Lions Grades Against Eagles: Offense, Goff, O-Line Disappoints

The Detroit Lions were unable to overcome their shortcomings on third- and fourth-downs, and lost a close battle with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Detroit had chances throughout the night, but struggles in key moments offensively spelled doom for their chances to knock off the defending Super Bowl champions. Ultimately, the team lost 16-9 to fall to 6-4 on the season.

Here are grades for each position group based on performance in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterbacks — D

Entering the game as one of the best performing quarterbacks on the road, Jared Goff struggled for most of Sunday's game. He had gone eight straight games with a completion percentage of 70 percent or more in road games, but that was snapped by a 14-for-37 performance.

Goff's start was slow, as he threw an interception on the first drive that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. These batted balls were too common of an occurrence, as he had several passes altered at the line of scrimmage by players such as Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

The veteran passer did have a touchdown pass to Jameson Williams, but was too inconsistent throughout the night. This was partially on him and partially on protection issues, but his flaws throwing on the move were frequently exposed.

Via Next Gen Stats, Goff was 1-for-14 on passes where he was under pressure, and 7-of-27 on passes beyond the line of scrimmage. Both numbers are indicative of just how uncharacteristic Sunday's performance was for one of the NFL's most consistent and accurate passers.

Running backs — C

Philadelphia's defense was stout against the run, and as a result the Lions had to get creative to get Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery going. Gibbs had 39 yards rushing, but was far more impactful out of the backfield as a receiver with five catches for 107 yards.

The third-year back had two big catches on screen passes, including one catch-and-run that went for 42 yards. However, the Lions were unable to capitalize as Gibbs was stuffed on runs near the goal line and the team ultimately turned the ball over on downs to end that drive.

David Montgomery added 27 yards on six carries, along with a catch for 10 yards. Detroit was kept one-dimensional for most of the night.

Wide receivers — C-

Because of Goff's struggles in the passing game, it was difficult to get the wide receivers going. In particular, Amon-Ra St. Brown had one of the slowest nights of his five-year NFL career. The wideout had just two catches for 42 yards on a whopping 12 targets.

Jameson Williams had the biggest play of the night for the offense, hauling in a crossing route and out-running the Eagles' defense for a 40-yard touchdown. However, he was penalized for his touchdown celebration and the Lions wound up missing the 47-yard extra point in windy conditions.

Tight ends — C-

The Lions missed the presence of Sam LaPorta, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday and will be out until at least Week 15. Brock Wright started in his place and had two catches for eight yards, but didn't have the best game in his expanded role in the team's protection scheme.

Goff did miss an opportunity to hit Wright in a big situation, as the tight end appeared to be open on the Lions' turnover on downs deep in Philadelphia territory in the third quarter.

Offensive line — F

Against a stout Eagles defensive line, Detroit's offensive line performance simply wasn't good enough. Tate Ratledge was banged up early in the game and though he returned, he struggled for most of the night.

Moro Ojomo had a big night for the Eagles with two crucial stops, and Jordan Davis' athleticism caused problems for the group. The Lions struggled to keep the Eagles out of the backfield, and couldn't provide enough protection in either the run or pass game on fourth-downs to help the offense continue moving.

Defensive line — B

The Lions were tasked with controlling the line of scrimmage against one of the NFL's best offensive lines, and for the most part they were solid on Sunday night. DJ Reader, Aidan Hutchinson and Roy Lopez had strong nights in particular.

Hutchinson and Lopez split the defense's lone sack for the night, while Al-Quadin Muhammad came close on a Hurts scramble that wasn't ruled a sack due to the quarterback gaining one yard on the play.

Rookie Tyleik Williams had an uptick in workload after weeks with a small snap count, as he had four tackles. Lopez also had a big stop forcing a turnover on downs on a quarterback sneak.

Facing one of the NFL's top running backs in Saquon Barkley, the Lions held the Eagles to 3.7 yards per carry. Barkley managed 83 yards on 26 carries.

Linebackers — B+

Jack Campbell had a big game with 15 combined tackles, including seven solos and a tackle for loss. Alex Anzalone also had a strong showing, contributing a tackle for loss of his own among six combined stops.

The Lions also got a big stop out of Trevor Nowaske, who played a small percentage of snaps but managed to log a big tackle for loss to force a stop in the first half of Sunday's game. Derrick Barnes added three combined tackles.

Secondary — B-

Without Terrion Arnold, the Lions leaned on Amik Robertson and Rock Ya-Sin to handle the majority of work on the outside. For the most part, both players were solid in coverage against the likes of Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown.

Brown had seven catches, but had just 43 yards to show for that. Robertson made a nice play on a screen pass to Brown, blowing it up for no gain. The veteran corner also had two passes defensed, while Ya-Sin had one of his own.

However, unfortunate penalties marred this groups performance. Safety Brian Branch was whistled for a helmet-to-helmet hit, while Robertson got hit with a defensive holding. Ya-Sin was victim of the biggest call of the night, as he drew a questionable pass interference penalty on the game-deciding third-down.

Special teams — C

In the windy conditions, special teams were a challenge for both sides. This was made evident when, after Jameson Williams' penalty made the extra point attempt a 47-yarder, Jake Bates' kick sailed wide right.

Bates rebounded to hit a 54-yard kick in the fourth quarter to make it a one-score game, and the Lions' decisions throughout the game cost them opportunities at other points. The Lions had two turnovers on downs in field goal range, and also had a failed fake punt when Grant Stuard was stuffed.

Coaching — C-

The Lions' decision making in this game will no doubt be questioned, as Dan Campbell's aggression ultimately will define Sunday's loss. The Lions were 0-for-5 on fourth down, marking only the second instance of any team over the last 30 years in which a team has been 0-for-5 or worse. The other time, according to ESPN, was the Lions' shutout loss to the Patriots in 2022 when they were 0-for-6.

Defensively, the Lions had a solid game plan for the Eagles' offensive style, and Kelvin Sheppard did a solid job of keeping the Eagles in third-and-long situations.

However, the story of the loss belongs to the fact that the offense could never get in a rhythm and was unable to convert on any of their fourth-down opportunities.

Detroit now stands on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. The team still has plenty of opportunities to boost their chances at both the division and NFC playoff seeding across their final seven games, but there needs to be urgency as they find themselves at a crossroads.