Eagles run over winless Lions, sack Detroit QB Jared Goff five times

DETROIT – The Eagles had been waiting all season for this.

They put together a strong running game with an attacking defense in beating the Detroit Lions 44-6 on Sunday.

The Lions remain the NFL's only winless team, dropping to 0-8. But it hardly seemed automatic for the Eagles (3-5), who had lost five of their previous six games and trailed by double digits in all six of those games.

That was never an issue Sunday.

The Eagles ran for 237 yards, easily eclipsing their previous season-high of 173 yards set in the opening day win over Atlanta. The Eagles had surpassed that total early in the third quarter. They did this without leading running back Miles Sanders, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with an ankle sprain.

All things Eagles: Latest Philadelphia Eagles news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Instead, they got a balanced running attack from quarterback Jalen Hurts (71 yards); Boston Scott (60 yards), who didn't have a carry all season until last week against the Raiders, when Sanders got hurt; and veteran Jordan Howard (57 yards), who had been on the practice squad all season until getting promoted Saturday.

Scott and Howard each scored two touchdowns.

Hurts only attempted 14 passes, completing nine, for 103 yards. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by Gardner Minshew, who made his Eagles debut.

But the Eagles also did it behind an attacking defense that sacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff five times. Josh Sweat, who had 1.5 sacks through the first seven games, had two on Sunday, both in the first half.

Even Darius Slay got into the act, returning a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown with 1:09 left in the third quarter, giving the Eagles a 38-0 lead. It was the Eagles' largest margin of victory since a 54-11 win over the Chicago Bears on Dec. 22, 2013.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Folllow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.