On Wednesday, he told a story about former wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson told Johnson that he’d break Rice’s record in the Week 16 game against the Falcons in 2012.
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The Lions knew that the Eagles were going to do their best to smother Johnson, so Stafford opened the game by involving what felt like every member of the Detroit offense but Megatron. “All of us got into the hole, all of us will get out of the hole”.
“I mean, it’s tough”, Peters said at his locker at Ford Field Thursday, after the Eagles lost their third straight game, 45-14, to the Lions. “I have a lot of confidence, I think that we have some really good guys”.
Standout performances from Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Ziggy Ansah powered the Lions over the Eagles in a Thanksgiving 45-14 blowout.
The Lions racked up 430 total yards (108 rushing) and Stafford was sacked twice, with one of those being a coverage sack. Running back Joique Bell added a rushing touchdown. The defense was smothering as the Eagles gained just 227 yards, and Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah posted 3.5 sacks, tying Houston’s J.J. Watt for the National Football League lead with 11.5 this season.
It was just a month ago in London when Abdullah, who had some fumbling issues early in the season, saw just one carry in a loss to Kansas City.
It’s clear that the uptempo offense can’t work if you don’t have a quarterback able to run it because the defense generally knows what’s coming. They were one of the best against the run and the linebacker group, with Jordan Hicks, was flying all over the field. “That’s what you’re seeing now”.
The Eagles tied the game on the ensuing possession when Sanchez capped an 80-yard drive with a 2-yard pass to Brent Celek early in the second quarter.
Nevertheless, Lurie gave Kelly the keys to the kingdom, and the coach started remaking the team shortly thereafter. You ask me what the biggest difference is, thats the biggest difference, I think it proves statistically it has through the beginning of time in our game, thats the No. 1 indicator, Caldwell said. “Not just for me, but my teammates, that we be productive”.
The Lions played well defensively across the board, with the Eagles not scoring their second touchdown until the score was 48-7.
“Ain’t but a handful of us left from the Andy Reid Era”, Peters said. He didn’t play much as a rookie and then the Eagles waived him in final cuts prior to this season.
Caldwell’s future has been uncertain ever since the Lions got off to a 1-7 start. Calvin Johnson had no receptions on two targets, both passes incomplete and quarterback Matt Stafford was making first downs by scrambling. Stafford delivered a nifty pass to help extending the lead to 24-7 to end the first half.
To make matters worse, the Eagles starting cornerback Nolan Carroll II broke his ankle during the Detroit game.
Detoit continued to pile on the points as Johnson held off Eric Rowe on a four-yard, back-shoulder toss from Stafford to move 31-7 ahead.
Sanchez, again standing in for the injured Sam Bradford, made a costly turnover which allowed Johnson to beat safety Malcolm Jenkins on a three-yard catch for his third score.
For all the merited consternation about the Eagles’ defense, Chip Kelly’s ineffective offense should not be overlooked as a major reason why the Eagles lost three consecutive games and are as close to the first pick as first place.
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But a missed field goal, a blocked punt, Bradford’s injury, defensive breakdowns, offensive inefficiency and so much more doomed the Eagles to a 20-19 loss to Miami.
