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Sports

Two Games forward, One Game Back: Patriots Lose to Detroit

On the road in Detroit, the Patriots got handled by the Lions in a lopsided 34-10 preseason loss to the up and coming NFC team.

Fans in New England should be very happy this morning that the game against the Lions did not count. The New England Patriots played their third preseason game of 2011 on Saturday night, traveling to Detroit to take on the Lions. Still no sign of Albert Haynesworth, he did not play in Saturday's game.  Chad Ochocinco did not have a single catch, and it did not get any better for the Patriots.  The Lions devoured the Patriots and after two impressive preseason games, the Patriots took a step back against Detroit, maybe even a few steps.  

Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

1ST QUARTER

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Devin McCourty got burned twice in the first series, one play for negative yards and the other a touchdown throw to the same player.  

Matthew Stafford marched his team down the field quickly and looked sharp in his first series.  Detroit settled for a field goal and a quick and early 3-0 lead, after the 65 yard drive by the Lions.

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In a complete reversal of last weeks game against the Buccaneers, Tom Brady and the Patriots came out flat and were ineffective against the Detroit Defense. After a 3rd and 18 play, all of New England held their collective breath, as Tom Brady was hit from behind as he attempted to throw, resulting in a fumble, which the Patriots recovered but ended up punting.  Brady was OK and the Lions had established an impressive tone on both sides of the ball early.

The Lions came out firing again on their second drive, Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown bullet to Nate Burleson capping another impressive drive by the Lions first round pick.  The Lions were now up 10-0 after a successful extra point, and the game was barley 8 minutes old. 

The Detroit Lions were fired up, playing like it was a playoff game. The Patriots?  They were playing the game like what it really was. The third PRESEASON game of the young 2011 season.  

Brady stepped back onto the field for the next series and on a 3rd and 8, completed a first down pass to a familiar name, Wes Welker.  The momentum continued, but the Lions continued to knock Brady down and force him out of the pocket.  The Patriots failed to convert on a 3rd and 1 and were forced to attempt a field goal, not before time expired in the first, with the Lions up 10-0.

The Lions ended the first quarter having sacked Brady once, hurrried him 3 times and knocked him down 3 times as well.  The tone had been established, preseason game or not.  

2nd QUARTER

On the very first play of the 2nd Quarter, Stephen Gostowski kicked a 33 yard field goal to cut the Detroit lead to 10-3.

The Lions were finally slowed down as Kyle Arrington, who had an interception in a previous preseason game, sacked Matthew Stafford on a 3rd and 3, forcing the Lions to punt.

The Patriots did not look sharp on either end of the football early on.  

The Lions were led down field by Stafford, who continued to throw all over the Patriots defense, this time resulting in a touchdown pass that with the PAT gave the Lions a 17-3 lead with 8:43 to play in the first half.  Stafford completed 12 of his first 13 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lions devoured Brady and the Patriots offensive line for the first twenty five minutes of the game.  The Lions had complete control of the game and quite frankly, literally, pushed the Patriots all over the field.  Until...

The Patriots showed some signs of life and brought the Lions home dome to near dead silence with 4 minutes left in the first half as Brady hit a wide open Wes Welker for a 44 yard touchdown.  

Two plays.  41 seconds, and the Patriots showed how deadly their offense is. After the pass, it was 17-10, Detroit still in front with 3:59 to play in the first half.

The Lions added a field goal on their next series to up their lead to 20-10.  Tom Brady took the field for the next series, with just under a minute to play in the half.  It didn't get any better for #12.  He threw his first interception with 33 seconds on the clock and it capped a very uneven first half by Tom Brady and the entire Patriots team.  Brady just looked out of synch with his receivers, and after being pushed, spun and hurried out of the pocket several times, it's not a wonder why.

Shaun Hill, who came in for Stafford for the previous series, continued the dissection of the Patriots secondary, as he threw a touchdown pass to Brown with 7 seconds left, and after the PAT, the Lions were up 27-10.

The first half came to a close and it was not a pretty one for the Patriots.  The Lions dominated the Patriots on both sides of the ball and took a 27-10 lead into halftime.

3rd QUARTER

The Patriots starters returned to start the second half, and they went 3 and out on the first offensive series.   That would be the end of the night for Brady, who finished 12 of 22 for 145 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.  

Brian Hoyer took the ball for the Patriots next drive, he tried to get Ochocinco going offensively, but to no avail.  The Pats punted again, giving the Lions the ball and for a while it looked like Detroit was going to step on the throats of the Patriots.  After converting on a 4th and 1, the Lions had the ball 1st and goal.  Another touchdown looked almost certain had it not been for the three point, mid-air takedown performed on Nate Hughes by Pats CB Devin McCourty.  Kyle Arrington came down with the ball for the interception, and the Patriots had broken up a scoring drive that most likely would have all but ended the game.

The third quarter came to a close with the score the same, 27-10, but it was still the Lions firmly in control.

4th QUARTER

The Lions got back to scoring in the fourth, putting another 7 on the board, and giving them a "Have a good night" 34-10 lead.  

Brian Hoyer, who has never impressed me in any way shape or form in all his time in New England, could do nothing with the football in the fourth. The Patriots went for it on 4th and 5 and could not convert.

The Lions took the ball back with 5:49 left in the game, and still up 34-10.

The game came to a close with the score the same, 34-10.  For the Lions, it was an ego boost to a football town that once saw the likes of the great Barry Sanders run all over teams in the late 90's, but has not won a playoff game in,well, a long time.

For the Patriots, the hurricane aftermath will not be the only thing they have to worry about when they return to New England.  Head Coach Bill Belichick will most likely tear his team a new one when they look at the film of the game.  The Patriots did very little right on Saturday, and an awful lot wrong.

Once more, thankfully, it's a preseason game.  

To add injury to insult, Wes Welker suffered a neck injury on a tackle after Brady threw his interception.  He did not return in the game, and an update on his condition will come as it's released by the team.

The Patriots will host the New York Giants in the final preseason game of 2011, this Thursday, September 1st at Gillette Stadium.  Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

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