The Lions defense proved it can show up in big games and stop the tush push

What a waste. The Detroit Lions' defense had one of its best performances all season, only for the offense to be unable to take advantage.

For as bad as the Lions' offense was on Sunday's 16-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Eagles' offense matched it almost stride for stride. Quarterback Jalen Hurts, against the "Legion of Whom" secondary, completed just 50% of his passes for 135 yards and zero touchdown passes. It shows that his now 11-0 record against NFC North opponents as a starter deserves some additional context.

Eagles' wide receivers were shut down, with none eclipsing 50 receiving yards. That didn't stop Eagles faithful from erupting into cheers whenever A.J. Brown caught a pass and jeers when Hurts incompleted a pass targeting him. The Eagles' lone play over 20 yards came from a Jahan Dotson 34-yard reception, while DeVonta Smith could only haul in one reception on five targets for eight yards.

It wasn't a flawless effort. Hurts was only sacked once, and the Eagles were still able to effectively run the ball. Saquon Barkley rushed for 83 yards, his third-highest total on the season. The Lions did manage to keep him out of the endzone. Beyond Barkley, Tank Bigsby added 34 yards, and Hurts an additional 31 for 148 total rushing yards.

The Lions' defense still held strong on third and fourth down. The Eagles went 4-15 on third downs and 0-1 on fourth downs. This is despite missing a handful of Week 1 starters, including both starting cornerbacks in D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold and All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph.

The Eagles were unable to take advantage of the Lions' offensive miscues. They managed three points off Jared Goff's first drive interception. When the Lions went 0-5 on fourth down, the Eagles could only muster three points off of those. Overall, the Eagles were held to three points during the entire second half. The problem was that the Lions' offense could only manage three points of their own. And those three points came off of an Eagles' turnover on downs in their own territory after a failed "tush push."

The Lions defense handled the Eagles' tush push well

As with any Eagles game, talk will surround their infamous tush push. How overpowered it may be, or the officiating crew's reluctance to flag them for false starts. During the offseason, when the tush push was up for being banned, head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions organization were on the Eagles' side, advocating for it to remain. They were the only team to do so while scheduled to play the Eagles this season.

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With a tighter microscope than usual for the tush push because of the Lions' support, the Lions' defense rose to the occasion. The Eagles lined up for a tush push five times. On one of them, the Eagles were called for a false start, although it could've been argued as a neutral zone infraction on the Lions. The Eagles did score their lone TD on a tush push, but the Lions came up with stops the other three times, including a key fourth down to keep the game alive.

What made the Lions effective against the tush push? Analyst Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com pointed out on X two unique things the Lions did. The first was sending a linebacker on the edge in hopes of pulling Hurts from behind. The other was tush pushing their own defenders.

It's too soon to call the Lions' tush push strategy a blueprint for other teams. Not every team is as talented on the defensive line as the Lions, and the Eagles were dealing with injuries on the offensive line. The Eagles will also have an opportunity to study film and adapt. At the same time, Kelvin Sheppard deserves his flowers for how his defense performed on Sunday.

There's still plenty of football to go this season, with two games coming next week, thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday. As the Lions' offense continues to try to work out their issues, Sheppard's defense has earned fans' trust, and they'll only get better once players like Reed and Joseph return. They proved on Sunday that they can lead this team. They just need the offense not to be as bad as they were on Sunday.