Philidor defense: Why play this ...thing? [patzer alert!]

Seriously. The same question could be asked for a myriad of openings (like the always popular 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 ... ugh) but the Philidor Defense seems currently trending on Lichess, and I can't understand why.

This is my latest chess game (I'm White):
http://en.lichess.org/qqW1Vpov

I'm quite happy with Stockfish finding no faults (very rare for me!). I do notice that Black seems to have (more than) equalised before he crumbled, according to the engine, but it seems to me that White dictates the pace throughout. It's as if White only needs to place a pawn on g5, keep his pieces on "beautiful" squares and let Black self-destruct. I had no particular plan, playing mostly instinctively.

Obviously if I was playing against Stockfish I'd get crushed. So, what are Black's plans in this position (before move 18)? In general, what's the point of the Philidor? Why would *you* play it? Is it as passive as it looks?

If a total patzer like me can play semi-accurately against it, it seems no particularly good. Prove me wrong :P

Insights much appreciated!

Well, it's hard to answer that question in the context of that game, since that game wasn't really a Philidor.

3..Nc6 is just a bad move, and isn't a real line of the Philidor.

3..dxe4 would be the main line of the Philidor, and it leads to a much different sort of game than you saw there.

When I play the Philidor, it's primarily to play something incredibly solid without a lot of tactical opportunities for my opponent, i.e., a drawing weapon.

[A bit late but...] thank you, OneOfTheQ, for the response!

Indeed, that game probably wasn't a proper Philidor, although 3. ... Nc6 seems common on Lichess (among players my level or anonymous). Admittedly, I was too satisfied with the game and wanted to share it anyway :D

I see, so for you it's a drawing weapon. Interesting! Do you have any Philidor games that you think unfold in a more "typical" Philidor fashion? Am I correct to assume that in those cases you mostly seek a quick/safe simplification to an equal endgame (which would probably benefit a strong player like you)?