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Week 3 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 21, Philadelphia Eagles 56
What you need to know
| Detroit Lions |
QB Jon Kitna brought the number one passing offense into this game, but even a franchise high 446 passing yards was not enough to overcome a dominant performance by the Eagles' offense. Detroit found itself down by a lot early in the game, and they were forced to pass early and often. Kitna attempted 46 passes in the game and the blitz happy Eagles defense were able to sack him eight times and force three turnovers. He did have passing touchdowns of 11 and 91 yards in the game.
WR Roy Williams had a great performance as he took advantage of an Eagles' secondary that was without S Brian Dawkins and CB Lito Sheppard. He made several big plays in the first half to keep the Lions close for awhile. His biggest play of the game came in the second quarter on a quick slant that Williams was able to get behind the secondary and out run the defenders on a 91 yard touchdown pass. He would finish the game with nine receptions for 204 yards receiving.
WR Shaun McDonald had another nice game with five receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown. He was one of QB Jon Kitna's favorite targets and had ten balls thrown in his direction. Rookie WR Calvin Johnson left the game after making a beautiful 39 yard reception between two defenders in the second quarter. He did not return and it was reported that he had a bruised lower back injury.
| Philadelphia Eagles |
After a week in which QB Donovan McNabb took a lot of heat for his play on the field and his comments off it, he came out and had one of his best games of his career as he picked apart the Lions' defense as if it was a scout team. The Eagles scored touchdowns on there first five drives of the game. McNabb went 14 for 15 for 332 yards and four touchdowns in the first half of the game and lead Philadelphia to a franchise record 42 points for one half. His favorite target was WR Kevin Curtis whom seemed to be able to get open at will against a terrible Lions defense. McNabb and Curtis hooked up for 205 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. Unlike last week, McNabb was very accurate with his throws and his receivers had no trouble getting open. One the rare occasion McNabb did have trouble finding a wide open receiver, the Eagles' offensive line gave him plenty of time sit back in the pocket and wait for someone to get open.
RB Westbrook had huge game and most of it came in the first half as he had 200 total yards and three touchdowns by the end of the second quarter. Westbrook sliced through a bad Lions defense through the air and on the ground in the first half. The only thing that slowed him down was a rib injury that occurred in the third quarter and knocked him out of the game.
It's clear that WR Kevin Curtis is becoming one of QB Donavon McNabb's favorite targets, and Curtis responded by having career game with 11 catches for 221 and three touchdowns in the game. He and the Eagle offense seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted to do against the Lions' defense in the first half. Curtis and McNabb played pass and catch most of the first half, and in the process Curtis tied an NFL record with 205 yards receiving in one half.
The Eagles wore throw-back uniforms for this game, it was the same uniform the team wore for there first game in the league (in 1933.) They were a bright canary yellow with powder blue on the shoulders and on the helmet. They may be the ugliest uniforms anyone has seen in the NFL since the advent of color television, but considering how dominant the Eagles offense played this week, they may want to wear these uniforms every week.
What you ought to know
| QB Jon Kitna, Pass: 29 - 46 - 446 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Kitna and the Lions' passing offense got off to a quick start by hitting WR Roy Williams on 54 yard completion and WR Shaun McDonald on 21 yard pass, which help set up there first touchdown. Kitna would lead his team to its second touchdown late in the second quarter on an 80 yard drive. He would hit WR Shaun McDonald for an 11 yard reception for his first touchdown pass of the game. On the Lions' next possession, Kitna would get the ball to Williams again on a quick slant for a 91 yard touchdown, as Williams got behind the secondary and simply out ran the defenders. Because the Lions defense couldn't stop the Eagles, Kitna had to throw often in the first half. He finished with great numbers going 14 for 26 for 314 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
The Lions found themselves down big early in the second half, but without Calvin Johnson, the Eagles were able to be a lot more effective in the second half in stopping the Lions' passing game. Kitna passed for another 132 yards in the second half, but was kept out of the end zone. He also had three turnovers, one interception and two fumbles, and was sacked eight times.
| RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 5 - 20 - 0, Rec: 5 - 25 - 0 (4 targets) |
Bell had two carries for a negative three yards in the first half. He only had two carries for three yards in the first half, but did add one catch for 16 yards. He had three caries for 23 yards in the second half and added another four catches for nine yards. It's important to note that RB Kevin Jones got the only goal line carry for the Lions.
| RB Kevin Jones, Rush: 3 - 5 - 1, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jones made a triumphant return to the field this week after missing the first two games of the season, by scoring on a two yard run on his very first carry of the game. That would be his only highlight of the game as he only had three carries for five yards in the game. He did not get a lot of playing time, but looked healthy in his limited action.
| RB Brian Calhoun, Rush: 2 - 13 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Calhoun had one catch for 11 yards in the game.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 9 - 204 - 1 (12 targets) |
Williams would have a big game again as the Lions had to throw the ball almost the entire game, and he was QB Jon Kitna's main target throughout the game. He caught a short sideline pass on the second series of the game and took it 54 yards down the sideline to set up Detroit's first touchdown. Had a great scoring opportunity in the second quarter on the goal line, but QB Jon Kitna threw a little short and he couldn't bring the ball in. Williams had a huge play on a quick slant where he got behind the defender and out ran the Eagles secondary for a 91 yard touchdown in the second quarter. He finished the half with big numbers hauling in five catches for 167 yards and one touchdown.
Williams' second half started off shaky as he dropped an easy catch that would have been a big gain and a first down for the Lions. He would come back and catch a 24 yard pass early in the fourth quarter, but that would be his only significant play in the half. He finish the half with four catches 37 yards in the second half as he faced a lot of double teams with WR Calvin Johnson out of the game.
| WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 5 - 43 - 0 (6 targets) |
Furrey only had one catch for five yards in the first half. He opened the second half with a 16 yard pass reception for a first down. He would catch another three passes for 22 yards and seemed to benefit from WR Calvin Johnson's absence in the second half.
| WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 5 - 76 - 1 (10 targets) |
McDonald caught a 21 yard pass up the middle of the field on the Lions' second drive and almost scored. He was tacked on the two yard line, but the play set up Detroit's first score. Later on in the half, he caught an 11 yard pass for a touchdown and made a good effort to get the ball over the goal line from the two yard line. He caught a 22 yard pass over the middle late in the second quarter for first down. He finished the half with three catches for 55 yards and one touchdown. Kitna missed him early in the fourth quarter in the end zone when he overthrew him on potential second score for McDonald. He had three catches for 21 yards in the second half.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 2 - 58 - 0 (2 targets) |
Johnson caught his first pass half way through the second quarter on short pass that he took for 19 yards and a first down. He made a great catch going up between two defenders and hauling down a 39 yard catch in the second quarter. He showed exceptional athleticism and concentration on going up to get the ball, but unfortunately he got hurt on the play on what was reported a lower back injury. He did not return to the game and finished with two receptions for 58 yards.
| PK Jason Hanson 0 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points |
He missed a 46 yard attempt in the third quarter, but he did add three extra points in the game.
| DET Rush Defense |
The Lions defense was ineffective in stopping any part of the Eagles offense, especially in the first half. They gave up a 110 rushing yards to RB Brian Westbrook in a little over two quarters of the game, and 173 total yards on the ground.
| DET Pass Defense |
The Lions pass defense played terrible, giving up four passing touchdowns to QB Donovan McNabb in the first half, and a total of 381 passing yards.
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 21 - 26 - 381 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 7 - 0 |
McNabb got off to a much better start this week by leading the team to three touchdowns in the first quarter. The first score of the offense was a four play 56 yard touchdown drive on the first series of the game. On the second drive, he took the team 77 yards for a second touchdown, culminating in another RB Brian Westbrook run. McNabb came back on the team's fourth drive of the game and hit WR Kevin Curtis on a 68 bomb down the middle of the field for there third touchdown of the game. His second touchdown pass of the half came in the second quarter as McNabb hit Curtis on perfect pass in the corner of the end zone. McNabb continued to play pass and catch with Curtis on the fifth drive of the game as he threw it to him wide open on the left side of the field for a 43 yard touchdown. It was McNabb's third touchdown of he half and it was the fifth touchdown out of five drives to open the game by the Eagles' offense. The offense's only hiccup was a fumble by McNabb in the second quarter. He came back on the next drive and led the team to its sixth touchdown of the half on a 43 pass to Westbrook. McNabb finished with amazing numbers in the first half going 14 for 15 for 332 yards and four touchdowns.
In the second half, the Eagles came out and scored again on there second drive and built up an even bigger lead. The Philadelphia offense started running the ball much more in the second half to run down the clock and keep possession of the ball. He nearly had a fifth passing touchdown late in the game to TE Matt Schobel, but he was unable to catch the ball in the end zone. The play did draw a pass interference penalty and set up another rushing touchdown. McNabb only had 49 passing yards in the second half as the game got out of hand.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 14 - 110 - 2, Rec: 5 - 111 - 1 (5 targets) |
Despite worries of a knee injury, Westbrook looked fresh and healthy as he carved up an overmatched Lions' defense. He got it going early as he scampered for a 25 yard run off the left side. It was only the second touchdown of the season scored by the Eagles. He had another run of 15 yards in the first quarter on the third drive of the game as the Eagles line opened up big holes early on in the game. He would get his second touchdown later in the drive as he got in on a five run to the left side. Westbrook had another big play in the second quarter when he took a screen pass 47 yards down the right sideline. He had a nice 17 yard trap play up the middle on a play that showed his great ability to make tacklers miss. He scored his third touchdown of the half on a short pass from McNabb he took for 43 yards and a score. Westbrook finished the half with monster numbers as he had 200 total yards and three touchdowns.
Westbrook suffered what was reported as a rib injury on the Eagles' first drive of the second half. He did not return after the injury, but the game was well in hand at that time. He added another 21 yards of total offense before leaving the game.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 7 - 43 - 1 (1 targets) |
On Buckhalter's second carry in the second quarter, he took it 24 yards off the left side of the line for his biggest play of the game. He had four carries for 34 yards in the first half. In the third quarter, he came in and punched in a touchdown from the one yard line. He played a lot more in the forth quarter as the Eagles tried to run down the clock. He finished with a respectable seven carries for 43 yards and one touchdown.
| RB Tony Hunt, Rush: 4 - 1 - 1 |
Hunt came close to a touchdown as he had a run from the Detroit four yard line to the one, but RB Correll Buckhalter came in on the next play and got the score. Hunt did get his first NFL touchdown toward the end of the game on a one yard run after a pass interference penalty.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 11 - 221 - 3 (14 targets) |
Curtis is developing into one of QB Donovan McNabb's favorite receivers and he used his exceptional speed to make several big plays in this game. He caught two passes for 27 yards on Philadelphia's first drive of the game, and helped set up a touchdown run by RB Brian Westbrook. His biggest play of the game came toward the end of the first quarter when he burned the defender on a double move and got open deep down the field. McNabb hit him a perfect strike and he scored on what was a 68 yard completion. Curtis came back in the next drive and added two more passes for 31 yards. He had a huge first quarter with six catches for 132 yards and one touchdown. Curtis was just getting started in the first half as McNabb hit on a perfectly thrown pass on a 12 yard pass to the back left corner of the end zone. Curtis then got wide open again down the left side line for a 43 yard touchdown midway through the second quarter. He finished the half with nine catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
Curtis had only two more catches for 16 yards in the second half, but the game was well out of hand and Philadelphia stopping throwing it. He and Westbrook were clearly McNabb's favorite targets and he finished with a game high 14 targets.
| WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brown caught his first pass for 19 yards and a first down in the first quarter, but it would be his only catch in the first half. He added one reception in the second half for four yards. Considering the Eagles' offensive explosion in the game, this was a bit disappointing. Brown was the odd man out in what was a huge week for his counterpart, WR Kevin Curtis.
| WR Jason Avant, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Avant caught his first pass in the third quarter on a nine yard reception for a first down. It would be his only catch in the game.
| TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (3 targets) |
Schobel got the start for TE L.J. Smith who was out with a nagging groin injury. He got his first catch on a ten yard pass in the middle of the field for a first down. It was his only catch in the first half. In the second half, he almost had a touchdown in the end zone but was unable to bring in the ball. He did draw a pass interference penalty on that play.
| PK David Akers 0 - 0 FG, 8 - 8 XP, 8 points |
Despite battling a sore quad, Akers was able to connect on eight extra points in the game. The Eagles' offense was so effective in scoring touchdowns, he did not get a field goal attempt.
| PHI Rush Defense |
The run defense looked good against the Lions, holding them to only 39 yards. Detroit got behind early in the game had to pass a lot through most of the game.
| PHI Pass Defense |
The Eagles pass defense looked shaky at times and were missing there leader in S Brian Dawkins and Pro Bowl CB Lito Sheppard, but they did force three turnovers and recorded eight sacks in the game.
