Lions vs. Patriots recap: Lions stun the Patriots, 26-10

The Detroit Womens Ricky Jean Francois Jersey Lions have a win, y’all and the 2018 season ain’t quite over yet. Detroit left Sunday night a winner over the New England Patriots, 26-10. Let’s get to the recap. First quarterThe game got off to an inauspicious start, as the Lions allowed another big kickoff return to the Patriots’ 42-yard line, but the defense stepped up big with a quick three-and-out. The Lions offense came out looking efficient and balanced. Six passing attempts, five rushing attempts and the Lions got themselves into field goal range, despite the fact the Patriots were calling out Detroit’s plays again:Unfortunately, a third-and-5 play came up a half-yard short, and Matt Patricia elected to kick a field goal. Lions 3-0.After another three-and-out from the Patriots thanks to an bad overthrow from Tom Brady, the Lions offense had a chance to extend their lead. Again, a balanced attack worked the Lions deep into Patriots territory, this time into the red zone. By the end of the first quarter, Detroit got themselves first-and-goal from the Patriots’ 9. Look at these first quarter stats:Lions yards: 126Patriots yards: 5Second quarterAfter a sick run from Kerryon Johnson, Matthew Stafford connected with Kenny Golladay for a catch that was originally ruled short of the goal line. However, Patricia, with a cannon of an arm, threw the challenge flag and replay confirmed Golladay had scored. 10-0 LionsStop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Lions defense responded with... another... three-and-out. The Lions were primed for good field position, but a block in the back penalty pushed them back to their own 22-yard line.That didn’t stop the Lions offense from steadily driving down the field yet again. Thanks to solid rushes from Johnson and this wild play from Stafford:But the Lions’ drive stalled in the red zone, and Detroit settled for a chip shot field goal. 13-0 LionsThe Patriots would finally get theirs in the ensuing possession, but the Lions defense made a key stop on third-and-short http://www.thelionsfootballauthentic.com/nevin-lawson-jersey-authentic , holding Brady and the Patriots to a field goal. The Lions had 40 seconds to answer, but ran out of time as they were crossing into Patriots territory, so the teams went into the locker room with a score of 13-3 Lions.Third quarterThe Lions have been notoriously bad horrible in the third quarter this year, and Sunday night appeared to be no different. On the Lions first possession, Stafford forced a ball towards Luke Willson and was picked off by linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, giving the Patriots the ball around midfield. New England quickly worked their way into the red zone, and although the Lions stiffened up there, Brady laid a beautiful pass into the arms of James White for the score, and suddenly the Lions were only up three. Lions 13, Patriots 10. But the Lions weren’t going to let the third quarter narrative ruin them this week. Detroit responded with another long drive—10 plays, 75 yards—culminating in a huge 33-yard strike to Marvin Jones Jr. on just a perfectly executed play:Lions 20, Patriots 10.The Lions defense held strong yet again, and the Lions offense wasted no time getting into field goal position as the game turned to the fourth quarter.Fourth quarterThe Lions had a chance to go up three possession, driving into the Patriots’ red zone, but Detroit had to again settled for a field goal, pushing Detroit lead to 23-10 with just under 13 minutes remaining. Lions 23, Patriots 10.After an intentional grounding penalty on first down, Brady couldn’t pull the Patriots out of the hole. A third-down coverage sack produced the Lions defense’s fourth three-and-out of the day. But the Lions offense turned out their first three-and-out of the game and punted right back—their first punt of the game. The Lions’ lead held at 13 with 9:18 to go.You can never count out Touchdown Tom, and the fact that the Lions had been settling for field goals was worrisome. But Brady made a big mistake on the next drive, trying to connect on a long play. You never target Darius Slay deep, and Slay made him pay with his first interception of the year. The Lions took over at their own 19-yard line with 7:23 to go. The Lions couldn’t get much going on offense Youth Kerryon Johnson Jersey , but most importantly, on a third-and-long the Lions ran a draw play, and it HAPPENED.The Lions defense stepped up again, basically putting away the game with a four-and-out, and the party was on.A Lions holding penalty gave the Patriots an extra 40 seconds to work with, but Detroit tacked on a field goal and pushed it to a 16-point lead. 26-10 Lions. THE LIONS GOT A WIN AND A 100-YARD RUSHER. LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN.PregameThe Lions kick off against the New England Patriots in just a few hours. The inactives have been announced and the Lions are nearing full health. T.J. Lang returns after missing last week, Darius Slay is active despite suffering a concussion last week, but Ezekiel Ansah remains sidelined due to a shoulder injury from Week 1.The Patriots are beat up, missing three starters on defense, and their newest headlining addition, wide receiver Josh Gordon, will not play Sunday night. Earlier in the day, the Packers and Vikings both dropped games, giving the Lions a prime opportunity to gain ground in the NFC North after dropping their first two games of the season. But the Patriots are looking for a rebound tonight, too, so don’t expect Bill Belichick to roll over for his former employee Matt Patricia. It’s not quite do-or-die season for the Detroit Lions, but it’s pretty much do-or-die season for the Detroit Lions. Sitting at 0-2, the local fans are bumming, confidence in the team’s general manager is at an all-time low, and another loss would essentially bury any hopes of playoffs and it’s not even October yet. Unfortunately for Matt Patricia and the Lions, the New England Patriots are in town http://www.thelionsfootballauthentic.com/matt-prater-jersey-authentic , and Tom Brady is not happy. New England looked like a shell of themselves last week, as the Jacksonville Jaguars got their revenge from last year’s AFC Championship game. However, the Patriots are notorious for their ability to bounce back from losses with Bill Belichick at the helm.So with Patricia looking to avoid an 0-3 start to his head coaching career, and his mentor on the other sideline looking to avoid a second-straight embarrassing loss, who will come out victorious on “Sunday Night Football?” Here’s how to catch the game:How to watch Lions-PatriotsDate: Sunday, September 23, 2018Time: 8:20 p.m. ETLocation: Ford Field—Detroit, MINationally televised: NBCAnnouncers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele TafoyaOnline streaming: NBC SportsNational radio: Westwood OneNational radio announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mike MayockLocal radio: WJR-AM NEWS TALK 760Radio announcers: Dan Miller, Lomas BrownOdds: Patriots by 7Detroit Lions Week 2 Song of the Game: ‘Somebody Told Me’ Song of the Game is back. Each week, we’ll use a song to describe our feeling or the Lions’ performance from the previous game. At the end of the year, we’ll have a complete Spotify playlist telling the story of the Lions’ 2018 season. You can check out the 2017 playlist here, and our explanations for our choices here.Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers Song of the Game: “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers“Pace yourself for me...”For the better part of Sunday afternoon’s game against the 49ers, the Lions looked less than good for the second week in a row. At some points, the Lions looked like they didn’t even belong on the same field as the Niners—most notably on San Francisco’s three-play, 97-yard drive that ended in a 66-yard touchdown by Matt Breida and gave the 49ers a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.But there were moments—certainly more moments than in last week’s disaster against the New York Jets—where Detroit showed what could be. “It’s not confidential, I’ve got potentialA-rushing, rushing around...”After an entire preseason’s worth of film led everyone to believe the Lions were going to struggle rushing the passer, worst fears were confirmed against the Jets in Week 1. But in the Lions second game of 2018 http://www.thelionsfootballauthentic.com/sam-martin-jersey-authentic , their defense, without having to face a short field to defend, got a lot more from their pass rush, sacking Jimmy Garoppolo six times on Sunday.“Seventeen tracks and I’ve had it with this gameI’m breaking my back just to know your nameBut heaven ain’t close in a place like this...”Aside from some potential shown in the pass rush department, it was hard to ignore the way the Lions were outplayed by the Niners for essentially three and a half quarters. Sure, Detroit was able to get to Garoppolo in the passing game, but the defense gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground—not exactly a strategy that will win you many football games.What was especially hard not to notice was the way the perceived strengths of this team are proving to be anything but what they actually are on game day. Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense didn’t look like the strength they so clearly are supposed to be for this team, and the secondary has been a massive disappointment through two games outside of Quandre Diggs and a few plays from Jamal Agnew.“Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriendWho looked like a girlfriendThat I had in February of last year”And then there’s the Lions coaching staff—Matt Patricia specifically.Week 2’s biggest gaffe on the coaching front had to have been Patricia’s clock management at the end of the first half. Instead of calling a timeout, Patricia decided to let a good chunk of time fall off the clock and holding onto all three of his timeouts for once the Lions offense got the ball.Lions fans were quick to fall for Patricia. He was supposed to be the ripest fruit from the Bill Belichick coaching tree, and things have been nothing but sour for the better part of a month and a half. The preseason left fans with more concern than comfort, and the start to the 2018 season has done nothing but exacerbate those concerns.Last year, the New England Patriots had one of the most coveted defensive coordinators in the league, coaching into February’s Super Bowl, but now? He’s just another winless coach in his first season, not nearly as hot of a date as he was some months later.