Lions-Eagles preview: A battle for NFC supremacy

As the top two playoff seeds in the conference in 2024, the Eagles and Lions looked to be on a collision course to face off in the NFC Championship game.

But injuries caught up to Detroit, cutting its playoff run short and robbing NFL fans of one of the season's most highly-anticipated matchups.

The circumstances are a little different this time around but the Eagles and Lions will finally square off on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) in South Philly.

It's a tight race for NFC supremacy right now. The Eagles (7-2) are currently ranked atop the conference but have a number of teams on their heels, including the 6-3 Lions.

Philadelphia is currently the favorite to make the conference championship (40.7%) per ESPN's Football Power Index. Detroit (23.9% conference), however, is right behind the Eagles and could gain the upper hand in the race with a win.

Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson sees Sunday's game in Philadelphia as a "must win" for Detroit.

The Eagles are the only NFC team that the Lions haven't defeated under head coach Dan Campbell since 2021, and he's warned the team about what to expect from the Eagles fans on the road, which is expected to be a rowdy setting.

"We've had this one our calendar. We've been looking at this one on our calendar for a long time, so, coaches are gonna have us ready," Hutchinson said after Wednesday's practice. "We're gonna be ready for this game and we really see this as a must win."

Philadelphia defeated Detroit 38-35 in Week 1 of the 2022 season and 44-6 in Week 8 of the 2021 season in their last two matchups. The Lions are looking to change that.

"Ultimately, where we see ourselves as a team, every year the standard is to battle for that No. 1 seed and they're one of those teams that we're gonna battle with," Hutchinson said. "That's why it's a must win in my eyes and it's gonna set us up really good for this last stretch of the season."

In other words, this is a pretty massive game.

ESPN's Lions reporter Eric Woodyard and Eagles reporter Tim McManus break it down:

Signature win

Lions: Week 3 at the Baltimore Ravens. The Lions put on a show on Monday Night Football, securing their first-ever victory at Baltimore. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown all reached the end zone in the 38-30 win while the defense sacked Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson a career-high seven times.

Eagles: They've beaten a number of quality teams already, including the Chiefs, Bucs, and Packers on Monday night. Their 33-26 win over the Rams Week 3 stands out, though. They blocked a pair of field goal attempts, including one by defensive tackle Jordan Davis that he returned for a touchdown at the buzzer, that showed their win-by-any-means mentality.

QB check-in

Lions: In his 10^th season, veteran QB Jared Goff continues to shine with 20 passing touchdowns through nine games. He has thrown a touchdown in 15 straight games and has 44 career games of 300+ passing yards, which ties Dan Marino and Drew Brees for the third-most by any NFL quarterback who's played 10 or more seasons. Goff helped the Lions put up a season-high 546 total yards in Sunday's 44-22 win at Washington. Head coach Dan Campbell said afterward he feels Goff is playing his best football at the moment: "I think he's settled into his own where he just continues to take it another notch and continues to get better."

Eagles: Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been highly efficient in some key areas. With 16 passing touchdowns to just 1 interception, he has the No. 1 TD/INT rate in the league (16) and is on track for the best completion rate of his career (68.9%). He has developed into an excellent deep-ball passer, with six touchdowns and zero interceptions on throws of 20-plus yards for a rating of 131.8. Negative plays (his 25 sacks are sixth-most in the NFL) is one area to clean up. Hurts isn't running as much this year; he is on pace for the fewest rushing attempts and rushing yards of his career since taking over as starter in 2021.

Biggest strength

Lions: Ground attack. Gibbs continues to shine and is coming off a three-touchdown performance with 15 rushes for 142 yards in addition to three receptions for 30 receiving yards. The 23-year-old Gibbs now has 41 career touchdowns, which is the fifth-most touchdowns by any player before his 24th birthday in NFL history trailing Hall of Famers in Barry Sanders (47), Randy Moss (44), Emmitt Smith (43), and Jim Brown (42).

Eagles: Their red-zone operation. They are No. 1 in red-zone offense with a touchdown rate of 81% and rank fourth defensively with a 48.2% conversion rate against. With those margins, it's no surprise the Eagles are a league-best 6-1 in one-score games. The recipe has been to limit turnovers (their four giveaways are the fewest in the league) and maximize their reps inside the 20. To this point, it's worked well.

Biggest weakness

Lions: Limit opponents' red-zone efficiency. Defensively, Detroit has allowed an opponent red-zone efficiency of 66.7%, which is tied for 25^th in the league. First-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has leaned heavily on his coaching staff to make corrections in those situations entering the back half of the season.

Eagles: Third-down offense. They rank 27^th with a conversion rate of 42.4% and have gone three-and-out on 41% of their drives, which ranks 28^th. That's confounding given all the playmakers they have on that side of the ball, including running back Saquon Barkley, and wideouts DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has often leaned conservative on third-and-long. That's helped limit the risk but has also capped their ability to extend drives.

Trend to watch

Lions: Lions head coach Dan Campbell has taken over offensive play-calling for the foreseeable future after the offense was struggling to find an identity outside of the homerun plays under first-year offensive coordinator John Morton through the first eight games. Under Campbell's direction, Detroit used a play-action on a season-high 51% of its plays during Sunday's victory in Washington, and used motion at the snap a season-high 58% of the time, per ESPN Research.

Eagles: The defensive front turned a corner against the Packers. They generated 21 pressures on QB Jordan Love, who absorbed three sacks and 8 hits and looked uncomfortable all night. The addition of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (seven pressures, two QB hits, fumble recovery) at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends. Add in defensive end Nolan Smith's return from a triceps injury and the production they're already getting inside from players like Moro Ojomo (team-high four sacks), Jalen Carter and Davis, and you have the makings of a line that can wreck games.