The NFL regular season is officially here, as the Philadelphia Eagles will face the Detroit Lions inside Ford Field. This article will compare both teams at every position and see which one has the advantage in this matchup.
QB: Advantage Eagles
There are plenty of question marks for Hurts entering the season, but a poll of football fans across the country would likely show Hurts is better than Goff at this point in their careers.
RB: Advantage Eagles
D'Andre Swift is likely a better running back than Miles Sanders, but as a whole unit the Eagles running backs are better than the Lions, especially since the Birds led the NFL in rushing yards last year.
WR: Advantage Eagles
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are set to be one of the top receiver tandems in the NFL this season. Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark are upgrades over previous Lions tandems, but the Eagles still have the advantage in this matchup.
TE: Advantage Eagles
Goedert is finally the #1 tight end for the Birds and is set to establish himself as one of the top tight ends in the league. Hockinson has been underwhelming so far in his career but overall is in the top half of tight ends in the league. Goedert has the advantage this week.
OL: Advantage Eagles
The Eagles o-line is the NFL standard set this year. They helped create the best rushing attack last year, and their depth got even better this offseason. The Lions have some health concerns already on their o-line heading into Week 1.
Pash Rushers (DE/OLB): Advantage Eagles
The Birds pass rush was a big disappointment last year. They have a healthy Brandon Graham this year plus added Haason Reddick. The addition of Jordan Davis will also help create more 1-on-1s for the outside rushers, so it's fair to say expectations are high this year for this group. The Lions added the highly touted Aidan Hutchinson and have veteran Michael Brockers, but outside of them they have a few unknowns.
LBs: Advantage Eagles
For the past decade, the linebackers have been the biggest downfall of the Birds defense. Howie Roseman finally addressed the position this offseason, as Kyzir White and Naboke Dean are expected to be big contributors this year. T.J. Edwards is also ready to take over as the voice of the defense since he will have the coach's voice in his helmet.
DBs: Advantage Eagles
The combination of Darius Slay and James Bradberry are expected to be the best cornerback duo since the Lito Sheppard/Sheldon Brown duo of the early 2000s.
STs: Advantage Eagles
Jake Elliott is coming off a Pro Bowl season, Rick Lovato was unblemished last year, and Arryn Siposs looked strong in the final preseason game. There are question marks in the return game though as Quez Watkins is likely to be the main returner this year. Lions returner Kalif Raymond has the advantage over Watkins, but overall the Eagles unit should be better than the Lions.
Closing Comments
The Eagles clearly have the better team on paper, which obviously makes this game a possible "trap game", but as long as the Birds don't overthink their gameplan and don't panic if something doesn't go right, they should be the better team on Sunday.
