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Eagles-Lions: Start time, how to watch and stream

Sirianni is in the spotlight thanks to the Eagles' 2-5 start and his widely mocked comments this week comparing the team to a flower.

Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a press conference Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex.
Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a press conference Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

The Philadelphia Eagles hope to turn their season around against the winless Lions in Detroit on Sunday, but all eyes will be on Birds head coach Nick Sirianni.

Sirianni, in his first year as an NFL head coach, continues to be mocked over comments he made to reporters about the Eagles being a flower that everyone needs to feed and nurture with water and fertilizer.

“The results aren’t there right now, but ... there’s growth under the soil,” Sirianni said. “The only way the roots ... grow stronger ... is that we all water, we all fertilize.”

“Sirianni’s been spreading fertilizer for months,” Marcus Hayes wrote in a column slamming the Eagles for passing on Duce Staley, who will be on the opposing sideline Sunday.

“That is a question I think that’s applicable to all walks of life: Have you watered and fertilized today?” NFL Network host Rich Eisen mocked. The 97.5 The Fanatic host, Mike Missanelli, was left speechless. And comedian and Philadelphia native Kevin Hart, appearing on ESPN’s First Take, liked Sirianni’s message, but thinks the rookie head coach “went with words that threw him off.”

“He sounded high,” Stephen A. Smith said.

Even with all the interest in Sirianni’s comments, Fox certainly doesn’t think two teams with a combined 12 losses will be much of a draw for national fans. The game is only airing in 20% of the country, centered mostly around Philadelphia and Detroit, but Eagles fans in Oklahoma will also be able to tune in.

Why? Fox gives a lot of consideration to the game’s local affiliates’ requests, and there are a lot of Dallas Cowboys fans in Oklahoma who apparently want to watch the Eagles lose. In addition, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a local favorite after having played for the Oklahoma Sooners during his senior year of college.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream Sunday’s Eagles-Lions game:

Eagles (2-5) at Lions (0-7): Week 8

  1. When: Sunday, Oct. 31

  2. Where: Ford Field, Detroit

  3. Time: 1 p.m. kickoff

  4. TV: Fox29 (Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Megan Olivi)

  5. Radio: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Howard Eskin)

  6. Spanish radio: La Mega, 105.7 FM (Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen)

  7. Streaming: Fox Sports Go app (required authentication), fuboTV (free 7-day trial), YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV (all require a subscription)

  8. Mobile: Eagles app, NFL Mobile app, Yahoo Sports app (free on smartphones and tablets within the Philadelphia market)

  9. Referee: Tony Corrente

As with every Eagles game, staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, and Josh Tolentino will be covering the action live on Twitter, which you can follow live on GameDay Central. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Inquirer Sports Daily Newsletter.

Smith and Tolento will host GameDay Central live prior to kickoff at Inquirer.com/Eagles/GamedayCentral.

Different week, same announcers

For the second straight week, Eagles fans will hear Kenny Albert and former Pro Bowler Jonathan Vilma calling the Birds game on Fox.

Albert, the son of recently retired broadcasting legend Marv Albert, has quietly amassed one of the longest careers calling NFL games. Hired by Fox way back in 1994 after it secured the rights to the league’s NFC TV package, Albert will provide play-by-play for his 448th NFL game on Sunday — the eighth-most in the history of the league.

This is the second season he’s been paired with Vilma, who is somewhat unusual among announcers thanks to his experience as a defense player (most NFL analysts are former offensive players, usually quarterbacks). But Albert has been paired with his fair share of former defenders over the years, including Charles Davis, Rhonde Barber, and John Lynch.

“He’s such a bright guy, and knows the game as well as anybody that I’ve ever been around,” Albert said of Vilma, noting their chemistry has improved as COVID-19 protocols have been lifted, allowing them to sit closer to one another in the booth.

“It’s just a little thing that viewers wouldn’t even notice,” Albert said. “Whether it’s hand signals, gestures that we make to each other, a little tap on the shoulder if he’s talking and I have something important I want to get ... it really does have an effect. I never realized how important it was until we were socially distanced last year.”

» READ MORE: Superstitious Eagles fans won’t like who’s calling Sunday’s game on Fox

Eagles-Lions facts

  1. The Eagles are 16-16-2 in 34 games against the Lions. They last faced off in 2019, with the Lions defeating the Birds 27-24 despite Malcolm Jenkins blocking a late field goal.

  2. Easily the most memorable Eagles-Lions games was the 2013 snowfest at the Linc, where recently retired running back LeSean McCoy set a new franchise record with 217 yards rushing and powered a 28-point fourth quarter that fueled the 34-20 victory. It’s also the last time the Eagles have defeated the Lions.

  3. Since 1933, the Eagles have played just nine games on Halloween, with a 5-4 record. The Birds’ most recent Halloween game was in 2004, a 15-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens. They would’ve played on Halloween in 2010, but it happened to fall on the Eagles’ bye week.

  4. Sunday will mark the fourth time Jared Goff will face the Eagles after being drafted ahead of Birds quarterback Carson Wentz, but his first since being traded to the Lions. In three games with the Los Angeles Rams, Goff threw for 805 yards, five touchdowns, and just one interception against the Birds.

  5. Jalen Hurts is the first Eagles quarterback since Randall Cunningham to have three games with two rushing touchdowns. With running back Miles Sanders out Sunday, Hurts could push past Cunningham on that list.

Other games airing in Philadelphia on Sunday

  1. Patriots at Chargers: 4:05 p.m., CBS3 (Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)

  2. Buccaneers at Saints: 4:25 p.m., Fox29 (Joe Davis, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews)

  3. Cowboys at Vikings: 8:20 p.m., NBC10 (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya)

Eagles reading list prior to kickoff

  1. All three of our Eagles beat writers are predicting a Birds win on Sunday.

  2. Eagles cornerback Darius Slay is looking forward to returning to Detroit, where he spent the first seven seasons of his career.

  3. Miles Sanders will miss Sunday’s game with an injury, but don’t discount the Eagles running game.

  4. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said the Eagles have the players to make his defense work. “We have to coach better,” Gannon said this week.

  5. The Eagles worked hard to become a bad team, so don’t expect them to get better soon, writes columnist Mike Sielski.

Eagles 2021 NFL schedule

In Week 15, two out of five games chosen by the NFL will be played on Saturday, with the rest played Sunday. Eagles-Washington is one of those games, and the specific dates and times will be announced by Week 11.

  1. Week 1, Sept. 12: Eagles 32, Falcons 6

  2. Week 2, Sept. 19: 49ers 17, Eagles 11

  3. Week 3, Sept 27: Cowboys 41, Eagles 21

  4. Week 4, Oct. 3: Chiefs 42, Eagles 30

  5. Week 5, Oct. 10: Eagles 21, Panthers 18

  6. Week 6, Oct. 14: Buccaneers 28, Eagles 22

  7. Week 7, Oct. 24: Raiders 33, Eagles 22

  8. Week 8, Oct. 31: Eagles at Lions, 1 p.m., Fox

  9. Week 9, Nov. 7: Chargers at Eagles, 4:05 p.m., CBS

  10. Week 10, Nov. 14: Eagles at Broncos, 4:25 p.m., CBS

  11. Week 11, Nov. 21: Saints at Eagles, 1 p.m., Fox

  12. Week 12, Nov. 28: Eagles at Giants, 1 p.m., Fox

  13. Week 13, Dec. 5: Eagles at Jets, 1 p.m., CBS

  14. Week 14: Bye week

  15. Week 15, Dec. 19: Washington at Eagles, TBD

  16. Week 16, Dec. 26: Giants at Eagles, 1 p.m., Fox

  17. Week 17, Jan. 2: Eagles at Washington, 1 p.m., Fox

  18. Week 18, Jan. 9: Cowboys at Eagles, 1 p.m., Fox