Lions vs Patriots: Detroit dominates New England for first win

The Detroit Lions looked to rebound from two straight losses with a home win against Matt Patricia’s former running mates, the New England Patriots.

The Detroit Lions took on the New England Patriots on primetime Sunday night. Detroit’s defense came right out and held New England to a three and out on their first series. After a Patriot punt, Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense began at their own 14-yard line.

LeGarrette Blount picked up three yards on his first carry and on 2nd & 7, Kenny Golladay caught a bullet pass from Stafford for the first down. The Lions went heavy on their ground early on with Blount and rookie runner Kerryon Johnson both gaining nice yardage.

Golden Tate came down with an 18-yard catch which extended the Lion drive and he also caught another zinger from his quarterback but he was just short of the first down. As a result, Matt Prater came in and kicked a 38-yard field goal, giving his team the early 3-0 lead.

After forcing another Patriot three and out, Detroit’s offense resumed control at their own 40-yard line. Blount and tight end Luke Willson helped move the chains through the air and Johnson did his part on the ground as he earned Detroit’s sixth first down of the game with a gain of nine.

Kerryon picked up another 12 yards up the gut, Marvin Jones earned another first down through the air and before they knew it Detroit was in the New England red zone. Stafford hit Golladay near the goal line and the initial call from the refs was an incomplete pass.

Matt Patricia absolutely launched his red challenge flag to dispute the call and for the second week in a row, Golladay was awarded a touchdown upon further review of the replay! Prater knocked in the extra point and just like that, the Lions were up 10-0 on the Patriots.

Detroit’s defense continued to attack the Patriot offense and forced their third consecutive three and out. Jamal Agnew returned the subsequent punt 31 yards but that great return was negated by a Nevin Lawson penalty.

On a 3rd & 7 play of their third series, Marvin Jones caught a 16-yard pass to move the possession forward. Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter then reached deep into Detroit’s offensive playbook and dialed up a flea flicker which failed but the play drew a New England penalty. Kerryon continued to put in work in the run game and converted a key 3rd & 3 play during the drive.

Stafford avoided a sack by slinging a quick pass to Theo Riddick for an unexpected gain and after Detroit’s signal caller missed on a heater in the end zone to Marvin Jones, Prater knocked down a 25-yard field goal which made the margin 13-0 in favor of the Lions.

New England finally found some success offensively as they engineered a 14-play drive but Glover Quin and Tavon Wilson stopped Sony Michel in the backfield for a loss of two yards on 3rd & 1. Despite the stop, the Patriots were able to tack on a field goal to make it 13-3.

With under a minute to go in the half, Detroit stayed aggressive on offense as they continued to move the chains but ran out of time before they could capitalize with a score. Detroit went into halftime leading New England by ten.

On Detroit’s opening possession of the second half, Stafford was intercepted by linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and Tom Brady capitalized by tossing his first touchdown of the game to James White. Detroit’s lead was shortened to 13-10.

Stafford shook off his turnover and the Lions answered the Patriot score by putting together a balanced, 10 play 75-yard drive that was capped off with a 33-yard scoring strike to Marvin Jones.

The Lions forced another punt late in the third quarter and began another offensive series. “Showtime” Tate moved the ball 25-yards down the field, showcasing his much-feared ability to gain yardage after the catch and the Lions would go into the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead over the Patriots. Detroit added another field goal to their lead pushing the margin to 13 points, 23-10.

Tom Brady attempted to make something out of nothing by forcing a pass into double coverage but was picked off by Darius Slay. After the interception, Kerryon Johnson broke the dreaded streak. He’s the first Lion running back to rush for over 100 yards in a single game since Reggie Bush did it during the Thanksgiving game of 2013. Another Prater field goal pushed the Lion lead to 16 points.

26-10 would serve as the final score as the Detroit Lions exorcised a few of their demons and earned their first win of 2018 with a wire-to-wire showing against the New England Patriots. Next week brings a trip down to “Jerry World” as Detroit squares off against the Dallas Cowboys.