The Philadelphia Eagles will be out to prove a point against the Lions following their humiliating loss to the Bucs. But it won’t be easy, the Lions are loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball and there will be some big matchups to keep an eye on. Here are the biggest three.
Byron Maxwell vs Calvin Johnson Jr
We have spoken about this already but the one attribute that Maxwell lacks could well be Megatron’s strongest…toughness. Last week, Maxwell struggled against the 6″5 Mike Evans..he now faces a 6″5 beast in the way of Calvin Johnson. However, after being listed as questionable with a possible ankle injury..it’s down to Maxwell to take full advantage of that.
Johnson hasn’t caught a touchdown since week 7 and with Maxwell not allowing any scores between weeks 4-10, a big showing here would force Stafford to look at some more unreliable options.
Jordan Matthews vs Glover Quin
Strangely, Jordan Matthews saw the lowest number of targets he has all season in the loss against the Bucs. That will need to change against the Lions as Chip would have presumably learned from his mistakes and planned a much more balanced strategy. If Matthews does see increased targets however, there’s a force to be reckoned with lurking in the distance.
Bearing in mind that the Eagles lead the NFL in dropped passes, Quinn has 2 interceptions including a pick six, 3 passes deflected and over 50 tackles. He’s been the glue keeping the Lions secondary together and is bound to cause problems for the man who’s charging at him most..who is more than likely going to be Jordan Matthews.
Chip Kelly vs the Eagles
It hasn’t been a good week of PR for the Eagles. From Lane Johnson calling out the fans before explaining what he meant to anonymous players calling out the effort of DeMarco Murray. From players refusing to talk to the press to Adam Schefter’s radio appearance that sent the world into meltdown..the Eagles have had a torrid time with all signs pointing to the house of Chip Kelly crumbling before him.
The real challenge this week will be the Eagles against themselves. But more importantly, if the team can group together and learn to play for eachother regardless of emotions towards their coach. IF the speculation is true and the locker room is breaking, Chip has to glue it together. If he doesn’t, we could be in for a very long thanksgiving afternoon.
