The low point of one of the lowest seasons in Detroit Lions history came against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021. The Eagles came into Ford Field on Halloween and buried the Lions 44-6 in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate.
The Lions get a chance to exact some revenge in Week 1 this year. The Eagles make a return visit to Detroit. For the leaders on the Lions team like defensive end Charles Harris, it’s an opportunity to show how different this year’s team is from a year ago.
That nightmare of a game film from Week 8 a year ago is a motivating factor for Harris.
“Watching that (game) film, it’s hard to watch,” Harris admitted this week. “It really is. But with that, you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. Understand we’re in a different scheme, different techniques. We’re a lot better team this year. With that, we have hope and confidence that we’ll get the job done this year.”
The new scheme is a more aggressive, proactive style of defense engineered by coordinator Aaron Glenn. The linemen are shooting gaps instead of managing them, with the linebackers coming more downhill to try and snuff out the run before the ball gets to the second level.
The Eagles are a tough foe to field test the concepts, of course. Philadelphia ran for 236 yards and four touchdowns in Detroit in 2021, and now they’ve added a legit No. 1 wideout in A.J. Brown to help balance the threat. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts ran for 103 yards on nine carries in the last meeting. Harris knows he’s a challenge.
“We know there’s going to be some kinks there,” Harris said. “Especially against a mobile quarterback. We haven’t seen a lot of that action in (training) camp and stuff. But we’re doing a great job in terms of clarity — it’s time to focus on football. Guys knowing their roles, knowing their job. Our interior, guys on the outside, we’re a lot more confident and sound within our techniques.”
The run defense did markedly improve over the course of the preseason. After Atlanta gashed the Lions for 168 yards on 29 carries in the exhibition opener, Detroit’s defense tightened up the ship in Indianapolis (18 carries for 30 yards) and Pittsburgh (20 carries for 57 yards). They’ll need that kind of positionally responsible, suffocating effort against the Eagles on Sunday.
