The Philadelphia Eagles, who were coming off a bye week, were looking to start the season 4-0 for the first time since 2004 against the Detroit Lions. However, that was not the case as the Eagles fell on the road to the Lions 24-23.
The game was marred by penalties throughout, but on the Detroit’s first offensive possession of the game, they went right down the field, putting together an 11-play drive, ending with a Theo Riddick one-yard touchdown run.
After Detroit scored the first points of the game, the Eagles’ offense got a chance to points on the board, but did not do that as the Lions forced a Donnie Jones’ punt. Then, on the Lions’ second offensive drive of the game, the Eagles’ defense was called for three penalties, including unnecessary roughness on safety Rodney McLeod, which gave Detroit 15 extra yards, after quarterback Matthew Stafford scrambled for 14 yards on second down.
Detroit capped off their second offensive drive with another Riddick score as he took a 17-yard reception to the house, putting them up 14-0.
This was the first time this season that rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and the Eagles have faced immense adversity, being down two touchdowns. However, that did not bother Wentz as he led the offense down the field, feeding the ball to running back Darren Sproles, who had 25 rushing yards on the Eagles’ third offensive drive of the game.
Sproles got the ball down to the one yard-line after a 10-yard run, setting up a Wentz touchdown pass to running back Ryan Mathews, to put the Eagles on the board with 10:26 left in the second quarter.
Detroit’s offense got the ball back and kept the Eagles’ defense off-balance as Riddick continued to hurt them in multiple ways. He began the drive with a 13-yard run, followed up two plays later with a 10-yard reception. However, the Lions did not punt the ball on fourth down as a Matthew Stafford converted for a first down with a two-yard run.
Later in the drive on third down, the Eagles’ defense bailed out Stafford and the Lions’ offense as defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was called for unnecessary roughness. The unnecessary roughness led to a Marvin Jones’ one-yard touchdown reception, two plays later, increasing Detroit’s lead to 21-7 with 3:15 left in the first half.
Finally to end the first half, Wentz and the Eagles’ offense were able to put together a solid two-minute drill, ending with a Caleb Sturgis’ 50-yard field goal. The Eagles went into the half down 21-10, but were still in striking distance.
In the first half, Wentz completed 12-of-14 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 125.3 quarterback rating. On the other hand, the Eagles as a team, had eight penalties for 76 yards.
The Eagles would put their first half woes behind them as Wentz led a nine-play, 75-yard drive as he made a great throw to wide receiver Nelson Agholor on the second play of the drive for 18 yards. Then on third down, Wentz found wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham flashing across the field for 26 yards.
Philadelphia ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown reception to wide receiver Josh Huff, putting them only down 21-17.
Then on the Lions’ first offensive possession of the second half, linebacker Nigel Bradham was able to recover a Stafford fumble, giving the Eagles’ great field position.
With the ball on the Lions’ 16 yard-line, the Eagles’ offense was not able to take advantage of Stafford’s mistake as Sturgis knocked through a 33-yard field goal, cutting the Lions’ deficit down to a single point.
To begin the fourth quarter, the Eagles’ defense forced the Lions to punt and on the Eagles’ first offensive possession of the quarter, they put together a 11-play, 49-yard drive leading to a Sturgis’ 49-yard field goal.
With 6:40 to go in the game and the Eagles up 23-21, it looked as if they were on the verge to their fourth straight victory. However, with 2:41 left in the game, Mathews fumbled the ball on third down and short, thanks to cornerback Darius Slay and Detroit recovered.
On the Lions’ game winning drive, safety Malcolm Jenkins was called for unnecessary roughness, giving Detroit another first down.
Matt Prater went on to kick and make a 29-yard field goal with 1:32 to go, giving Detroit a 24-23 lead.
Finally, with 1:28 left in the game, Wentz threw his first interception of his career as he was intercepted by Slay. The pass was intended for wide receiver Nelson Agholor as Slay made a great play on the ball.
The Eagles are now 3-1 on the season and will face their first division test next Sunday as they will be taking on the Washington Redskins at FedEx field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm ET on FOX.
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