Philadelphia @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 8, 2013 ) Detroit 20, Philadelphia 34

The Detroit Lions are beginning to string together some wins, just in time for their annual Thanksgiving showcase. The Lions attempt to secure their third straight victory when they host the slumping Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

Detroit began the season 1-7 with an average of 30.6 points allowed in those eight games before turning things around on the defensive end. The Lions held their last two opponents to a total of 29 points – just barely enough for their offense the scrape by and pick up the win. The Eagles’ offense has not been impressive of late, either, and failed to reach 20 points in back-to-back home losses to the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “We are what our record says we are,” Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins told reporters following the 45-17 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday. “Let’s not get that twisted. Who we are as individuals and a team has yet to be defined until the season is over. The good thing is, we can always change that next week.”

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Even. O/U: 45

ABOUT THE EAGLES (4-6): Philadelphia was forced to go with Mark Sanchez at quarterback with Sam Bradford (shoulder, head) unavailable, and the veteran was not any better at coaxing explosiveness out of Chip Kelly’s offense. “We all look at ourselves and I can speak for our own unit and for myself, and we didn’t do enough to win the game on the offensive side of the ball,” Sanchez told reporters. “That’s it. That’s the way we think about it as an offense.” Bradford started throwing on a limited basis on Monday but is unlikely to take the field on Thursday.

ABOUT THE LIONS (3-7): Detroit stunned Green Bay 18-16 on the road in Week 10 and followed that up with an 18-13 home win over the Oakland Raiders in which the defense allowed a total of 214 yards. “It’s just playing better football, better techniques with tackling,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell told reporters. “We’re doing all of things that we are certainly capable of doing. We just hadn’t been doing them often enough.” Quarterback Matthew Stafford did not throw a TD pass in the game for the second time this season but recorded his first rushing TD of the campaign and did not turn the ball over.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (ankle) was on the injury list Monday despite the team not holding practice and is questionable.

2. Eagles RB Ryan Mathews (concussion) sat out last week and is questionable.

3. Since-departed RB LeSean McCoy set a Philadelphia record with 217 rushing yards in a 34-20 home win over Detroit in the last meeting on Dec. 8, 2013.

PREDICTION: Lions 25, Eagles 17