Eagles vs. Lions: Philadelphia Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Philadelphia Eagles continue their downward spiral as they lost 45-14 to the Detroit Lions for their third consecutive defeat.

The damage continues to pile up in Philadelphia as the Eagles fall to 4-7. The anger from the fanbase will only continue to grow as its team showed little fight in a game to save its playoff chances. This is now the first time in franchise history that the team has surrendered 45 points in back-to-back games.

Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson combined for enough points to defeat the Eagles by themselves. Stafford found Megatron for three touchdowns on the day as the Lions cruised to an easy victory. The quarterback finished 27-of-38 for 337 yards and five touchdown passes. The Eagles have now also given up five touchdowns through the air in consecutive weeks.

Stafford started the the offensive onslaught with a with an eight-yard pass touchdown pass to Theo Riddick. The tailback cut inside when linebacker Mychal Kendricks expected him to go outside. Riddick caught the pass in space and gave the Lions a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Eagles answered the early deficit with an 80-yard drive to tie the game. Brent Celek held on to a two-yard touchdown pass despite being popped right as he hauled in the pass on the goal line.

However, Detroit quickly pulled away from the Eagles to establish a dominant lead by halftime. Golden Tate caught a two-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter as he put the brakes on and allowed Walter Thurmond to fly past him.

Then came the Calvin Johnson show. As Philadelphia was trying to escape the field and head to the locker room for halftime, Stafford found his favorite target in the back of the end zone. Johnson went up over Eric Rowe in the back of the end zone to bring in the 25-yard pass with only 12 seconds remaining. Through two quarters, Detroit led the Eagles, 24-7.

In similar fashion to last week, Philadelphia's defense could not get off the field on the first drive after halftime. Detroit marched down the field 80 yards on 12 plays. Stafford found Johnson for a touchdown pass to give the Lions a 31-7 lead. The drive took up nearly eight minutes of the third quarter and essentially ended the game.

Then Mark Sanchez fumbled the ball as the pocket collapsed around him on third down. Starting on Philadelphia's 14-yard line, the Lions scored in four plays as Johnson caught his third touchdown of the day.

Joique Bell and Jordan Matthews both added insignificant touchdowns for their teams in the fourth quarter as Detroit snapped Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day undefeated record.

The Eagles are probably happy to escape Ford Field, but they will not be welcomed home warmly in Philadelphia by their fans.

Position Grades for Philadelphia

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Quarterback: C-

Sanchez started his second game of the season under center, and the offense continues to stall under his command. The quarterback finished 19-of-27 for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He rarely looked comfortable in the pocket, and the Lions sacked him six times on the day. Sanchez avoided mistakes, but he also failed to get anything going for the team offensively. 

Running Backs: D

Philadelphia continues to struggle running the ball. DeMarco Murray carried the rock 14 times for 30 yards. The Eagles continue to call sweeps and lateral running plays when Murray looks a lot more comfortable running between the tackles. Kenjon Barner looked like the most effective running back on the day, as he average 4.3 yards on his seven attempts in garbage time. 

Wide Receivers: D-

Not a single wide receiver had more than three catches on the day. The group could not gain any separation from Detroit's defensive backs. Matthews led the team with 60 yards and a touchdown that came when the game was already decided. The Eagles lack talent at the receiver position, and it is evident each and every week.

Tight Ends: B

Celek and Trey Burton provided two of the best offensive plays of the game on Thursday for Philadelphia. Burton found himself wide open for a 43-yard reception that put the Eagles on Detroit's 5-yard line. Not bad for the tight end's first catch of the season. Then Celek capped off the drive with a touchdown reception on third down to tie the game. Celek and Burton are not the most dynamic duo, but they put together a solid performance.

Offensive Line: F

Philadelphia's offensive line surrendered six sacks on the day and failed to create any push for the running game. Ziggy Ansah put together a career day as he racked up three-and-a-half sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Jason Peters continues to struggle with injuries this season as he left the game in the first quarter with an injury to his left ankle. In his absence, Lane Johnson moved to left tackle, and Dennis Kelly came in at right tackle. Both players struggled all game with Detroit's talented pass rush.

Defensive Line: C-

The defensive line is supposed to be one of the strengths of this Philadelphia defense, but it was nearly invisible up front against Detroit. It allowed Stafford ample time in the pocket to pick apart the secondary. The lone bright spot for the defensive line was Vinny Curry as he finished with the team's only two sacks on the day.

Linebackers: D

The linebackers struggled with Detroit's running backs all game long. Detroit ranked dead last in the NFL coming into this game with only 71.1 yards per game on the ground, but the Lions managed to gain 108 yards rushing against Philadelphia. Connor Barwin, Kendricks and company also could not keep up with Riddick out of the backfield. The 24-year-old caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Backs: F

Philadelphia's secondary was no match for Johnson and Tate. Johnson caught three touchdowns on the day, and Tate added another. The Eagles also lost Nolan Carroll in the second quarter, and the team announced that he suffered a broken ankle.

Eric Rowe filled the spot as the outside cornerback, but the rookie was no match going up against one of the best receivers in the NFL. The entire secondary was outmatched in zone coverage against Detroit's wide receivers.

Special Teams: D-

Caleb Sturgis did not get much work on the day, but he missed his one field-goal attempt of the day. The kicker's 50-yard attempt pinged off the right upright in the first quarter. Donnie Jones received more action than he probably would have liked, as he punted six times for an average of 48 yards. Nothing spectacular from this group, but they also avoided disaster. 

Coaching: F

For the second week in a row, at least, the Eagles came out flat and lacked any fight in their play. Both head coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Billy Davis were outcoached by the opposition as their game plans fell flat early in the game. Philadelphia failed to make any adjustments at halftime, and Detroit continued to operate with ease on both sides of the ball.

Important Note No. 1: Defensive Secondary

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Philadelphia's defense gave up 45 points for the second week in a row. The blame falls on more than just one player or one unit, but the secondary deserves a lot of the criticism.

The Eagles gave up five touchdown passes to the rookie Jameis Winston last week, and now they gave up another five to Stafford in Week 12. The quarterback had an easy day as he completed 27 of 38 passes for 337 yards.

In particular, Johnson gave the Eagles fits all game long. Stafford did not look toward Megatron early in the game when Carroll was in coverage, but the cornerback left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter.

Rowe entered the game to fill the void, and one of the best receivers in the NFL had a field day against the rookie. Johnson caught two passes for touchdowns against Rowe, but that is a tough task for an inexperienced corner.

Coach Davis opted for man-to-man coverage for the entire game, despite evidence of trouble early. The defensive coordinator never made adjustments for the Lions' game plan or for his own team's personnel.

Rowe stuck with Johnson fairly well and contested the passes well, but he was outmatched by the big, physical receiver. More surprisingly, the defensive coordinator left the rookie from Utah out on an island against Johnson without safety help throughout most of the game. 

Kelly brought in a new cast in his defensive backfield this offseason, but it looks like they are having the same issues.

Important Note No. 2: Offensive Woes

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Philadelphia's defense will take most of the heat after giving up major points in back-to-back weeks, but Kelly's offense is not playing much better.

The Eagles only managed 14 points against the Lions, and one of the touchdowns came in garbage time against a disinterested defense. Additionally last week, the offense only managed 17 points against Tampa Bay. Philadelphia's offense is supposed to be one of the most dangerous in the NFL with Kelly's revolutionary system, but right now, it's falling short of even being ordinary.

Starting strong out of the gates has not been the issue of late, but the offense seems to hit a wall by the end of the second quarter. In the last two weeks, the Eagles have trailed by 14 and 17 points by halftime.

When Philadelphia's offense is clicking, it is exciting to watch due to the uptempo style. But when the drives falter, things go from bad to worse quickly. Following its touchdown in the second quarter, the offense had four straight drives that lasted less than one minute. This led to the defense quickly taking the field again after giving up points and allowing the Stafford and company to strike while their momentum was building.

Philadelphia's offense is not scoring as much as it was earlier in the season, and it's struggling to move the ball effectively in general. The offense's three-and-outs lead to a long day for both the offense and the defense.

Quote No. 1: Lane Johnson

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“Bring it on. We deserve it now. Any time you put a performance like that, keep it coming,” Lane Johnson said about fan frustration, per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Zach Berman.

Johnson took some heat earlier in the week as he spoke openly to Birds 24/7 about playing at Lincoln Financial Field in front of one of the most passionate fanbases in the sport. The offensive lineman talked about the fans' tendency to boo quickly when the offense struggled and how playing at home in front of a hostile crowd takes away from a team's home-field advantage.

But now the Eagles lost their third straight game and fall to 4-7 on the year. Philadelphia faced teams who ranked last place in the respective divisions, but they all had significant success against the Eagles.

The last three weeks were an opportunity for the Eagles to gain ground in the division and make a second-half push for the Eagles. Instead, they floundered, and now they enter one of the toughest stretches in their schedule. In the next three weeks, Philadelphia plays the Patriots, Bills and Cardinals. New England and Arizona both lead their divisions, and the Bills are 5-5 and still challenging for the playoffs.

The Eagles could be in for a long end to their season as the road will get tougher rather than easier. Johnson acknowledges the poor play from his team, but the fans will likely grow more agitated through the weeks as playoff hopes drift further away.

Quote No. 2: Jason Kelce

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"We're going to find out who are the guys that are all in, and we're going to find out the cowards," said Jason Kelce, per 97.5 The Fanatic's Tim McManus.

The Eagles are amid their worst season of the Kelly era with a 4-7 record. Philadelphia finished with only six losses in each of the last two seasons under the head coach.

The team's owner, Jeffrey Lurie, handed over full control of the roster to his head coach this offseason. Kelly then made an drastic overhaul of the roster as he shipped out established players for the guys he wanted. This year, the team is shaped in the eyes of the progressive coach, and nothing is going as planned.

Kelly's seat is getting hotter and hotter with each week, and the 45-14 loss to the Lions will not help. The team looked flat and played with no energy on Thanksgiving Day on national television. Following the loss, Philadelphia's playoff chances are basically gone and the pressure with continue to increase on the former college coach.

This is the point in the season when the character of a locker room is judged. With playoff hopes out the window, the players battle everyday for themselves, the guy next to them and their coach. The next five games will show whether this team believes in and will fight for Kelly as its leader. If not, the uncommitted players or the coach could be out the door at the end of the season.