Eagles vs Lions: Studs & Duds

The kind of loss the Eagles suffered on Sunday stings for a few extra days. In this case the pain will likely linger through next Sunday's games and into next week with the Birds on their bye.

The memories, meanwhile, will likely last the season. The mistakes, miscues and late crumble that occurred in the Eagles' 26-23 overtime loss to the Lions at Lincoln Financial Field don't fade easily.

It was easily the most disturbing of the Eagles (3-3) defeats. They blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead and continued gifting the opposition with self-inflicted turnovers. Michael Vick was Michael Vick, the offensive line was the offensive line and the defensive line was the defensive line, which means not very good at getting to the quarterback.

Not surprisingly, there were more duds than studs in Sunday's game. So, naturally, let's start there.

Again, thanks for the votes. Surely next time there you won't have to scrounge so hard for some stud options.

People's Dud

The Entire Defensive Line - It's rare that an entire unit garners enough votes for serious dud consideration. It has to be a total disaster to shove an entire group under one dishonorable umbrella. Disaster pretty much describes the Eagles defensive line against the Lions. From left to right: Jason Babin was a liability against the run, Cullen Jenkins provided little pressure and push, Fletcher Cox got the heave-ho for throwing a punch and Trent Cole failed to record a tackle. Let's repeat that: Trent Cole failed to record a tackle. That's hard to fathom. There have been games in his career where he made double-digit tackles. The Pro Bowl defensive end and probably the best player on the entire defense now has one tackle in the last two weeks combined. There may be a problem there. There is no doubt there was a problem with the defensive line against Detroit's below average offensive line. It was the Eagles third straight game without a sack.

Raanan's Dud

Dallas Reynolds - This may have been the roughest of Reynolds' four rough starts. Forget what appeared to be a premature snap on the first-quarter fumble, the Eagles starting center couldn't handle Nick Fairley or Ndamukong Suh. Reynolds spent most of the afternoon being pushed into the Eagles backfield as the Lions defensive tackles harassed Michael Vick. It was so bad something tells me Reynolds may not be the Eagles starting center when they take the field again for real in two weeks against the Falcons.

People's Stud

Jeremy Maclin - It was easily Maclin's best game of the season. He made tough catches and big plays, including what should have been the winning score if the defense could have made a stop in the fourth quarter. Maclin finished with six catches on 10 targets for 130 yards and a touchdown. He also flashed the explosiveness and breakaway speed that seemed to be missing since he missed some time earlier in the season with a hip injury.

Raanan's Stud

DeMeco Ryans - The Eagles middle linebacker was one of the few bright spots on a defense that only looked respectable thanks to the help of the mistake-prone Lions. Ryans had three tackles for a loss and two other stops for minimal or no gains. He made 13 total tackles. It was another strong game for the Eagles most consistent defensive player this season.

Jordan Raanan has covered the NFL since 2005. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan, on Facebook or email him at jraanan@hotmail.com.