Eagles vs. Lions: Score, Twitter Reaction for 2015 Thanksgiving Day Football

The Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles may have both ended their Thanksgiving matchup with a 4-7 record, but the two teams were trending in much different directions after the Lions' 45-14 victory. 

While the triumph marked Detroit's third straight win and gave it some hope, however small, of getting back into the NFC wild-card race, the Eagles lost their third straight game in miserable fashion in a result that will surely keep head coach Chip Kelly on the hot seat.

Indeed, the two teams showed a disparate degree of effort in the game, as Mike Greenberg of ESPN tweeted:

Matthew Stafford was excellent for the Lions, throwing for 337 yards and five touchdowns—the second week in a row the Birds have given up five touchdown passes—while wide receiver Calvin Johnson was dominant, hauling in eight passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns.

It was the second week in a row the Eagles gave up five touchdown pass, and Max Bretos of ESPN joked that the team was making a few players look like Hall of Famers:

The Detroit defense was also stout, forcing a fumble and sacking Philadelphia quarterback Mark Sanchez six times, led by Ezekiel Ansah's 3.5 sacks. The Lions front seven also held the Eagles to a paltry 68 rushing yards.

Sanchez was decent in his second start of the season in place of the injured Sam Bradford, meanwhile, completing 19 of 27 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles could never get in a rhythm offensively, however, finishing with just 227 yards from scrimmage to 430 for the Lions.

The Philly defense was also trapped on the field for much of the contest once again, as the Eagles held the ball for just 22 minutes and 49 seconds. 

It didn't take the Lions long to jump all over the Eagles. A first-quarter touchdown reception from running back Theo Riddick gave the team a 7-0 lead with the extra point, though the Eagles quickly responded in the second quarter, as tight end Brent Celek caught a two-yard touchdown pass.

From there, the Lions promptly scored 38 straight points.

Golden Tate opened the scoring barrage, catching a two-yard touchdown pass from Stafford, and Matt Prater hit a 48-yard field goal to give the team a 10-point lead. The Lions then closed out the half in style as Megatron hauled in a 25-yard touchdown reception over rookie Eric Rowe. 

The NFL on Twitter shared the play:

The man-to-man matchup between Rowe and Johnson—Rowe was in press coverage despite the Lions facing 3rd-and-long—turned out to be fairly controversial. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN couldn't believe what he was seeing:

Two more touchdown receptions from Johnson in the third quarter put the game away for the Lions. 

Joique Bell capped the scoring for Detroit with a one-yard touchdown plunge in the fourth quarter, while Jordan Matthews had a 24-yard touchdown reception in garbage time for the Eagles.

While the Lions have looked great since Jim Bob Cooter took over as offensive coordinator, the Eagles are an absolute mess. The defense has looked horrendous in back-to-back weeks, DeMarco Murray continues to look like a poor fit for the offense and neither Sam Bradford nor Mark Sanchez has proved to be the answer at quarterback.

As Kevin Negandhi of ESPN noted, however, those were the players Kelly chose for himself:

And Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk added that Kelly's position as the de facto general manager should be challenged after the season:

After two 10-win seasons, Kelly's future is justifiably in question after Philadelphia's disastrous season.

Postgame Reaction

After the game, a solemn Kelly put the blame for the loss first and foremost on the coaching staff, per the NFL Network:

Despite what appeared to be a poor effort from the Eagles, Kelly said he felt the team gave 100 percent effort in the game, and also said defensive coordinator Billy Davis' job was safe, per Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal.

The loss seemed to blindside him, however.

"We didn't see this happening," he said, per Frank. "Coming in, we didn't think it would get away from us."

One thing he may have expected was the harsh response from the Philadelphia media, which hammered him with tough questions in his presser, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com:

But Kelly chose to remain optimistic, insisting, "There's still an opportunity to make the playoffs," per Reuben Frank of CSN Philly.

The players, meanwhile, reflected Kelly's assessment that the team hasn't given up. 

"You're gonna see who the quitters are now," said offensive tackle Lane Johnson, per Albert Breer of NFL.com, before insisting that the team was still fighting.

DeMarco Murray responded to the notion that the team quit by saying definitively, "No. Never. It'll never happen while I'm here," per Frank.

And offensive tackle Jason Peters talked about how much he liked Kelly and felt bad for the coach during this rough patch for the team, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com.

Things won't get easier for Philadelphia, as up next are the undefeated New England Patriots in Foxborough. Even in the weak NFC East, falling to 4-8 on the season would probably take the Eagles out of contention for the division. 

The Lions were obviously singing a much different tune. 

Head coach Jim Caldwell called the performance, "As complete a game as we've had around here," per Tim Twentyman of the team's website.

He also received an ovation from the Ford family after the game, per Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News:

Things will only get tougher for the Lions, however, as they next face the Green Bay Packers in Detroit in a game that will test whether the team's recent resurgence is for real or simply a blip in an otherwise disappointing campaign.