DETROIT — As the Eagles, in single file, trudged through a tunnel from the Ford Field turf into the stadium's visitors' locker room, Brandon Graham smiled that thousand-lumen smile of his, and Miles Sanders kept saying, "Big dubs, big dubs," repeating it loud enough for anyone nearby to hear, as if he were trying to remind everyone of the final score. Sure, a big W for the Eagles over the Lions, 38-35. Big to win on the road. Big to start 1-0. But the truer evaluation came from a media member particularly close to the team, who nuzzled up to Graham and told him: "They're going to kill you tomorrow."
A.J. Brown and the Eagles win, 38-35, in a season-opening shootout with the Detroit Lions
Maybe just a good scolding will suffice. Maybe just for now. The nicest thing that anyone can say about defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and the unit he supervises, based on what happened here Sunday, is that it was Week 1, and Week 1 in the NFL can be nutty and unpredictable, and perhaps those factors explain why the Lions gashed the Eagles for 181 rushing yards. Why they averaged 6 1/2 yards per rush. Why they were 9-of-14 on third down. Why the Eagles sacked Jared Goff just once — on a play in which Goff happened to drop the snap. Why Goff threw for 215 yards but could have thrown for 100 more, had the Lions not dropped three of his passes and had he not missed several open receivers. Maybe. Perhaps.
