Week Three Live Blog: Patriots vs. Lions

Welcome to Week Three of the 2018 NFL Regular Season! The Patriots travel to Detroit tonight to take on the Lions, a team that is now led by former Patriots’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. His familiarity with the Patriots could help the Lions, and vice versa. Let’s take a look at the inactive report for tonight’s matchup.

Patriots:

S- Pat Chung

TE- Jacob Hollister

WR- Josh Gordon

OL- Cole Croston

CB- Eric Rowe

DE- Trey Flowers

OL- Brian Schwenke

Lions:

OL- Andrew Donnal

WR- Brandon Powell

OG- Joe Dahl

DE- Ezekiel Ansah

DE- Kerry Hyder

TE- Michael Roberts

RB- Ameer Abdullah

Four minutes until gametime; everyone sit back and enjoy the game, and feel free to comment below.

FIRST QUARTER

15:00- The Patriots get a 40-yard return from Patterson to start this thing right. 1st & 10…

14:48- Michel with a nice run, picks up six yards…2nd & 4….

14:25- Only one yard on that run for Michel,. 3rd & 3…

13:44- The pass is behind Hogan, and it is incomplete. Three-and-out, which is not a good way to start on the road. The Patriots only have three receivers active; that could be a problem.

13:32- Three yard gain, 2nd & 7…

12:50- Golladay with a gain of right, 1st & 10…

12:04- Blount runs for six. 2nd & 4…

11:19- Blount makes a catch and runs for a gain of six, 1st & 10, Lions…

10:34- Seven more for Blount; the Patriots need to tighten up the run defense.

9:56- Keryon Johnson runs for four more, another 1st down…

9:12- Almost an amazing catch by Tate, but JC Johnson made a nice play knocking it free. 2nd & 10…

8:35- Another 1st down reception; 1st & 10 from the Patriots 30…

8:16- Blount is stuffed, but he got back to the LOS, 2nd & 10…

7:34- Golladay picks up six on the reception, 3rd &5…

6:50- The Lions are facing 4th & Inches, and Matt Prater will come on to attempt a field goal.

5:56- Field goal is good, and the Lions strike first Good drive, but New England did what they do- keep teams out of the end zone. Lions 3, Patriots 0

5:48- Michel returns it to the 26; 1st & 10…

5:43- Swing pass to Michel goes for nothing, 2nd & 10…

5:11- Drop by Dorsett; also, I didn’t realize Michel lost a yard, 3rd & 11…

5:03- Brady sails one to a wide-open Dorsett, and he can’t make the catch. The Patriots are forced into another three-and-out, and the defense gets no rest whatsoever; not a good way to start on the road. Lions 3, Patriots 0

4:44- Blount makes the catch out of the backfield, picking up eight; 2nd & 2…

4:11- Johsnon had a strong run, but the Lions were called for holding. Big penalty makes it 2nd & 12…

3:32- Another 1st down; this is poor defense, but this is what they do when they have a ton of injuries.

2:24- Johnson runs for another 1st down, the Lions 6th of the game.

1:48- Johnson runs for 12 more before being tackled by the invisible one- Kyle Van Noy. 1st & 10…

1:08- The d-line finally does SOMETHING and stuffs the run on 1st down; 2nd & 10…

:00- Marvin Jones picks up 12 more on a first down catch, and that will end the first quarter, a quarter that was completely dominated by the Lions. The defense can’t stop them, especially on 3rd down, and the Patriots TWO possessions were both three-and-out. Things better change quickly or this is going to be a long night.

SECOND QUARTER

15:00- Johnson runs for seven, 2nd & Goal…

14:10- Golladay almost got in, but Gilmore made a nice tackle. Patricia is going to challenge the call, and they will probably win the challenge. There was a fumble, but it looked like he extended the ball over the goal line before the fumble. Touchdown, the ruling is in. Lions 10, Patriots 0

13:50- Two-yard gain by Michel, 2nd & 8…

13:20- Seven yard catch by Burkhead, 3rd & 1…

13:07- Michel is tackled for a loss of two, and they look terrible tonight. It appeared that the Lions had a strong punt return, but it was called back. The Lions have the ball, and they also have a two-score lead. The defense needs to step up right now. Lions 10, Patriots 0

12:17- Blount runs for five more, 2nd & 5…

11:41- The Lions try a tight end screen but the Patriots sniffed it out; loss of two, 3rd & 7…

10:56- Jones gains nine on the catch, the Lions TENTH 1st down in the 1st half. This is bad defense.

10:08- Flea-flicker that didn’t really work, but the Patriots were called for a hold, which is obviously better than PI. Five yard penalty, automatic 1st down. Five more yards for 12 in the huddle…gross.

10:02- Johnson runs for 15 more; New England needs to take a timeout, get a breather and try to figure this thing out. 1st & 10 from the Patriots 35…

9:23- Better defense, but still a gain of three; 2nd & 7…

8:41- Blount runs for five, 3rd & 2…

7:59- Johnson runs for four on a play that looked well defended; another 1st down.

7:15- Tight coverage by Gilmore, incomplete pass; 2nd & 10…

7:06- What appeared to be a certain sack turns into a nine-yard gain through the air; 3rd & 2…

6:29- Johnson makes the catch for the 1st down; wow, this is bad.

5:51- Blount runs for a gain of one, 2nd & Goal…

5:06- Golladay makes the catch, but he was out of bounds. 3rd & Goal…

5:02- Stafford throws a 100-mph fastball sailing almost through the goal post; needless to say- incomplete. Prater connected on the field goal, and Lions extend their lead to 13. The only thing the Patriots have done right tonight is keep the Lions from scoring touchdowns on two of their three scores. Now the offense needs to wake up. Lions 13, Patriots 0

4:48- Gronk for nine, 2nd & 1…

4:23- White makes the catch for no gain; 3rd & 1…huge play here….

3:51- Michel picks up two; 1st & 10…

3:16- Brady throws it away due to strong coverage; 2nd & 10…

3:08- Gronk picks up 16; 1st & 10…

2:30- White runs for a gain of five, 2nd & 5…

2:00- Two-minute warning, and the Patriots are finally driving. They need a touchdown here…badly. Lions 13, Patriots 0

1:51- Burkhead picks up 18 on the play, and the Patriots offense is moving…

1:16- Six more, 2nd & 4…

1:03- Michel runs for two, 3rd & 2…

:44- Michel is stuffed; why did they take the ball out of Brady’s hands in that moment? Now they will be forced to settle for a field goal, assuming they hit it. Bad playcalling on those last two plays, let Brady do his thing in the two-minute.

:40- 36=yard field goal is good, and the Patriots are finally on the board. Next time- let Brady sit in shotgun and dictate the offense. Lions 13, Patriots 3

:32- 11-yard gain by Tate; 1st & 10, and now the Lions will call a timeout. Look out, this could be dangerous.

:25- Golladay can’t get to the sideline after his gain of seven on a crossing route; timeout, Lions. 2nd & 1…

:18- Jones makes the catch over the middle for the 1st down, but it was in the middle of the field. 1st & 10 from the Lions 49…2nd & 10 after the Lions downed it to stop the clock…

:00- Golladay makes another catch, gets crushed, and the half comes to an end. Considering the Lions completely dominated the 1st half of this game, the Patriots should be happy with where they are at. Being down just 10 is mind-boggling, and I guarantee Matt Patricia does NOT feel good about this lead. The defense needs to step up, and the offense needs to put the ball in Brady’s hands, and let him go.

DETROIT LIONS 13, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 3

HALFTIME

14:11- 3rd & 4 after a nice play by Wise…

13:34- INTERCEPTION, PATRIOTS!! Bentley makes the play in coverage, and the defense gets the HUGE turnover they needed.

13:26- 12-yard run by Michel on the toss left; 1st & 10…

13:05- Two-yard gain, but 15 yards added for a facemark penalty. 1st & 10, Patriots, from the Lions 24…

12:36- Bad holding penalty on Trent Brown, and that will back the Patriots up 10 yards. Holding penalties can kill drives; 1st & 20…

12:10- Well, that drive wasn”t killed; Gronk picks up 10, 2nd & 1…

11:39- Brady picks up three on the sneak, 1st & 10…

10:03- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS!! Brady finds White on a wheel-route for six. Gostkowski drilled the extra point, and suddenly we have a three-point game. Detroit completely dominated the 1st half, and it appears to mean nothing now. Football is a crazy game, and Tom Brady is really good. Lions 13, Patriots 10

9:54- SACK!! Wise makes the play, and he is igniting the defense. 2nd & 17…

9:15- Riddick picks up 8, and they face 3rd & 9…

8:33- Golladay gets open, again, and makes the catch for 11 yards. They need to cover him tighter, he’s killing them. 1st & 10…

7:55- Seven-yard gain by Tate, 2nd & 3…

7:20- Two-yard gain, 3rd & 1…

6:31- Johnson makes the catch for a gain of five; 1st & 10…that rookie can play.

5:53- Tate picks up five more on the quick pass, 2nd & 5…

5:09- Guy tackles Johnson after a gain of four, 3rd & 1…

4:28- Blount runs for four, and the Lions have another 1st down. This is what killed New England in the 1st half.

3:45- Touchdown, Lions. Marvin Jones burns Gilmore and makes the 33-yard touchdown catch. There was some type of miscommunication on that play, but it doesn’t matter, the Lions are back up by 10. Lions 20, Patriots 10

3:40- Patterson returns it out to the 29; that guy is a weapon.

3:27- Hogan gains nine on the catch, 2nd & 1…

3:01- Michel runs for a gain of seven; 1st & 10…

2:26- Jet sweep-decoy and a pass to Michel in the flat is incomplete; I like the idea, not the execution. 2nd & 10…

2:21- Michel drops the ball in the flat; he needs to make that catch; 3rd & 10…

2:12- Gronk can’t make the catch in double coverage, and now they are forced to punt. With the way this game has gone, Brady won’t see the field until about 10 minutes to go in the game. Lions 20, Patriots 10

1:58- Johnson runs for 15 more; this is poor run defense. 1st & 10…

1:06- Three-yard gain; finally some stoutness on the defensive line; 2nd & 7…

:09- Tate makes a catch and run for 25, and the Lions are in business to start the 4th quarter. Lions 20, Patriots 10

FOURTH QUARTER

15:00- Blount runs for 12 more; this is so bad.

14:08- Loss of five on the play; strong read by Roberts, 2nd & 15…

13:29- Incomplete pass, 3rd & 15…

13:21- Stafford runs for 11, and Prater will come in to attempt another field goal…

12:44- The field goal is good, and the Lions extend their lead to 13. Tom Brady has done this before, but he needs some help from his offensive line and receivers.

12:37- Patterson finally gets stopped before the 25, this time only making it to the 20. The Patriots need to put together a scoring drive with some tempo to it..let’s go!

12:30- Deep bomb to…nobody. 2nd & 10…and now Brady is called for grounding; That is…not good.

12:23- Patterson gets 12 back, 3rd & 8…

11:43- Coverage sack, down goes Brady. When you have three wide receivers active, it is going to catch up with you eventually. Tonight is eventually. The Lions take over, and a scoring drive would put this game away. Time for the Patriots defense to step up or shut up. Lions 23, Patriots 10

10:50- Gain of four, 2nd & 6…

10:14- Johnson quickly tackled for a loss of one, 3rd & 7…

9:26- Incomplete pass, and the Patriots come up with the stop they needed. Cyrus Jones was back to fair catch the punt, which was admittedly frightening. He actually looked confidant.

9:11- Michel runs for a gain of nine; nice run, 2nd & 1…

8:45- Michel runs for six more; 1st & 10…

8:10- Michel runs for two, 2nd & 8…

7:32- Brady tosses one into double coverage (dumb) and it is intercepted. The Lions have completely outplayed the Patriots tonight, and that caps it off. The Lions were called for a 15-yard penalty, but I don’t think it matters. Brady has nobody to throw to downfield, and the Lions are just doubling Gronk; this is ugly. Lions 23, Patriots 10

7:14- Four-yard run by Johnson, 2nd & 6…

6:37- Good coverage by Jones, 3rd & 6…

6:30- Riddick picks up 20, and the Lions convert yet another 3rd down.

5:45- Blount runs for one; 2nd & 9…

5:03- Wise with the tackle for no-gain. 3rd & 8…

4:55- The Lions appeared to pick up a 1st down, but were called for a hold. The now face 3rd & 18…

4:45- Johnson runs for six, and the Patriots call timeout. Johnson just went over 100 yards rushing. The Patriots offense needs to make something happen quickly.

4:30- Gronk for eight, 2nd & 2…

4:02- Brady sacked, loss of 10 on the play; 3rd & 12…

3:24- Brady throws deep on 4th & 12 from their own 13, and it’s incomplete. Dorsett appears to be hurt; shocking. Patriots’ fans- sorry to report this, but this game is over. New England simply doesn’t have enough weapons at wide receiver to win right now.

3:12- Blount runs for one; 2nd & 9…

2:26- Blount runs for two, holding called on the play. The Patriots declined the penalty, 3rd & 7…

2:19- Fumble, but Detroit recovered. 4th & 8…

2:00- Prater will come on to attempt the field goal…

1:56- Prater connects, and the Lions extend the lead to 16. Lions 26, Patriots 10

1:48- Michel goes for 14, 1st & 10…

1:19- Michel for four more..

1:04- White runs for 10, 1st down…

:38- 1st down catch by Hogan…

:00- Game. Set. Match. The Lions beat the Patriots, 26-10, and they exposed many Patriots holes in the process. If they can’t figure out how to stop teams from running on them and converting 3rd downs, they will have a hard time winning the amount of games they expect to win every year. Next week is a huge game against Miami, and I hope you all join us again. Thanks for being with us tonight, I hope you enjoyed the updates and opinions. Keep your head up, Patriot fans, everything will be OK.

FINAL SCORE: DETROIT LIONS 26, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 10