Allen Park — In a rebuilding year full of bumps, humps and ego bruises, last season’s Detroit Lions’ Week 8 game against the Philadelphia Eagles was the closest to a knockout blow.
But in hindsight, that 44-6 drubbing at Ford Field served as a wake-up call and something of a turning point for the Lions. Now, 10 months later, the Eagles return to town as a yardstick to open the season, well equipped to offer another solid challenge, as well as some insight into just how far these Lions have really come.
“It was an embarrassing loss,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell. “They let us have it, they rubbed our noses in it. Listen man, they came in and did whatever they wanted to do, they did us times 10.
“I think we’ve recognized that and we understand they’re coming back for that,” Campbell continued. “If I’m them, I’ll do the same. We’ll come back and attack you the same way and see if you’ve solved any of your problems. Now they’ve got a few tweaks here and there, but I mean, I’d expect them to come in to see if we’ve solved our problems, so we understand we need to be better at that.”
It’s easy to forget that Philadelphia team stumbled into Detroit for that Halloween turnaround, having lost five of their previous six games. But in a game that resembled the varsity team’s scrimmage against the JV squad, the Eagles did what they wanted, especially in the trenches, and stormed to a 41-0 lead before the Lions could avoid the shutout with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
There are many shocking numbers from that box score, but nothing more than the discrepancy on the ground. The Lions never got going in that facet of the game and understandably had to stop running the ball as the deficit widened, finishing with 57 yards at 18 yards. The Eagles, meanwhile, scored 236 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries, all without the benefit of a gain longer than 21 yards. That highlighted how much they mastered the line of scrimmage that afternoon.
“Yeah, watching the movie, it’s hard to watch, you know what I mean?” said Lions defense attorney Charles Harris. “With that you have to learn from mistakes and understand that we have a good schedule. Different schedule, different team and we are a much better team this year.”
True, the Lions have made schematic adjustments since last season, placing more emphasis on forward attacks and the linebackers and defensive backs supporting the aggression by playing more downhill from the second tier. But our introduction to those changes came in the preseason opener, when the Atlanta Falcons cut the Lions to the ground, with dual-threat quarterback Marcus Mariota dealing much of the damage.
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And that’s part of what makes the Eagles so dangerous. Quarterback Jalen Hurts can swing the ball with certainty, but he only had to throw the ball 14 times in last year’s blowout. Less surprisingly, he was a key cog in the hasty offense, contributing 71 yards on seven rushes.
The Lions are confident they made the necessary adjustments after the Atlanta game to be better equipped to face Hurts and the Eagles.
“When we started that first game (preseason), there were some issues, especially against a mobile quarterback,” Harris acknowledged. “I hadn’t seen much of that action, but from then on we’ve done a great job in terms of with a lot more clarity – mission-oriented football, guys who know their roles, know their jobs. With that, our interior, guys on the outside were a lot more confident and solid within our techniques.”
And for all the negative emotions that revisiting last year’s game may evoke, it can also be seen as a moment of clarity for the Lions. It was after that game, heading into the team’s farewell week, where Campbell first acknowledged that he would involve freshman receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown more in the pass game.
That clearly turned out better than you could have imagined, as St. Brown pulled in eight or more passes each of the last six games of the season, setting franchise rookie records for receptions and getting yards in the process.
Defensively, coordinator Aaron Glenn symbolically buried the first half tape in the team’s practice facility after the loss to the Eagles. And while there were still some hiccups, there was also marked improvement, starting with the Steelers holding the Steelers to 16 points in a tie in the first game out of the bye, the Lions’ first non-loss of the season.
“I think that was a bit of a turning point last year,” Campbell said. “It opened our eyes to some things and I think it forced us to really, well, it forced us to make some changes on both sides of the ball. We had to do things differently because where we went, went don’t let it cut It wouldn’t make it.
“So yeah, I mean, it was a bit of a blessing in disguise, I guess,” Campbell continued. “You make the most of something that’s negative, you turn it into something positive, and I felt like we did that to an extent.”
Detroit has continued that positive momentum into this off-season, including the team’s well-received stint on the HBO documentary series “Hard Knocks.” But giving an improved Eagles team a much more competitive matchup in the opener will only further validate what the Lions have been trying to build.
jdryers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers
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