PHILADELPHIA – Road wins in the NFL are tough to come by, and the Lions will take them however they can.
Leading 27-24 with 1:53 left in the game, the Lions were trying to extend their lead to six with a 46-yard Matt Prater field goal, but that attempt was blocked. The Eagles eventually got the ball at the 50-yard line needing a field goal to tie or a touchdown to take the lead.
It was up to Detroit's defense to preserve a win late. For the second straight week, they made the key plays down the stretch and preserved Detroit's 27-24 win Sunday.
Detroit's defense stepped up and forced the Eagles to 4th and 15 with 49 seconds left. When Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz' deep pass to wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside hit the ground, it took just two Matthew Stafford kneel downs for the Lions to remain undefeated on the year at 2-0-1.
Detroit's offense got touchdowns from running back Kerryon Johnson (1) and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (12). Detroit's defense forced two turnovers resulting in two Matt Prater field goals, and Jamal Agnew returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
QB comparison: Stafford completed 18 of his 32 passes for 201 yards with the one touchdown to Jones and no interceptions for a passer rating of 85.5.
Wentz finished 10-of-36 passing for 259 yards and two touchdowns for a 94.6 passer rating.
Redemption moment: Agnew, an All-Pro return man in 2017, was benched last week in the Chargers game after ball security issues and overall ineffectiveness the first two weeks.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia said this week he still has confidence in Agnew, despite the benching.
Agnew was back to return the first kickoff for the Lions. He returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. In doing so, Agnew became the fourth player in Lions history with at least two punt return touchdowns and one kickoff return touchdown, joining Lem Barney, Mel Gray and Eddie Drummond.
Agnew also had a 24-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.
Fumble drill: The Lions forced two fumbles in the game (linebacker Jarrad Davis & defensive end Romeo Okwara) and recovered two (defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson & cornerback Darius Slay). Philadelphia fumbled three times total and was lucky to recover the first one in the game by running back Miles Sanders.
The Lions generated just 14 turnovers last year. They have five through their first three games this year.
Injury report: Cornerback Darius Slay left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
Slay was injured attempting to reach down and intercept a Wentz pass at his shoe strings down the left sideline. Slay wasn't able to corral the interception and immediately came up limping. He eventually went back into the locker room and did not return to the game.
Defensive tackle Mike Daniels left the game in the first quarter with a foot injury and did not return. The Lions entered the game already down a defensive lineman with Da'Shawn Hand inactive for a third straight contest with an elbow injury.
