Eagles altered course of Dan Campbell era with 2021 blowout, setting table for Sunday's NFC heavyweight fight
Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have faced the Philadelphia Eagles twice during coach Dan Campbell’s tenure. Both matchups, held at Ford Field, went poorly for the home team.
In 2021, Campbell’s first season at the helm, it was a massacre. The Eagles scored the game’s first 41 points and sent the Lions into their bye week with an embarrassing 44-6 defeat.
That one was particularly memorable for two reasons. First, former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn symbolically buried the film. Far more importantly, it was the final time offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn called plays in Detroit, with Campbell taking over the duties for the next game, leading to the eventual promotion of Ben Johnson.
Johnson’s coordinating and play-calling debut came the following season, when the Lions opened the 2022 campaign against the Eagles. Again, the visitors jumped out to a big lead, but this Lions team put up a little more fight, trimming a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to three with just under four minutes remaining.
Johnson’s offense never got a chance to cap the rally. The Eagles ran out the clock, fittingly converting a fourth-and-1 with their renowned Tush Push before taking knees.
For what it’s worth, Glenn could have also justifiably buried that game tape after the Eagles ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns. The victory would be the first of 14 regular-season wins for Philadelphia, leading to a Super Bowl appearance that February.
This year, the Lions will visit the Eagles, the reigning champions, for the first time since 2019. There will be some recognizable names on the opposing sideline from the teams’ most recent matchup, but, as is typical with a three-year gap between meetings, there are more new pieces than familiar faces.