Banged-Up Lions View Matchup Against Eagles As Must-Win

The Eagles are 5-1 against playoff teams this season, and now comes another test against a playoff-tested foe in the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football, so we turned to Lions onSI reporter Jon Maakaron for a deeper dive into the matchup with five questions.

1) Aidan Hutchinson said this is a must-win game for the Lions. Is that how you see it and why or why not?

The Lions are in first-place in the NFC North, and as such have some comfort. However, with matchups looming against each of their divisional opponents still on the schedule, there's not much room for error. Plus, this game could have massive tiebreaker implications for playoff seeding, and as such I tend to agree that this is a must-win game.

A Lions win would put these two teams on even ground at 7-3 and give the Lions a head-to-head advantage. With a game against the Rams still looming, the Lions could gain a massive advantage in the tiebreaker department through head-to-head wins. However, a loss would drop them two games back.

Regardless of what happens on Sunday, the Lions still have the ability to take care of business in the division and earn at least one home playoff game. However, the team would benefit greatly from a road win.

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2) The Eagles had their share of injuries this season, but are relatively healthy compared to the Lions, who will be without Sam LaPorta and some key secondary pieces, maybe more, with 10 players listed as questionable. Obviously, injuries are always huge, but do the Lions have the depth to compensate for some key losses?

The Lions have built their roster with depth in mind, and waste little time making additions to their practice squad in areas of need. With LaPorta out, the team signed Anthony Firkser to provide depth as a potential practice squad elevation, and Brock Wright plays over 50 percent of snaps as a second tight end and has plenty of trust from the coaching staff.

Detroit has had to play for a month without two defensive starters in D.J. Reed and Marcus Davenport and has managed to have plenty of success defensively. The Eagles' offense is not easy to stop, and the depth players will be tested, but they have risen to the occasion before.

In a way, the Lions' injury woes last year benefitted them for the potential situations like the one they could be in Sunday. Dan Campbell's team has had to make things work in the past, and as a result are prepared for this.

3) Avone Maddox was a terrific player and person with the Eagles. How has he done this season, and do you feel he will have a role against his former team?

Maddox missed two games due to injury earlier in the season, and his role so far has mostly been to contribute on special teams. However, some injuries in the secondary have necessitated him to play defensive snaps at times as a safety.

Maddox has been a nice veteran addition to the secondary and will at some point come up big. Kerby Joseph has already been ruled out, and Maddox could be asked to log plenty of snaps for the second straight week.

Detroit has also gotten strong performances from Thomas Harper as of late. A waiver wire addition at final roster cuts, Harper has stepped up nicely amidst Joseph's injury.

4) What 1-2 matchups will determine the outcome of this game?

Detroit's defensive performance will be defined by their ability to stop the run. Saquon Barkley is one of the game's best running backs, and even though he hasn't been up to his lofty standards from last season he is still capable of taking over a game.

On the offensive side, the key matchup will be between Detroit's wide receivers and Philadelphia's secondary. If Amon-Ra St. Brown can gain separation throughout the night, it could open up the defense for some deep shots to Jameson Williams. Without Sam LaPorta, Williams and Kalif Raymond could shoulder even more of the workload.

5) Who wins and why?

Philadelphia is one of the NFL's toughest road environments, and as a result the Lions will have their hands full in primetime. However, the Lions have been built for games like this by Campbell's leadership, and as a result I expect this game to be a barn burner.

Because the Lions and Eagles are two of the NFC's best teams, this game could come down to the wire. Both teams will be aggressive late in the game, and if the Lions can get just enough stops they can steal a win.

Another key piece of this is some lingering issues with Philadelphia. Some dysfunctionality on the Eagles side could be the difference, as the Lions' cohesiveness allows them to come away with a pivotal road win.

Lions 23, Eagles 20

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