The Kolb era got off to a rocky start in just his third career start, ending temporarily in the second quarter as he became one of four Eagles to suffer significant injuries. Philadelphia is a solid road favorite at -6.5 on the current NFL spreads despite the injuries, including others to middle linebacker Stewart Bradley (concussion), center Jamaal Jackson (triceps) and fullback Leonard Weaver (knee).
Vick performed well for Philly in Kolb’s place against the Packers, nearly leading them back from a 27-10 deficit. He was 16-of-24 passing for 175 yards with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and also rushed 11 times for 103 more, including a 31-yard scamper. Running back LeSean McCoy did a nice job as well, carrying the ball seven times for 35 yards – including a 12-yard touchdown run – and adding five catches for 47 yards.
The same can’t be said for Hill even though he nearly won the game against the Bears, falling short due to a controversial drop in the end zone by wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Hill completed 9 of 19 passes for 88 yards with an interception and had trouble moving the ball without any semblance of a running game. Rookie running back Jahvid Best scored both touchdowns for the Lions but totaled only 12 yards on 13 carries if you take away his long run of eight yards.
The Eagles will look to pressure Hill defensively and did a pretty good job holding Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers in check last week. Rodgers was held to 188 yards passing and got picked off twice while starting running back Ryan Grant suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Hill was 10-6 as the starting QB for San Francisco the previous three years before signing with Detroit while Vick will be starting in the NFL for the first time since 2006.
Philly has won the last five meetings with the Lions both straight-up and against the spread, but four of those took place at home. The Eagles won 30-13 the last time they visited Detroit in 2004, one of three times in the last four meetings that the total went UNDER. Maddux Sports nailed their 20 unit non conference game of the year on Saturday and is coming back with another strong 20 unit play on the Sunday NFL card. Get this winning play by visiting the best NFL picks page of our website.
