The New England Patriots lost their second consecutive game Sunday night, as Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions made it look fairly easy with a 26-10 win at Ford Field in Detroit. It was the first head coaching win for former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who took the Lions head coaching job in the offseason.
Detroit (1-2) broke off to a 13-0 lead on a Kenny Golladay second quarter four yard touchdown reception from Stafford, that was sandwiched around a pair of field goals by Matt Prater. New England cut the lead to 13-3 at the break on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal.
The Patriots got back in the game in the third quarter when Ja’Whaun Bentley intercepted a Stafford pass near midfield, and Brady helped march them down the field culminating with a 10 yard touchdown pass to James White to cut the deficit to 13-10. The Lions responded however, as Stafford led a 75 yard drive and hit Marvin Jones on a 33 yard touchdown pass to increase the lead back to 10 at 20-10. Prater added two fourth quarter field goals to finish off the scoring.
Brady finished the night 14-26 passing, 133 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Rookie Sony Michel had 50 yards rushing on 14 attempts. Rob Gronkowski led the receiving core on the night with four grabs for 51 yards. New England only had 209 total offensive yards, while Detroit had 414. Stafford completed 27-36, 262 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Kerryon Johnson ran for 101 yards on 16 carries. Jones caught four passes and Golden Tate six, both for 69 yards to lead the hosts. The Lions also had over 39 minutes of possession time in winning their first game of the season. Newly acquired Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon did not play due to tightness in his injured hamstring.
New England (1-2) will head back home and host the 3-0 Miami Dolphins in a big early season AFC East showdown at Gillette Stadium next Sunday at 1 pm.
