Rout of Eagles gives Detroit another Thanksgiving victory

The Detroit Lions’ perennial All-Pro wide receiver was shut out on the first three drives and quarterback Matthew Stafford was determined to change that. His fast paced offense took the NCAA by storm, and became an instant success in the NFL.

As his Philadelphia Eagles were getting obliterated by the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, the look on Chip Kelly’s face said it all. After a poor opening drive, the Lions came out swinging from there and for once in 2015, they looked like the team that many pundits thought they would be in the offseason. “This is a young man who doesn’t have almost the football experience that everyone else in the league has, so we’re just scratching the surface of what he can do”.

Stafford completed 27 of 38 passes for 337 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdowns.

And barring Jones or Brown averaging over 140 yards per game the rest of the season, Johnson is going to hold his record for at least one more year.

Stafford threw touchdowns of 8 yards to Theo Riddick, 2 yards to Golden Tate and 25 yards to Johnson in the first half.

Take the running back situation.

He left the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in London with a sprained ankle, and has been limited in practice in recent weeks. “Not just for me, but my teammates, that we be productive”. The Lions will release their first injury report on Sunday, as they get ready for Green Bay next Thursday night. “That’s what you’re seeing now”.

What the Lions did Thursday to the was the Stafford-to-Johnson of old, when they were one of the most explosive passing combinations in football. They fired their general manager and team president and have won three in a row since. From a protection standpoint, I think the same thing is true as well even though one sack is too many. “And when you win convincingly like we did today, that makes it extra sweet”.

The Lions (4-7) will play the Packers on Thursday night at Ford Field.

The Eagles had their moment when Brent Celek knotted the score by reaching the ball over the goal line while draped with linebacker Stephen Tulloch on a two-yard pass from Sanchez. “Not just for me, but my teammates, that we be productive and as long as we’re on the field, we’re going to surpass that mark”. He has been the Lions’ best defensive player this season.

The Eagles were dominated from start to finish, except for a second quarter play by Mark Sanchez that briefly tied the score at 7-7.

Coach Jim Caldwell said he’s never heard Johnson, the team’s best player, complain about anything. I am not pointing fingers at anybody, and I do not think that anybody points fingers at anybody [else]. Calvin Johnson caught three TD passes and the Lions’ running backs had eight receptions for 131 yards. He was in the game replacing Nolan Carroll, who left the game with a broken ankle.

“Ain’t but a handful of us left from the Andy Reid Era”, Peters said.

His ball security is noticeably better with zero fumbles in the last five games, after he had four in the first six games. He made a diving attempt to tackle Eagles tight end Trey Burton on a 43-yard pass play. It was Stephen Tulloch who lost Burton and allowed the catch. He now has 20 touchdown passes for the season. It was pretty clear during Philly’s game against Tampa Bay that something was off. The team just looked like they were “out” before they were ever “in”.

It’s hard to believe that not even two weeks ago, the Eagles had a 16-3 lead in the first quarter over the Miami Dolphins, 12 yards away from scoring again for a 23-3 lead and soon after, a 5-4 record. We have to go and play.