The Eagles came into Ford Field last season and rushed for four touchdowns and over 200 yards, a good chunk of those from QB Jalen Hurts. They returned for the season opener last Sunday and rushed for four touchdowns and over 200 yards, a good chunk of those from QB Jalen Hurts.
Spot the trend?
The difference is that Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn liked what he saw in round two -- even if he hated the 38-35 loss.
"As far as the game is concerned, disappointed. Disappointed, but highly encouraged," Glenn said Thursday. "I say that because when you watch the tape, you see a group of men that came out very excited, probably overly excited and some of their responsibilities kind of went out the window, a lot of our young guys, even some of our vets. I think going into the second game, those jitters will be more calm and we’ll get back to our responsibility and just doing our job, and it pops on the tape.
"But you have to appreciate the want-to. Sometimes that want-to can take you out of doing what you’re supposed to do and you can get a little ahead of yourself, but I’m serious about it: highly encouraged by some of the things that happened in that game."
Glenn and the Lions adjusted their defense in the offseason to get more aggressive up front. They went after Hurts from the jump in Week 1. Several times, especially in the first half, the Lions broke through Philadelphia's strong offensive line and had Hurts in their grasp. And almost every time, the fleet-footed quarterback broke free -- like when rookie Aidan Hutchinson over-pursued on one of the first snaps of the game and Hurts slid up field for a 10-yard gain.
Glenn said Hutchinson should have simply kept Hurts in front of him on a zone-read play.
"The thing is, man, when you get that guy going and excited, he’s ready to go. Again, that was first-game jitters," said Glenn. "He saw an opening and said, 'I’m going to go make the play.' That’s who Aidan is and that’s one of the things we like about him. (Moving forward), I think you will see him way more calm and you’ll see him do the things Aidan has done all through camp. I’m not worried about that one player, not one bit."
In the first quarter alone, Hurts scrambled for 16 yards on third and 15 and for 10 yards on third and 6. He finished with 71 yards and a walk-in touchdown on seven carries, escaping several potential sacks in the process. Eagles center Jason Kelce said this week that the Lions "probably beat us" if not for Hurts and his "ability to go offbeat" in the face of pressure.
"When you go back and watch the tape as far as the run game is concerned, a lot of it was these third-down runs where we had Jalen Hurts corralled and he made a move and made guys miss," said Glenn. "You saw the one on (John) Cominsky, you saw the one on Aidan (Hutchinson), you saw the one where he almost got away on Juju Hughes. ...
"Those are the things we gotta be better at and clean up. And the guys when they saw it are like, 'Ahh, I just gotta wrap up and make a play.' That’s why I’m encouraged, because as far as being where you’re supposed to be, they were there. It’s just about finishing plays. That’s what we have to be able to do, this game is about finishing."
If the Lions can mount similar pressure in Week 2 against Washington, the results should change against a less mobile quarterback in Carson Wentz. That's the thinking, anyway.
We'll see if the results bear it out.
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