DETROIT − The Eagles’ run defense and passing offense couldn’t have started off much worse.
But once the Eagles turned it on, they were hard to stop, whether it was Jalen Hurts running the ball against the Lions’ defense, or finding A.J. Brown all over the field.
Brown, making his Eagles’ debut, had 128 yards receiving on 6 receptions as the Eagles overcome the Lions’ opening-drive TD to lead 24-14 at halftime.
Hurts had 189 yards passing in the first half and 67 yards on the ground.
But it certainly didn’t start off well for the Eagles.
The Lions ran the ball down the field with ease on the opening possession, getting 78 yards on the ground on just 6 carries, highlighted by De’Andre Swift’s 48-yard run down to the Eagles’ 26. They eventually scored.
Then the Eagles stalled on their drive. Hurts gained 35 yards on the ground on that first drive. But he missed all five of his pass attempts.
Finally, the Eagles got going − on both sides of the ball.
Hurts started finding Brown and that softened up the Lions defense. Miles Sanders scored his first touchdown since the 2020 season. Hurts, meanwhile, recovered from his slow start in a raucous Ford Field.
The Eagles scored two straight touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead. Meanwhile, the defense forced three straight 3-and-outs, yielding a total of 9 yards.
Then cornerback James Bradberry intercepted Lions QB Jared Goff and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Just like that, the Eagles were up 21-7 with 6:26 left. But the Lions responded and scored with 1:55 left in the first half.
But Hurts threw deep to Brown for 54 yards down to the Lions’ 4 with 30 seconds left. The Eagles tried two plays, but Sanders lost a yard, and Hurts threw incomplete twice. So they settled for Jake Elliott’s 23-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to close the scoring.
It wasn’t easy at first, though.
After the Lions’ opening drive, Hurts completed three passes to Brown for 46 yards. And Hurts capped off a 13-play, 82-drive with a 1-yard TD on a drive that used up 7 minutes, 55 seconds to tie the game at 7-7.
Then the Eagles took the lead on Sanders’ 1-yard TD run with 7:34 left in the first half. For Sanders, it was his first touchdown since Dec. 27, 2020.
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Jordan Davis makes an impact
Davis, the Eagles first-round draft pick, was on the field for just one play on the Lions’ opening drive as the Eagles’ run defense was gashed.
But he was at defensive tackle on the second drive on running plays, and that coincided with the turnaround on defense.
Davis had a tackle on the first play of that second drive.
Goedert has big goals
Tight end Dallas Goedert has big expectations for this season. He’s starting the season as the top tight end for the first time in his five seasons after the Eagles traded Zach Ertz last October.
Goedert finished last season with a career-high 830 yards last season. When asked what his goals are for 2022, Goedert replied: “I would say if I can have 200 catches and 2,000 yards, that’d be a great year for me.”
The NFL record for receptions is 149. The record for receiving yards is 1,964.
When asked if he really said 200 catches, Goedert replied: “Heck yeah, man. I want the ball, baby. I’m an unselfish guy. I want to do whatever to help the team win. I want to be perfect on all of my blocks.”
All of which gives the Eagles’ more options on offense as Goedert joins A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, however, said it won’t be a problem keeping everybody happy.
“I definitely won’t ever look at that as a challenge,” he said. “Hopefully you have the trust of the guys and you’ve connected with the guys enough that they understand the game plan. You tell them the why behind the game plan. You tell them what’s going on.
“Of course, all those guys are going to want ball, because they’re all competitors, all really good players, and all know if they touch the ball, they can help us win.”
Eagles inactives
The Eagles have every player on the 52-man roster eligible to play against the Lions. And that, to Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, accomplished his goal of the preseason: Getting everyone to the opener healthy.
That includes running back Miles Sanders, who missed three weeks with a hamstring injury before returning to practice last week. It includes defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who also missed three weeks with a toe injury. And it includes center Jason Kelce, who had elbow surgery on Aug. 8.
The Eagles’ inactives are QB Ian Book, S Reed Blankenship, RB Trey Sermon, G Josh Sills, DE Tarron Jackson, TE Grant Calcaterra.
WR Britain Covey and TE Noah Togiai were elevated from the practice squad for the game. Covey served as the Eagles’ punt returner. His first chance came in the first quarter. He called for a fair catch.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
