Eagles Week 11 film preview: What to look for vs. Lions

After holding the explosive Green Bay Packers offense to seven points on Monday, the Eagles defense has another tall task when the Detroit Lions come to town on Sunday, bringing a two-headed rushing attack and one of the league’s best receivers in Amon-Ra St. Brown.

» READ MORE: What we know and don't know heading into Eagles/Lions

The Lions rank in the NFL’s top six in yards per game (372.4), rushing yards per game (136.3), and sit 10th in passing yards per game (236.1). Coach Dan Campbell took over calling the plays during last week’s win over the Commanders, after John Morton, who was hired off the Broncos staff in the offseason to replace Ben Johnson — now with the Bears — called plays through the first eight games of the season.

Vic Fangio’s defense will have to be up for another challenge against Detroit. Here’s what the Eagles should expect at the Linc, from the Lions’ frequent play-action usage to their need to exploit a key weakness in the Detroit defense:

Lions quarterback Jared Goff is having an outstanding season, with a league-high 74% completion rate among qualified passers. His accuracy on passes that travel less than 20 air yards is what makes this offense particularly dangerous.

A major part of Goff’s success stems from Detroit’s success running the football. The Lions’ rushing game allows the offense to set up play-action passes effectively.

Goff is tied for the fourth-highest play-action rate among starting quarterbacks (30.7%), and has completed 63 of 84 passes on play-action for 830 yards and five touchdowns, according to Next Gen Stats. Goff also has the second-highest expected points added on play-action passes in the NFL (plus-39.8), which measures performance on a play-by-play basis.

Like the Eagles faced with the Los Angeles Rams earlier this year, the Lions involve their receivers in the running game, motioning them into the middle of their offensive line to block linebackers and safeties. In fact, Detroit has sent its receivers and tight ends in motion before the snap on 392 of 554 of its total plays (70.7%), including 215 of 294 passing plays (73.1%). Just under 296 of the Lions’ 372.4 total yards per game involve pre-snap motion, which ranks second in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.

Communication will be key for the Eagles defense on such plays. Detroit occasionally releases its receivers through the offensive line, putting the nickel corner or outside corner in a bind if he bites on a play-action pass.

The majority of the Lions’ passing offense lives in the quick and intermediate areas of the field. Goff has the NFL’s highest passer rating (150.4) on throws between 10 and 19 air yards, completing 36 of 53 passes for 714 yards with seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions, according to Next Gen Stats. The majority of his pass attempts (201 of 243) traveled less than 10 air yards, and he’s completing those at the second-highest clip (79.6%) in the NFL.

Goff has excelled at finding receivers on the back side of the formation, often running in-breaking routes or crossing routes across the field. The Lions quarterback can carve up zone and man coverage on such throws, fitting passes into tight windows and throwing with conviction to receivers Jameson Williams and St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. It’s also worth noting that the Lions lead the NFL in yards after catch with 1,293, according to Next Gen Stats.

The aforementioned running game has a two-headed tandem, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, who adopted the nicknames “Boom” and “Zoom,” respectively. Their nicknames make sense when you watch the film.

Gibbs, who is tied for third in rushing touchdowns this season (eight), has particularly thrived out of the shotgun. The elusive and speedy running back is averaging 10 yards per carry on shotgun runs, the highest among qualified rushers, according to Next Gen Stats.

In addition to the shotgun runs, Gibbs is making teams who set a soft edge pay, with 347 of his 693 rushing yards this season coming outside the tackles, according to Next Gen Stats, and he has the speed to break long touchdown runs, like he did against both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (78 yards) and the Washington Commanders (43 yards).

Meanwhile, Montgomery is more of a downhill runner, with 420 of his 466 rushing yards coming on under-center runs. When he is in the game, the Lions like to run duo, which is designed to attack the middle of a defense, and Montgomery shows the lateral quickness to make one cut and get vertical, breaking off a couple of long runs even though he doesn’t have the same breakaway speed as Gibbs.

Both backs have been dangerous in the red zone. Six of Gibbs’ eight rushing touchdowns have come in the red zone, while Montgomery has scored four of his five rushing TDs in the red area.

The diversity of the Lions’ running game also presents significant challenges for defenses. Whether it’s toss plays, jet sweep handoffs, or pulling linemen into space, Detroit keeps defenses guessing with a mixture of zone, gap scheme, and outside runs.

The Lions defense under first-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been a pleasant surprise, considering how much the injury-burdened unit struggled down the stretch of last season. The defense ranks seventh in total defense (294 yards per game) and allows the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game (94.3) this season.

One big reason for the success is how often star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson pressures quarterbacks, which allows the Lions to play man coverage on a league-high 43.9% of their drop backs.

Hutchinson’s 48 quarterback pressures are tied for second in the NFL with Micah Parsons, whom the Eagles held without a sack or tackle for loss at Green Bay in Week 10. Detroit ranks fourth in sacks in the NFL (30) and eighth in total pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Hutchinson has seven sacks.

But one area in which Detroit’s defense has struggled is against the opposing quarterback’s intermediate passing game. The team is allowing the sixth-highest total of yards per game (82) on passes that travel 10-19 air yards, according to Next Gen Stats. Because of their high-man coverage usage, the Lions’ secondary is most vulnerable on passes in the middle of the field.

The advantage lies with the Eagles if Detroit decides to play man defense at a high rate on Sunday. According to Next Gen Stats, quarterback Jalen Hurts has the second-highest average of yards per attempt (9.1) and touchdowns (13) against man coverage. Receiver A.J. Brown has carved up man coverage, catching 14 of 21 targets for 236 yards and three touchdowns.

The Lions’ top receiver is St. Brown, who leads the team in receptions (64), yards (693), and touchdowns (eight). While he has aligned as an outside receiver (278) more than a slot receiver (213) this year, according to Pro Football Focus, he has done more damage from closer alignments.

He has the third-most receiving yards (336) among receivers, and third-most yards after catch (154) when aligned in the slot, according to Next Gen Stats. Cooper DeJean, who struggled at times vs. Green Bay, will have his toughest matchup at nickel since the Eagles’ game vs. the Rams in Week 3.

Meanwhile, in the trenches, Jalen Carter had one of his best games as a run defender this season in the Eagles’ win at Green Bay. He was credited with three stops but was active on early-down runs, and his penetration on a crucial fourth-and-1 late in Monday’s game allowed Jalean Phillips to stop Josh Jacobs when he bounced on an inside run.

Carter will need to be a force again when Detroit comes to town. If Carter can be as active and disruptive against Montgomery and Gibbs, it could be a long day for the Lions offense.