The Eagles were getting clobbered on the offensive line of scrimmage and getting outmatched on the D-Line all day long… yet went into the final half of the 4th quarter with a 10-point lead.
But Richard Harris must have written the script for this one, because by the end of the 4th quarter, the victory cake was definitely left out in the rain…despite perfect weather conditions otherwise… and with sweet green icing melting all around.
Jason Hanson connected on a 45-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Detroit Lions to a 26-23 triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Hanson's game-winner came after the Eagles were forced to punt out of the back of their end zone following their opening drive of the extra session.
The Eagles (3-3) had a commanding lead in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Matt Stafford directed the Lions on a pair of late scoring drives, enabling them to kick a 19-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in regulation and force overtime.
The Eagles appeared to all but put the game away when Vick hit Jeremy Maclin with a 70-yard touchdown pass to give them a 23-13 lead with a little over five minutes remaining.
But the Lions (2-3) responded with a quick touchdown, going 80 yards on seven plays, to give themselves a chance.
When the Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession, it set the stage for another game-saving defensive stand for the defense, which failed in a similar situation the week before against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It failed again this week as well, but it could have been worse after safety Colt Anderson, in for the injured Nate Allen, was called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Lions two chances to win the game before having to settle for a field goal.
Earlier, Alex Henery kicked a 49-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 16-6 lead.
It was his third field goal of the second half. Earlier, he hit on attempts from 26 and 32 yards as the Eagles extended the 7-6 lead they held at intermission.
They first took the lead when quarterback Michael Vick shook off an earlier interception to lead the Eagles on a long touchdown in the second quarter. Vick finished off the nine-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to running back LeSean McCoy.
They had a chance to add to it by forcing a Lions punt with a minute left in the second quarter, but DeSean Jackson lost 3 yards on his first punt-return attempt since last season and they ran out of time, failing on a desperation pass into the end zone from midfield on the final play.
Earlier, the Lions capitalized on a poor punt, a fumbled snap and a slow-starting Eagles' offense to kick two field goals for a 6-0 lead. The Eagles finished the first quarter with just 29 yards in offense and had a line-drive punt by Mat McBriar returned 48 yards to set up the first field goal.
A fumbled shotgun snap that Vick wasn't expecting gave the Lions the ball in good field position near the end of the first quarter, but an interception in the end zone by Nnamdi Asomugha ended that threat.
With Eagles scratching wide receiver and primary punt returner Damaris Johnson for the first time, it appeared to clear the way for Jackson to go back to that PR duty. But Mardy Gilyard was called on for all the attempts until the final one of the first half.
It's hard to overstate how dominant the Lions' defensive and offensive lines were in this game. The Eagles were out-performed physically. They were pushed around. And Vick took a real beating back there in the pocket.
This is pretty bad because this was a big game for us," said Asomugha, the two-time All-Pro cornerback. "We lost last week and going into a bye this hurts a lot because it would have helped us. If we can't win a game like that, we have to go back to the drawing board. We have to close out a game like that."
"This is going to hurt for a long time," Vick said. "We put ourselves in position to win and didn't finish."
"I don't know what to tell you other than we have to do better," coach Andy Reid said. "We've got to learn how to win football games. You have a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left, you have to learn how to finish."
Calvin (Megatron) Johnson had 135 yards receiving, but the All-Pro wide receiver still has no TD catches from Stafford this season. He was called for offensive pass interference to negate his 11-yard TD grab in the fourth quarter. The undisciplined Lions overcame 16 penalties, most in the NFL this season.
Eagles rookie Fletcher Cox was ejected in the fourth quarter after getting an unnecessary roughness penalty for punching a player on Detroit's extra point. … Lions CB Jacob Lacey left with a concussion.
A long Bye Week holiday now becomes a time to reflect on what needs to be fixed in the 3-3 Eagles… and there's a lot of fixin' to be done. The good news is there is still time.
Team Stat Comparison
DET
|
PHI
|
|
---|---|---|
1st Downs | 25 | 24 |
Passing 1st downs
|
15 | 15 |
Rushing 1st downs
|
7 | 5 |
1st downs from Penalties
|
3 | 4 |
3rd down efficiency
|
3-13 | 8-17 |
4th down efficiency
|
0-0 | 0-0 |
Total Plays | 73 | 78 |
Total Yards | 449 | 357 |
Yards per play | 6.2 | 4.6 |
Total Drives | 14 | 14 |
Passing | 311 | 286 |
Comp – Att
|
22-45 | 28-46 |
Yards per pass
|
6.9 | 6.2 |
Interceptions thrown
|
1 | 2 |
Sacks – Yards Lost
|
0-0 | 3-25 |
Rushing | 138 | 71 |
Rushing Attempts
|
28 | 29 |
Yards per rush
|
4.9 | 2.4 |
Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-4 | 1-3 |
Penalties | 16-132 | 9-60 |
Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
Fumbles lost
|
0 | 1 |
Interceptions thrown
|
1 | 2 |
Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
Possession | 30:41 | 33:19 |
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