Without a doubt, the outcome of the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was decided on fourth down plays. The Lions went for it on fourth down five times, and they failed all five times.

For this article, I have little interest in debating the merits of each decision—that discussion has already been exhausted. Instead, let’s just look at what went wrong for the Lions on each play, and whether the play call or execution was to blame. If execution, were there any commonalities in each play?

Second quarter — 3-0 Eagles — Fourth-and-1 from own 48-yard line

The Lions attempted to run Jahmyr Gibbs into the teeth of the defense, and upon first viewing, it looked like the Lions actually got enough push. Graham Glasgow and Trystan Colon do a good job with Eagles DT Jalen Carter on the

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