On a cold, blustery prime-time Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles rode a tremendous defensive performance to win a key NFC game, beating the Detroit Lions 16-9 in a physical, bruising game that highlighted just how devastating Vic Fangio's group is becoming in this 2025 season.

With the win, the Eagles remained atop the NFC with an 8-2 record thanks to a defense shutting down an offense that came in ranked second in the NFL with a 31.4 point-per-game average and doing it in no-doubt-about-it fashion.

Here are some observations from the victory from the Eagles' Salute To Service game …

1. Vic Fangio dialed it up and the players executed it

The artistry of what Fangio is doing with this defense is remarkable.

He gave Detroit quarterback Jared Goff all kinds of different looks with his front and in coverage. The players did the rest. Detroit's potent running game gained just 74 yards on 21 carries with a long of 11 yards. All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had two receptions for 42 yards on, get this, 12 targets. Jameson Williams grabbed four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, but the damage was minimal, and his post-touchdown celebration was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty and the 15 yards cost Detroit on the extra point when placekicker Jake Bates pushed the 47-yard PAT wide right.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was a factor with five receptions for 107 yards, but he was really the only weapon who inflicted damage. The Eagles sacked Goff twice, intercepted him once, and pressured him much of the night which allowed the Lions to score all of 9 points. That is the overarching picture of a dominating night for the defense. More observations will follow breaking down some of the specific successes.

2. This front four (and five) is dominant

Adding Jaelan Phillips, getting Nolan Smith back from injury, and having Brandon Graham unretire has totally transformed the defensive front. Going against one of the very best offensive lines in football, the Eagles dominated. The numbers tell a lot, but there was more. Jordan Davis batted three passes, one on Detroit's first possession that Cooper DeJean intercepted and led to three points. Jalen Carter had two passes tipped at the line of scrimmage. Crazy good.

"I thought we did a great job of playing together," said Phillips, who had five total tackles, six pressures, one of the two quarterback sacks the Eagles registered, and two quarterback hits. "Played really good complementary football. Definitely got after Goff, got after other key players, definitely were physical. It was a great game. It was like the grittiest defensive performance I've ever been a part of."

3. Fourth down: Detroit was 0-for-5

And here is the most amazing story of the game: The Lions went for it on fourth down five times and failed every time – with three of those plays happening in the third quarter alone. One was a fourth-and-5 from the Eagles' 32-yard line that ended on a Goff pass that was short for Williams. Then Goff, with Phillips pressuring him, missed St. Brown in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Later in the quarter, a pass to St. Brown was incomplete on fourth-and-3 from the Philadelphia 45.

But the Eagles set the tone early. They stopped Gibbs on a fourth-and-1 play from the Detroit 48 early in the second quarter – Moro Ojomo made the play – and then later in the quarter, with the defense still on the field, the Eagles stopped a fake punt attempt on a short snap to upback Grant Stuard.

"We just made it an emphasis to dig in and play ball," Ojomo said. "I've never been part of something like that. It was awesome."

Third down wasn't any easier: Detroit went 3-of-13, making it 3-of-18 on third and fourth down.

4. Adoree' Jackson deserves some praise here

This hasn't been an easy season for the veteran cornerback who has been in and out of the starting lineup. On Sunday night, he played his best game of the season. He had coverage against St. Brown on the play in the end zone on fourth down. Nice job. He forced a rare Detroit punt with a pass breakup on a third down in the fourth quarter. Jackson was in on four tackles. He gave up a big play to Williams, but that's going to happen in this league. Jackson hung tough and was part of an outstanding performance by the secondary.

5. Quinyon Mitchell was brilliant – again

Lined up primarily against St. Brown, Mitchell had two passes defensed, but numbers don't tell the story here. Mitchell completely took St. Brown out of the game – again, two catches on 12 targets. That is just insane. Goff came into the game having completed 74 percent of his passes in the first nine games. On Sunday night, he was 14 of 37 (a career-low 37.8 completion percentage) for 255 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

6. The offense needs work, but also had some moments

There are no excuses, and the Eagles are very aware that the offense is not playing at the level it expects to play. But the offense did a fine job of answering Detroit's lone touchdown with a scoring drive of its own to end the first half, driving 64 yards on 10 plays. Jalen Hurts found a connection with A.J. Brown for 9 yards and then went to tight end Kylen Granson for 4 yards and a first down. A Saquon Barkley run gained 5 yards and a completion to Jahan Dotson picked up 9 yards and a first down. Two Tank Bigsby runs gained 24 yards to put the Eagles at Detroit's 16-yard line. Another completion to Brown (7 catches, 49 yards) moved the ball to the 5-yard line and then Barkley ran to the 6-inch line before Hurts ended the drive with a Tush Push (presented by DUDE Wipes), and the Eagles had a lead at the half.

A hidden play that was key: On a second-and-10 from the Philadelphia 4-yard line after the defensive stop on fourth down, Hurts rolled right in the end zone, got a good block from Fred Johnson (more on him later) against Aidan Hutchinson, heaved a pass downfield that Dotson caught for a 34-yard gain to the 38-yard line, and the Eagles gained another 15 yards on a Brian Branch helmet-to-helmet tackle. The drive stalled and Braden Mann punted, but the Eagles successfully flipped the field and Detroit started its next drive on its 15-yard line.

7. Jake Elliott beats the wind

Sunday was one of those really bad weather nights at Lincoln Financial Field. This time, the winds were howling and, well, let Jake Elliott explain the conditions.

"It was windy, man, it was windy," said Elliott, who booted field goals of 27, 34, and 49 yards. "It was swirling, it was inconsistent, it was everything that northeast football is about. It would literally change every second of the entire game. I would toss grass up and it would fly in four different directions."

Nevertheless, Elliott was perfect on his three field goal attempts and his lone PAT.

8. The Eagles stayed with the running game

Look at the numbers and what do you see: 40 rushing attempts for 148 yards (3.7-yard average) and the Hurts touchdown. Barkley ran hard, ran tough, and had a season-high 26 carries, on which he gained 83 yards. Bigsby added a nice spark with 4 carries and 34 and Hurts, with some designed draws that worked, gained 31 yards on 10 carries.

The passing game struggled, no doubt, but the Eagles were able to control the football for 35 minutes, 48 seconds and the longer they kept the Lions' offense off the field, the better chance they had to win the game.

9. A banged-up offensive line eliminated Aidan Hutchinson

No. 97 is the one who the Eagles focused on all week, for good reason. Aidan Hutchinson is a relentless, game-changing defensive end. And the Eagles eliminated his impact. Hutchinson had 3 total tackles and a half-sack. That's it. Credit to tackles Jordan Mailata (no pressures allowed, per Next Gen Stats), Lane Johnson (before he left with a foot injury), Fred Johnson (who replaced Johnson), and Matt Pryor (the sixth offensive lineman). Really, really nice job.

10. All of the other stuff mattered, too

It was a defensive-oriented game, without question. But some other things made a difference as well …

• The turnover battle, again a huge number, went the Eagles' way. They had the early takeaway on DeJean's interception and once again did not turn the football over.

• Philadelphia allowed Detroit just one visit to the red zone and made the stop on downs. The Eagles had one touchdown on three visits inside Detroit's 20-yard line.

• Time of possession: 35:48 for the Eagles to 24:12 for Detroit. Huge.

• The final offensive possession should not be overlooked. The Eagles got the ball back with 1:58 remaining in the game and ran the clock to zero. Brown drew a pass-interference penalty to convert a third-and-8 and then Barkley ended it with an 8-yard run, a really, really good run with Brett Toth at center and Fred Johnson at right tackle. And it was over.

• On to Dallas (wearing the Kelly Green uniforms) with an 8-2 record and, after 11 weeks of the season, the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture.