Know your enemy: What will Eagles DC Vic Fangio do to counteract new Lions play-caller Dan Campbell?

In a somewhat surprising move last Sunday, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell secretly swiped away play-calling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton before the team played a road game against the struggling Washington Commanders.

In the middle of the game, observers noted Campbell holding the large play sheet and communicating in the calls. Afterward, Campbell said he had decided to make the change following Detroit's Week 9 loss to the Vikings.

Campbell had hired Morton away from the Denver Broncos to replace Ben Johnson, who left to become the Bears' head coach after architecting a Lions offense that gained steam each year that he presided over it until a full blossom in 2024, when they led the NFL by scoring about 33 points per game.

Through eight weeks of this season, the Lions were 5-3 and had already lost more games than they did all of 2024. Offensively, though, they weren't far off from last year's marks.

A slight drop from last year's torrid pace could have been expected, but Campbell clearly believed his offense wasn't packing the same punch. They had scored fewer than 25 points in three straight games. The most glaring decline was in third-down efficiency, dropping from fourth to 20th.

The Lions then went out and piled up 44 points and 546 total yards – 226 rushing – against the Commanders, the most yards any NFL team has acrrued this season against a non-Bengals defense and the second-most points scored this season against a non-Bengals defense behind only Detroit's 52 points against the Bears in Week 2.

It was an offensive masterclass, the kind of which we saw routinely last season from the Lions. Here's how it measured up to every other NFL team in Week 10:

You can couch it all you want about just one game against a bad team, but the Lions aren't an overnight success and Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio surely won't believe those numbers were entirely the byproduct of playing a mismatched opponent.

Campbell took over play-calling for a reason, and some subtle changes he made in player alignment and usage with his two most explosive weapons can be directly traced to the team's eruption.

Two-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs, one of the NFL's top dual threats who scored 20 touchdowns last year, is especially dangerous in the pass game. But through Detroit's first seven games, Gibbs had ran less routes and was asked to stay in for pass pro more than usual.

Detroit's 27-24 loss to the Vikings in Week 9 could've been the last straw for Morton. Per PFF, Gibbs was kept in to block on 45.5 percent of Jared Goff's dropbacks – by far his highest of the season and way above his 20.4-percent season average.

The Vikings' NFL-highest blitz rate could've been a reason that Morton chose to keep in Gibbs for more protection, but doing that took away the team's best and most versatile offensive threat, and quarterback Jared Goff's safety valve against pressure. Gibbs finished with just 28 total yards on 12 touches – nine carries, three passes – his fewest touches of the season.

Here's what can happen when Gibbs is asked to stay in and take an outlet away from Goff against third-down pressure:

Or this, on another third down:

Against the Commanders, who are in the upper-third of the league's highest-blitzing teams, Gibbs was asked to pass block on just 11 percent of his snaps, his lowest since Week 1. He finished with three touchdowns – two via ground, one via air – en route to a 178 total yards on 18 touches, an average of 9.6 yards per touch.

His 88.9 route-run percentage was his most since Week 1 and far more than his 51.5 percent against the Vikings and 76.6 percent season average.

Here's what can happen on third down when Gibbs becomes a quick outlet for Goff against pressure:

And also this…

Similarly, a change in how wideout James Williams was aligned appeared to unlock one of the NFL's best vertical threats. Williams carved up the Commanders for 119 yards – his first 100-yard game since Week 2 – and averaged 19.8 yards per reception, his highest in any game this season in which he's caught more than two passes.

Prior to Week 10, Williams had lined up in the slot on more than 25 percent of his snaps. Against the Vikings, Williams lined up in the slot on 30 percent of his snaps, tying a season high. He caught 4 of his 6 targets, finishing with 66 yards and a touchdown.

But with Campbell taking over, Williams saw a significant decrease in slot snaps and played outside on a season-high 88 percent of his snaps – way higher than his season average of around 75 percent. His 58 yards after the catch were his most this season.

Because of their strong run game, the Lions typically like to go under center and work play action to get Williams in 1-on-1 situations, which can have a major impact when he's aligned outside and using his elite speed (he was injured at the time of the NFL Combine and didn't run the 40, but trust us, he's fast).

Lately, the Eagles have been fortunate that their opponents haven't picked on Kelee Ringo or Adoree' Jackson at CB2, but look for Campbell to try and find an outside mismatch there, especially from under center.

It's hard to see the Lions coming into the Linc and rolling up 40 points and 500 yards on an Eagles defense that basically won the game against the Packers and looked extra fierce with the addition of pass rusher Jaelan Phillips.

But the Lions won't be scared, and if Campbell's play calling can make that much of a difference, his offense will be tough to stop.

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