Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis (90) blocks a pass from quarterback Jared Goff (16) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
The Philadelphia Eagles Vic Fangio defeated the Detroit Lions by a final score of 16-9 on Sunday Night Football.
No, really, it was basically all Vic Fangio.
On a windy night at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles defense knocked the Lions out of the top spot in the NFC North just six days after doing the same to the Green Bay Packers. Here are a few takeaways from Sunday's win:
Jared Goff will likely see Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in his nightmares for the foreseeable future.
The Eagles defense as a whole generated 10 passes defensed; Jordan Davis accounted for three of them, and Jalen Carter added two. Davis' first batted ball led to this Cooper DeJean interception:
Cooper DeJean finally nabs his first (regular season) INT🦅pic.twitter.com/EXYfr4ZKqd
The Birds technically only sacked Goff twice, including Jaelan Phillips' first sack as an Eagle:
Jaelan Phillips picked up right where he left off last week💪 pic.twitter.com/WUV3IfyVED
Dan Campbell's questionable play calling did Goff no favors. But the D-line was in Goff's face all night, wreaking havoc and forcing incompletions left and right. The two sacks and seven quarterback hits absolutely don't tell the full story.
The Eagles held the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL to just 9 points, a far cry from their previous average of 31.4 points per game. They held strong and forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs five times. The defense is the true story of this game.
That being said...
A.J. Brown has spent the last few months complaining on social media (and on Twitch streams) about his lack of targets in Kevin Patullo's offensive scheme. He made it clear he was upset. In fact, Brown made his displeasure so clear that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had to meet with him during Thursday's practice. They discussed his social media habits, and Brown reportedly promised Lurie he would tone it down.
Well, Brown certainly got his targets Sunday night. His first catch came on the Eagles' first drive of the game; he converted a third down, which earned thunderous applause from the Linc.
Brown led the team in targets by a wide margin. Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith were runners-up with five targets each; Brown received 11. He caught seven of those targets for 49 yards.
In the third quarter, on a 3rd & 15 in what was then a one-score game, Jalen Hurts targeted Brown down the left sideline. Brown had a one-on-one matchup with Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, and he just... stopped running. He was jogging before the ball even reached him.
Yes, Hurts overthrew the ball. He was visibly off-target all night, although the wind certainly didn't help matters.
But it's not a good look for Brown to make all that noise on social media, and then not even try to run the route. He can't complain about a lack of targets but then give up when he does get targeted.
Overall, it was not a great night for Brown. He got his targets, but he didn't make the most out of them, and his lack of effort negatively impacted the Eagles' already-stalling offense.
It happened all night. On the Eagles' very first drive, a holding penalty on Lane Johnson set the Eagles back to 1st & 20 and stalled the momentum from Brown's aforementioned third down conversion. They couldn't convert and had to punt.
During the Birds' first drive of the third quarter, Tyler Steen was called for a false start before a Tush Push play. Steen was moving a Lions defender's hand out of the neutral zone, which, as the NBC broadcast team noted, should've been a penalty on the Lions:
Tyler Steen moved a Lions defender’s hand out of the neutral zone… and somehow HE was penalized for a false start.
(via @Rate_the_Refs)pic.twitter.com/7tk3ldPlT5
Alas, 3rd & 1 became 3rd & 5, and the Eagles had to punt again. (They punted seven times during the game.)
Jordan Mailata's holding penalty wiped out a Saquon Barkley first down. Darius Cooper false started before the Eagles could run the Tush Push on 4th & inches. Fred Johnson false started on 3rd & 3 on the last drive. It went on and on. The Eagles' inopportune penalties at the worst times ended drives left and right. By the time the clock hit zeroes, the Birds had committed a whopping nine penalties for 78 yards.
It's Week 11. Those penalties should, in theory, be cleaned up by now, or at least in the process of improving. But the Eagles are averaging seven penalties per game. They have to do better.
The Eagles head down to Jerry World to face the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday at 4:25 p.m. The Cowboys are currently 3-5-1, and they will play the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football before facing the Birds. Although their record is wholly uninspiring, the Cowboys are still technically in second place in the NFC East, and divisional games are never easy. Hopefully Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens will be game-ready after suffering injuries during Sunday's victory.
