Coach Dan Campbell loves complementary football and when he sees it from his Lions, they have a good chance of winning. He did not see it on Sunday night in the 16-9 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Detroit’s defense played their tails off and executed a good game plan, the Eagles’ defense nearly shut down the Lions offense all night long.
The Lions turned the ball over five times on downs. Five times. Detroit was 3-of-13 on third downs.
“Look, we know the type of team we just faced, a good team. We had our chances but we didn’t get it done,’’ Campbell said. “They made the most of the opportunity, we didn’t. But we’re right there. We understand what it is. We understand we make one or two more plays in certain areas then you’ve got the legit shot to win the game at the end. As bad as it semes, as bad as it is, we’re so freaking close.’’
The Lions drop to 6-4 and third place in the NFC North while the Eagles are now 8-2 and hold down first in the NFC East.
“They made the plays at the critical moments there at the end to win it. That’s what they’e done. I was proud of the way the guys played,’’ Campbell said. “I thought they played their tails off, played hard, I thought we tried to finish plays, I thought we were disciplined for the most part.’’
He credited the defense for playing really, really well and said the offense could never get in a rhythm, taking some of the blame for his play-calling.
“I believe this is the best thing for us. You don’t want to say that, it doesn’t feel good,’’ Campbell said. “We’re going to learn from this, we’re going to get better, we’re going to adjust and we’ll be hitting our stride when other teams start hitting their adversity toward the back end of the season.’’
Five things to think about after the loss:
ONE: None of the blame can be placed on the Lions defense. They were put in horrible field positions and held on. Early the Eagles were on Detroit’s 11-yard line following an interception after a deflection and the defense held them to a field goal. It was like that the whole game. No blame here. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard drew up a good plan and they executed it.
TWO: The Eagles defense was too much for the Lions offense to handle. The offensive line could not protect Jared Goff. Plus the Eagles defensive line deflected five of Goff’s passes — three by Jordan Davis. The quarterback had no time to get the ball to his intended receivers. The offense just could not find any kind of rhythm.
THREE: Goff was 13-of-37 for 255 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception – just a wretched night. It was not all on him. Some, yes, but not all. He had someone in his face all night. So much pressure that he hurried the passes. Amon St. Brown was targeted 12 times and caught just two for 42 yards. That’s startling when you think about it.
FOUR: Jahmyr Gibbs had a good night, but he could not do it alone. Gibbs ran 12 times for 39 yards and caught five passes for 107 yards. Jameson Williams had 4 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown He was targeted 7 times. Sam LaPorta, who was placed on injured reserve, was missed big-time.
FIVE: This is the kind of game that the Lions have to win if they want to get to the next level. They had to find a way and they could not. It’s not the end of the road but it’s an issue. The Eagles, defending Super Bowl champs, have figured this out.
UP NEXT: N.Y. Giants (2-9) at Lions (6-4), 1 p.m. Sunday at Ford Field.
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