Lions’ 4th-down flops, 3rd-down failures doom them in 16-9 loss in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Jared Goff tried to find the positives for the Lions – such as, a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams – that seemingly meant little in a loss when an offense takes an oh-fer on fourth downs.

Goff and the Lions fizzled on fourth.

Try, 0 for 5.

“The fourth downs were the whole thing,” Goff said. “I don’t know what we were on third down.”

Don’t look at the stat sheet, Jared.

Try, 3 for 13 on third downs.

The Lions failed time after time to get a first down that could have sustained a drive or led to a score against an Eagles defense that turned in a masterpiece. Goff threw for only one touchdown and the failures on fourth doomed the Lions in a 16-9 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday night.

“You’d like to think if we got a fourth down or two, it changes the game,” Goff said.

The Eagles pressured Goff into his worst game of the season, only a week after he threw for 320 yards and three TDs in win at Washington. He was just 14 of 37 passing for 255 yards – with one touchdown and one interception – and his 37.8 completion percentage was the worst of his 10-year career. He entered Sunday completing a league-high 74% of his passes.

Goff was 7 of 25 passing in the second half, the 28% on completions were the lowest in a second half for any quarterback with at least 20-plus attempts since Houston’s Brian Hoyer in 2015 (26.1%).

True, the Lions played without tight end Sam LaPorta – placed on the injured list ahead of the game with a back injury – yet even he couldn’t have bumped those brutal third- and fourth-down conversations to a competitive number.

The Lions entered averaging 31.4 points per game but scored only one touchdown against the Eagles.

Most of the offensive struggles could be pinned on the Eagles.

Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis combined for five batted passes. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips had five tackles, a sack and four QB pressures.

Lions coach Dan Campbell replaced offensive coordinator John Morton as the play-caller last week. Campbell wasn’t ready to say it was a permanent move, although he called plays again against the Eagles.

Campbell wasn’t much of an improvement.

‘I didn’t help those guys,” Campbell said. “I hate that.”

The Lions’ notable failure came late in the third quarter while trailing 13-6 after Jared Goff connected with Jahmyr Gibbs for a 42-yard gain that took the ball to the Eagles 22. The Lions went on to get a first-and-goal at the 8, but they turned the ball over on downs.

“We get in the red zone, we have to score a touchdown,” Campbell said. “We can’t get away with not scoring there.”

Gibbs finished with 107 yards receiving.

Goff hit Williams for a 40-yard score that tied the game at 6-all late in the second quarter. Williams celebrated by jumping onto the goal post padding and bear-hugging the upright, which earned him a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On a blustery night in Philly, those lost yards cost the Lions when Jake Bates was wide right on the 48-yard extra point. Bates did kick a 54-yard field goal with 1:58 left.

“That’s not going to be the norm, what happened today,” Campbell said of overall offensive inefficiency. “I don’t believe that’s going to be here to stay.”

The Lions once failed to convert any of six fourth-down attempts in a 2022 game against Washington, the most failed attempts in any NFL game since at least 1991.

The Lions’ offense cost them a win in Philadelphia and — at least temporarily – a spot in the NFC playoff standings. The Super Bowl champion Eagles stand atop the NFC at 8-2 and the 49ers (7-4) hold the final playoff spot. The Lions host the New York Giants on Sunday.

“I believe this is the best thing for us,” Campbell said. “We’re going to learn from this. We’re going to get better. We’re going to adjust. We’ll be hitting our stride when other teams are going to hit their adversity.”