After grinding out a win in a hard-fought, defensive battle on Monday night against the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles are taking on another NFC North powerhouse in another primetime clash on Sunday. The Eagles are 2.5-point favorites (per FanDuel Sportsbook) against the Detroit Lions, but will have to execute much better offensively to keep up with Detroit's high-powered offense.
Fortunately for the Eagles, they may be getting a big break ahead of the Week 11 matchup. While the Eagles didn't have any key starters miss practice, the Lions are dealing with significant absences.
Defensive backs Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph had back-to-back non-participations on Wednesday and Thursday, putting their availability in jeopardy for Sunday. Perhaps the biggest potential absence for the Lions, however, will be star tight end Sam Laporta, who also missed Wednesday and Thursday's practices with a back injury.
Sam LaPorta's Likely Absence Is Excellent News for Eagles
LaPorta popped up on the injury report on Wednesday and stayed as a non-participant on Thursday. Friday's update will give us a better idea about his availability, but the 24-year-old is currently trending towards missing his first game of the season.
This evens out the playing field for the Eagles. Philadelphia is coming off one of its worst offensive performances of the season against the Packers, putting up only 294 yards of offense and scoring a season-low 10 points. They are currently a bottom-10 unit in the NFL in terms of total yards.
The Lions, on the other hand, just put up 546 total yards on the Commanders in Week 10 on their way to scoring 44 points. Head coach Dan Campbell recently took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton, and the decision immediately paid off as playmakers Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams enjoyed dominant performances right away. The Lions are coming into the game with a ton of positive momentum, as they have put up the second-most points of any team in the NFL so far this season.
LaPorta will be a big loss for the Lions if he were to miss the game. He is Detroit quarterback Jared Goff's safety blanket and is one of the most consistent tight ends in the league. For the season, he has 40 catches for 489 yards and is averaging a career-best 54.3 yards per game. He has a whopping 81.6% catch rate, making him one of the most reliable offensive weapons for the Lions.
The Lions have scored over 30 points in five of their nine games this season. They have long been one of the most dynamic offenses in the league under Campbell. The Eagles will face an uphill battle trying to keep up with that offense. If LaPorta is unavailable, however, Philadelphia should feel much better about its chances of outscoring Detroit on Sunday.