Detroit, MI- One week after losing to the Arizona Cardinals, the Lions had another tall task in facing the AFC East leading New England Patriots in Foxboro. The Lions’ number one ranked defense was exposed Sunday afternoon, as Tom Brady passed for 349 yards and two touchdowns. Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford struggled all day, passing for only 264 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Stafford did not get much help from his receivers as there were many dropped passes and the offensive line did not protect him enough where he could find any open receivers. Receiver Golden Tate had four catches for 97 yards, and Calvin Johnson had four catches for 58 yards.
Just three days after brining back LeGarrette Blount on a two year contract after being released by Pittsburgh, the Patriots got a much needed boost in their running game. Blount rushed for 77 yards on just 11 carries and scored two touchdowns. The loss drops the Lions to 7-4 and are now one game behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North division. The Patriots are now the hottest team in the NFL, winning their seventh straight game and are also the highest scoring team in the NFL after yesterday’s blowout victory. The Lions’ offense has struggled this season and this is their second straight game without scoring a touchdown. Kicker Matt Prater made 3-4 field goals to make up the Lions’ scoring. The Lions’ were without running back Reggie Bush for the third straight game as he still being bothered by an ankle injury he suffered back in week five.
The Lions’ came in with the league’s best run defense so New England avoided that by passing as often and made good on that game plan. Julian Edelman of the Patriots caught 11 passes and he and Denny Amendola were monster in the special teams, getting long returns on kickoffs and punts that set up great field position for the Patriots. The Lions were playing zone coverage all game and New England was able to counter that with short passes that lead to big gains. The Lions in their last five games, have only held the lead for just 45 minutes and have trialed for over 200 minutes. The Lions have a short week coming up as they play the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving with a 12:30pm kickoff.
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