Eagles versus Lions: 3 Statistics that will motivate Philadelphia

As they’ve done all season, the Philadelphia Eagles and their contingent will, no doubt, take over someone else’s stadium, turning what’s supposed to be a road war into another home game for the guys in green (or in this case, white jerseys on green pants).

Philly enters this one as the favorites for the first time all season. Overall, they’ve met Jared Goff three times. They’re 2-1 in those games, and the theory is, though they’ve struggled, the Birds are hoping that Week 8 produces a win for a team that desperately needs one.

Here are three Week 8 stats that should fire the Eagles up as kickoff nears.

1. Jared Goff has produced a 1-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio over Detroit’s last three games.

If you were among the number that was confused about why the Los Angeles Rams were all in on a trade that shipped Jared Goff off and brought Matthew Stafford in, you’ve probably jumped on the train that the rest of us are traveling on now.

Stafford was a clear upgrade. After getting off to a decent start in 2021 (a 70.7% completion percentage, 801 yards passing, and five touchdowns versus two picks), Goff is beginning to look like, well, Jared Goff.

He’s completed 62.7% of his passes over the past four weeks, and he’s posted QB ratings of 64.3, 67.8, and 70.1 over the past three weeks.

2. Goff has been sacked 17 times in the first seven games of the Lions season.

The Eagles’ passive defensive strategy has been discussed ad nauseam in 2021. They’ve even been described as allowing teams to play ’11 on 9′ versus them as their safeties have been so far off of the line of scrimmage that it’s becoming exceedingly more difficult by the week to determine how Philly’s defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, expects them to make plays.

Here’s a message to Gannon. YOU’VE GOT THE GUYS! LET THEM COMPETE!

If Gannon allows his guys to be aggressive, or bring a blitz or, heck, just let them do anything, he might be shocked at how good the results wind up being. Goff has taken a beating. He’s averaging two sacks per contest, and this could be the area in which Philadelphia’s defense can get some momentum going.

3. The Eagles are actually running the ball, carrying the rock 32 times versus Las Vegas.

Not having Miles Sanders hurts. The Eagles may still be able to make a little noise on the ground in Week 8 though.

Versus the Raiders, believe it or not, they reached the first-down marker with more frequency than Vegas did (eight rushing first downs by Philly compared to seven by Las Vegas).

The Eagles still need to improve in other areas. Though they converted two of three fourth-down attempts, they only moved the chains on six of 13 third-down attempts, but seeing them run the ball was encouraging.

They attempted 32 carries for 135 rushing yards. Hopefully, they’ll build on that versus Detroit. If they do that (and if they continue to be stout versus the run on defense), Philly should be in a position to leave Motown with a much-needed victory.