Banged up Birds host average Lions at Linc
PHILADELPHIA >> Even a team stuck on slow starts like the Eagles can get a laugh out of the last time they entertained the Detroit Lions, who check in Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field (1 p.m., Fox29, WIP 94.1-FM).
Six years ago, the Eagles dug themselves a two-touchdown hole in 11 inches of snow against a Lions team coached by Jim Schwartz, now the defensive coordinator of the Eagles.
“I remember just the whole first half not having any traction,” Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “We were kicking snow on their D-line. They were kicking snow back on us. And then in the second half, I remember (LeSean McCoy), he got new studs on his cleats. He had studs on his cleats about that long and he ran for about 200 yards.”
Let the record show that Johnson’s gesture for the studs was ridiculously long. Speaking of outrageous, the Eagles cannot afford to make the job harder than it is by falling behind in first quarters. Particularly against the Lions, who under head coach Matt Patricia are learning how to let their opponents beat themselves.
The Eagles are 13-0 when leading at end of the first quarter since the start of the 2017 season, tops in the NFL.
Easy to follow blueprint? Au contraire.
The Eagles have scored just two first-quarter touchdowns in their last 13 starts with Carson Wentz running the offense. They don’t have a point in the first quarter this season and have been outscored, 30-13, in the first half over the first two games.
Anybody who thinks it’s a good idea to let the Lions think they can steal a win this Sunday with a quarterback tied for 10th on the all-time list with 28 fourth-quarter comeback victories, raise your
hand. Wasn’t talking to you, Matt Stafford.
“I’m confident going forward that we’re going to get a lot of things corrected,” Wentz said of the slow starts. “And we’re going to come out executing at a much better pace early in the game.”
Look for the Eagles to roll with the hurry-up offense sooner, rather than later if they struggle early. It enables the Eagles to capitalize on Wentz’s strength to read defenses and exploit mismatches, the opposition having less time to substitute.
Even that will be difficult with a wide receiver corps that will be without the services of gamebreaker DeSean Jackson (abdominal injury) and probably minus Alshon Jeffery (calf). The Eagles added Greg Ward to the active roster Saturday, a sign that they’re not totally comfortable with their depth at the position.
Additionally, the Eagles likely will activate tight end Alex Ellis, as Dallas Goedert sat out the previous game with a calf issue that bothered him in the preseason.
Right now it looks like Wentz will be throwing to Nelson Agholor, who interrupted a stunning 100-yard receiving game last week with a horrible drop late in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Mack Hollins, who also stepped up, and rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who was overwhelmed playing most of the offensive snaps.
“We’re not going to ask Mack to go be DeSean,” Wentz said. “We’re not going to ask JJ to be Alshon. They’re going to be themselves. I think they’re both explosive and dynamic in their own right. We’re going to scheme things up well and put guys in the best position to succeed and I know we’ll execute it well.”
The Lions (1-0-1) are anything but a juggernaut, as they blew a big lead in the opener against the Arizona Cardinals and last week benefited from a series of calamities to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, 13-10. The Chargers had two TDs called back by penalty.
The Eagles obviously don’t need to follow that script. Agholor, in particular, is eager to atone for the drop.
“Let’s get it,” Agholor said. “Let’s get it.”
Wentz, by the way, is confident Agholor will bring his A-game.
“He’s the ultimate team guy,” Wentz said. “He’ll do anything you ask him to do. Obviously, people look at the drop but the guy made a lot of plays, and there’s a lot of things he did in the huddle. He’s helping guys get lined up in the right spot. Hats off to him. He played a heck of a game. I know there’s the one play he’d like to have back but I’m not worried about him at all. He’s quite the competitor. He’ll be just fine.”
Deep down inside, the Eagles realize that Sunday is only the beginning of an arduous schedule in which they play two games in five days. The next game is Thursday at Green Bay, which is in the middle of a homestand.
“It is pretty crazy to think we’ve got two games in like (a few) days now, but we’re not looking forward to Green Bay,” Wentz said. “We’re focusing on Detroit. It’s always a struggle and a challenging thing on a Thursday night game to get everyone’s body and mind ready to go. So, we’ll cross that bridge Sunday afternoon after the game.”
It would be much less difficult for the Eagles to defeat the Lions – and the home team is a sixpoint favorite – if they avoided the mistakes that open the door for less-talented teams such as the Lions.
Remember, Stafford’s go-to guy is Kenny Golladay, not Calvin Johnson.
“What’s the saying, when the tough gets - what’s it?” Johnson said. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going? We’ve just got to be more like that. Really in these situations you don’t have a choice.”
It was much the same way six years ago, only with a temperature of 27 and 11 inches of snow.