‘Unbelievable’ Detroit Lions fans earn praise from Eagles, Lions players and coaches

In the lead-up to their Week 1 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions opted to sell standing-room tickets for the first time during a non-Thanksgiving Day game since 2017. There has obviously been a lot of anticipation for this team, especially after having been featured in a positive light on “Hard Knocks” over the past month.

The sell-out crowd on Sunday—officially 64,537 paid fans—certainly made their presence known. The Eagles had several pre-snap penalties that could be traced back to their inability to communicate on the field due to the crowd noise.

“Yeah, it was loud,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “Yeah, and you know what? The Lions, the people of Detroit, they came out for this game, and we obviously knew it was going to be like that.”

Sirianni said the Eagles prepared for a loud, active crowd, but what they got at Ford Field was even more than it they had anticipated.

“I’ll see if I can get the equipment guys to turn it up even louder (at practice), but it was rocking in there, and that’s what you want,” Sirianni said.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts came away with 92 rushing yards and the win, but he, too, had to take note of the Detroit crowd.

“In terms of the conditions, very loud, very smaller stadium, low roof, kind of jam-packed in there,” Hurts said. “Those fans were out there – they were loud out there, but we were able to overcome.”

They were feeling it on the Lions sideline, too. Lions right tackle Penei Sewell said that at one point he had to kneel down in order to hear quarterback Jared Goff in the huddle. While you never want the crowd noise to negatively impact the offense like that, Sewell said he was also energized by the fans in attendance

“I love that, though. I love that,” Sewell said. “To have the city behind us, man, it just makes us go harder, and I want it more now. I just want to show you guys that, each and every week.”

Before his Monday press conference ended coach Dan Campbell had to stop mid-thought to show his appreciation for the home crowd.

“By the way, I need to mention this,” Campbell said in the middle of an unrelated question. “Man, our fans were unbelievable. I mean unbelievable. I don’t want that to get overshadowed by the loss, because that was one of the reasons we were able to get back into this. I mean, that place was freakin’ booming. And if they can keep doing that, it gives us a great chance for our defense.”

The Lions will return to Ford Field on Sunday to take on the Washington Commanders in a game Detroit is favored in by 2.5 points.