Larry Henry JrThe Philadelphia Eagles were favored to get the job done against the winless Detroit Lions on Sunday and Nick Sirianni watched as his team did just that at Ford Field.
Sirianni’s offense totaled 236 rushing yards even without Miles Sanders, while defensively the Eagles sacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff six times in a 44-6 romp. The Eagles added a scoop and fumble return for a touchdown while kicker Jake Elliott also contributed three field goals and five extra points in the lopsided victory.
“Today was Round 8 [game eight] for us,” Sirianni said, using a boxing analogy. “My message to them was, ‘Hey, sometimes it just takes a round when you cut somebody, when you win a round, to build some momentum. But, there was no secret as to why we performed well today. It happened every day in practice. What happened on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – the intensity was so high, the detail was so high, that was our message – to continue to grow. The only way to continue to grow is if you’re going to have intensity in practice and you’re going to have detail.
“I think the guys locked into that and practiced well all week.”
It was a scary sight on Halloween as the Eagles actually stuck to a running game against the lowly Lions, seeing both Boston Scott and Jordan Howard share carries. Scott finished with 60 yards on the day on 12 carries and a pair of touchdowns while Howard also added a pair of touchdown runs along with his 57 yards.
Jalen Hurts finished the day with 174 total yards, but zero touchdowns as the Eagles found different ways to score to eventually run away with a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
We’re goin’ off on the ground today!#PHIvsDET | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/qc1tIXAbuu
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 31, 2021
“We just did our job,” Scott said. “That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day in the NFL. Whenever opportunity knocks, that’s when you’ve got to step up and produce. We stayed ahead of the sticks and we were physical and were productive in the running game. I’m a competitor and I’m going to show up and work. I’m not going to let myself and what I want negatively impact the team. I wasn’t getting touches (in the first six weeks of the season), but I was on the scout team and on special teams and I was doing everything I could to help the team win until my opportunity came. That’s what I was committed to.”
“We ran the ball extremely well and really dominated at the line of scrimmage for most of the game,” Hurts said. “We want to be consistent with that moving forward. The defense played their butts off. They got turnovers and sacks. They made big-time plays throughout the whole game. It’s a great team win.”
Defensively, the Eagles were dominant against Goff and Co. holding the Lions to 91 total yards on the afternoon and eight first downs in the first half. D’Andre Swift, who entered the game leading all NFL running backs in total yards and receptions, gained just 51 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches, a testament to the strong shift put in by the Eagles defense and coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who helped prepare for this game.
Darius Slay also added a fumble return for a touchdown late in the game to truly cap off a dominant performance by the team, giving them some needed momentum heading into a Week No. 9 showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers at Lincoln Financial Field.
There were plenty of treats to go around for the defense today!
😤 6 sacks
😤 7 tackles for loss
😤 12 QB hits pic.twitter.com/3GnehqRn33— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 31, 2021
“We were focused on No. 89 [T.J. Hockenson] and No. 32 [Swift],” safety Rodney McLeod said. “The line took control and we had some blitzes that JG [Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon] called and it all came together. We knew they liked to get the ball to those two guys, so we had a lot of traffic to the ball. We tackled extremely well and we were zeroed in. This was a great confidence booster for our defense. It all came together for us.”
The Eagles (3-5) will host the Chargers on November 7 before eventual showdowns with Denver, New Orleans, and the New York Giants later in the month.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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