Without a doubt, the outcome of the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was decided on fourth down plays. The Lions went for it on fourth down five times, and they failed all five times.
For this article, I have little interest in debating the merits of each decision—that discussion has already been exhausted. Instead, let’s just look at what went wrong for the Lions on each play, and whether the play call or execution was to blame. If execution, were there any commonalities in each play?
Second quarter — 3-0 Eagles — Fourth-and-1 from own 48-yard line
The Lions attempted to run Jahmyr Gibbs into the teeth of the defense, and upon first viewing, it looked like the Lions actually got enough push. Graham Glasgow and Trystan Colon do a good job with Eagles DT Jalen Carter on the right side of the line—although Glasgow trips over Colon while trying to get to the second level. That appears to give Gibbs enough room to easily pick up a yard.
But coming from the edge, veteran Brandon Graham stunts toward the interior and with a running start, he blows back an unsuspecting Kayode Awosika into the designed gap, and Gibbs runs right into Awosika’s backside. Yes, Moro Ojomo—who splits Taylor Decker and Amon-Ra St. Brown—makes the tackle on the play, but Gibbs would’ve been beyond Ojomo’s reach (or at least fallen forward) had he not run into his own player:
Second quarter — 3-0 Eagles — Fourth-and-2 from own 43-yard line (failed fake punt)
Coach Dan Campbell insists they got the look they wanted for a fake punt, despite the fact that the Eagles kept their defense out there. And in his defense, they certainly had a numbers advantage.
But this play was completely blown up by Moro Ojomo, who got lower than Trevor Nowaske (#53, left guard) and forced Grant Stuard to leave his feet. Otherwise, the play had a shot, but it’s also worth noting that all of the Eagles defense immediately collapsed onto the play. They were not fooled whatsoever.
Third quarter — 13-6 Eagles — Fourth-and-5 from Eagles’ 32-yard line
Generally speaking, this one is just on Jared Goff. Jameson Williams does a good job winning his route at the top of the inside break, despite the fact that his man-defender starts with inside leverage.
Goff is mostly working from a clean pocket—although Jalen Carter is coming quick after Ojomo’s inside move acts as a pick on Graham Glasgow. The ball is just delivered low. You’d like to see Williams catch it anyways—it literally goes through his hands—but that’s a tough adjustment with the ball coming hot and right out of his break.
Third quarter — 13-6 Eagles — Fourth-and-goal from Eagles’ 3-yard line
Assuming Brock Wright was the top read here, this was a very well designed play, where three different routes—Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, and Amon-Ra St. Brown—all have the defense moving to the left with their backs turned to the open space on the right. St. Brown runs a whip route back to the right, but due to contact, he appears to have been actually driven out the back of the end zone, making him an ineligible receiver.
But it all creates WIDE open space for Wright to score an easy touchdown.
Unfortunately, a combination of Goff being locked on St. Brown and poor offensive line play meant Wright never got his opportunity. Eagles defensive end Jaelan Phillips cleanly beat Penei Sewell on the edge with a chop move, and defensive tackle Jordan Davis ripped his way past Kayode Awosika, forcing Goff to deliver this ball with two defenders in his face.
Fourth quarter — 13-6 Eagles — Fourth-and-3 from Eagles’ 45-yard line
This is just a clear miscommunication between Goff and St. Brown. It appeared Goff expected St. Brown to sit on his route, while St. Brown cut to the outside.
Who was right? It’s hard to say without knowing the keys for St. Brown’s option, but it is worth noting the Eagles were crowding the middle of the field on the play.
Goff’s best option was probably to hit David Montgomery leaking to his left from the backfield, but there was zero time for him to get to his next read after Jalyx Hunt bull-rushed Taylor Decker and Ojomo split Glasgow and Ratledge.
Overall, there’s plenty of blame to go around, from the offensive line getting overwhelmed—particularly against Ojomo—to Jared Goff’s inaccuracies to some mistakes from the receivers. The only commonality between all five plays is that execution was the biggest factor. All five plays—maybe save the punt fake—had legitimate chances for success, but the players just didn’t operate the play cleanly enough. And the Eagles’ defensive front certainly played a big factor in that.
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