenner | 7 | 9 | 1.3 | 0 | 6 |
| Golden Tate | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 11 |
| TEAM | 27 | 80 | 3.0 | 0 | 17 |
Detroit Receiving| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anquan Boldin | 4 | 48 | 12.0 | 0 | 20 | 4 |
| Golden Tate | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 | 27 | 5 |
| Marvin Jones | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 1 | 17 | 5 |
| Theo Riddick | 6 | 33 | 5.5 | 2 | 17 | 6 |
| Zach Zenner | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Andre Roberts | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TEAM | 19 | 180 | 9.5 | 3 | 27 | 23 |
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