Getty KhaDarel Hodge fails to make a catch against Philadelphia.
The Detroit Lions have not found a win yet this season, and Week 8 brought perhaps the ugliest blowout of the year in the Motor City against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Detroit was humbled by a 44-6 score on the field, and didn’t look good in any of the phases all afternoon. Arguably, it was one of the worst games start to finish a Lions team has played since some of the blowouts late in the 2020 season when it was clear the year was lost.
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As a result of this performance, the Lions will head into the bye week completely winless and some would say hopeless. That deserves to be the prevailing feeling, especially after the way the Lions played over the weekend. The grades reflect the effort level on the field in a big way.
Here’s a look at the ugly report card for Week 8:
Lions’ Offense Grade vs. Eagles
F
It was arguably the worst showing the Lions have had on offense all year long against the Eagles. The team only managed 222 passing yards and had their rushing attack bottled up in a big way, to the tune of just 57 yards on the ground. The Lions didn’t get points early and only scored late in garbage time near the end of the game. Worse, their offensive line was pushed around to the tune of 6 sacks on the day. It was an ugly effort that was proven by the ease with which the Eagles collected this turnover and scored:
Pretty nice homecoming for @2live_AM and @bigplay24slay, wouldn’t you agree?
Detroit’s offense went through the motions in a big way, and this proved why that was the case. The Lions flunk for not being able to muster any kind of consistent attack on the offensive side of things.
Lions’ Defense Grade vs. Eagles
F
The Lions defense hasn’t quit much this year, but in allowing Philadelphia to rush for 236 yards on the ground, it was the closest the team came to folding on the field given the way in which the defense played. Several of the rushing scores the Eagles had were easy, including this one:
Jordan Howard doing Jordan Howard things.
When a defense isn’t providing resistance, it’s often bad news on the field. The Lions had no contain, allowed Jalen Hurts to get whatever he wanted on the ground and through the air and made the Eagles look like a team that was possessed in all the right ways. The defense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain either in this ugly matchup, and as a result, they flunk.
Lions’ Special Teams Grade vs. Eagles
F
Rare for the Lions to have a dud day on special teams, but kicker Austin Seibert bricked a boot early in the game that could have given Detroit a 3-0 lead and established some early momentum. Punter Jack Fox was alright, but shouldn’t have to be depended on in a game such as this. The missed field goal set the tone early, and it was a very negative tone overall for the Lions in this game. Would the kick have mattered in changing the outcome? It’s hard to say, but it was the worst possible start for the Lions in a critical game.
Lions’ Coaches Grade vs. Eagles
F
All anyone can do is take Dan Campbell at his word, which after the game was not complementary of his own job. Campbell repeatedly took blame for not having his team prepared at all, and said he was out-coached during the game. As a result, the staff fails for not having a great game plan on either side of the ball and failing to execute overall. It was a bad day for everyone, and the tone wasn’t set well by the staff. Campbell seems to understand this given his commentary.
“I felt we got out-coached today and out-played across the board. It starts with me. It really does. You don’t play that bad, with a number of guys in areas and turn the ball over and penalties and the low energy. You don’t do that unless it comes from the top, so that’s on me. I did not set the tone or the tempo properly obviously. We didn’t give ourselves a chance,” Campbell said afterward.
The coach would have likely flunked himself, so we’ll flunk him for this matchup, too.
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