Eagles rely on defense to beat Lions for 4th straight win

Jalen Hurts scored the go-ahead "tush push" touchdown just before halftime and the Philadelphia Eagles turned in another elite defensive effort in a 16-9 win against the visiting Detroit Lions on Sunday night.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for the NFC East-leading Eagles (8-2), who improved to 11-0 against the NFC North, including playoffs, since Nick Sirianni became their coach in 2021. Philadelphia began the week with a 10-7 win at Green Bay on Monday night.

Hurts passed for 135 yards and rushed for 31. A.J. Brown had a season-high seven catches for 49 yards. Jake Elliott made three field goals, including a 49-yarder that put the Eagles up 16-6 with 10:15 left in the game.

The Lions (6-4) outgained the Eagles 317-272 but repeatedly failed to convert when it mattered, finishing 0-for-5 on fourth downs.

Detroit turned it over on downs on three straight drives in the scoreless third quarter. The Lions had first-and-goal at the 8 midway through the period and came away empty.

Jared Goff completed just 14 of 37 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His 37.8 completion percentage was the worst of his career. Jahmyr Gibbs had his first career 100-yard receiving game with 107 yards on five catches.

The Eagles failed on their own aggressive fourth-down attempt at their 29-yard line with three minutes left. That led to Jake Bates' 54-yard field goal in windy conditions that made it 16-9 with 1:58 to play.

A defensive pass interference penalty against Rock Ya-Sin with 1:47 left enabled Philadelphia to run out the clock for their 14th win in their last 15 home games.

Goff's third pass of the night was deflected by Jordan Davis and intercepted by Cooper DeJean, setting up the Eagles at the Lions' 11-yard line. Philadelphia settled for Elliott's 27-yard field goal, the only points of the first quarter.

Detroit attempted a fake punt in the second quarter that didn't fool the Eagles, who tacked on a 34-yard Elliott field goal to make it 6-0.

The Lions got on the board on Goff's 40-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams, who drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for body-hugging the goalpost. Bates missed the long extra point wide right to keep the score at 6-6.

The Eagles took a 13-6 lead into halftime on Hurts' 1-yard TD with 16 seconds left.

--Field Level Media