Detroit Lions upset New England Patriots, provide some hope for season moving forward

Call off the shovels. Hold off the dirt. Tell the vultures they’ll have to wait another week to pick apart the carcass. 

The Detroit Lions aren’t dead yet.  

After imploding on national television two weeks ago in a stinkfest for the ages, then following that up with a mistake-filled slopfest in San Francisco, the Lions hit the reset button Sunday night at Ford Field. 

And came out strutting. And running. And shoving the ball down the throat of the NFL’s most ruthless bully … the Patriots, to the tune of a 26-10 victory.

How dominant were the Lions? 

NFL DRAFT HUB: Latest NFL Draft mock drafts, news, live picks, grades and analysis.

They doubled up New England in yards. Picked off Tom Brady. And formally introduced their promising rookie running back, Kerryon Johnson, who became the first Lions running back to rush for 100 yards since 2013. 

Call it an exorcism. Or a seance. Or a Jedi mind-trick that the mentee pulled over the mentor. 

Maybe Lions head coach Matt Patricia was playing possum by pretending to oversee a team that didn’t know what it was doing the first two games of the season. 

Congratulations, Coach, you washed away an ugly beginning in a few stunning hours. Are you sure the Lions weren’t wearing the New England Patriots’ uniforms? 

How else do you explain the inexplicable? Tom Brady looking mortal? Bill Belichick’s defense with too many men on the field? 

Receivers dropping passes and defenders missing tackles and the whole New England enterprise looking unprepared and sluggish? 

Well … the Lions? 

Yeah, the Lions. So credit Patricia for the turnaround, for reaching out or staying the course or doing whatever it was he did to keep this team from laying down.  

Because it didn’t. It rose up. At least for a night.  

Who would’ve imagined that? 

MORE NFL:

• Lions snap 100-yard rusher drought
• 32 things we learned from Week 3 in NFL
• Rams stake their claim as one of NFL's elite teams

The run game is alive. Finally. 

The Lions didn’t just run the ball against the Patriots. 

They ran to wear them out. Ran to set up the pass. Ran to eat the clock and shrink the game and keep Brady off the field.  

But, also, ran to establish the kind of identity Quinn has dreamed about since he arrived two-plus years ago.  

The Lions’ general manager wanted an offense that could knock a defense back. Or at least an offensive line that could open a crease for a running back. 

Quinn spent big money and used high draft picks to remake the line. He signed veteran bruiser, LeGarrette Blount, and drafted Kerryon Johnson, to run behind it.  

They did Sunday night, again and again.  

Whether waiting for a seam to open, or bulling through and creating one, or dancing past a defender in the backfield, cutting back, stopping and starting, then bursting into more open space. It looked … strange, if not discombobulating. 

These were the Lions? 

Controlling a game on the ground? Giving Stafford the counterpoint he’s always deserved? 

Well, yes.  

They hadn’t done this in years. 

TheHuddle.com:Creating fantasy football winners

Patricia had it all together

But, but what about the defense? Yes, Patricia’s unit finally looked cohesive, like they knew where they were supposed to be … like they knew what was coming. 

Maybe they did. Whatever Brady and Belichick tried failed. Misdirection. Ball fakes. Deep throws. Short throws.  

None of it worked.  

Now, how much did the Lions’ defense benefit from Patricia’s experience in New England? It didn’t hurt. That’s for certain. 

It’s possible Patricia’s insider view is why the Lions seemed to be ahead of the Patriots for most of the night. Also, New England was missing its best wide receiver — Julian Edelman.  

And this year’s version of the Patriots has looked shaky, well before it got to Detroit.  

Yet, still, these are the Patriots, and these are the Lions. 

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.