Patriots 2014 Opponents, 5 First Impressions of the Lions
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Ndamukong Suh anchors a deep and talented defensive line for the Lions that has been dominant in 2014. (USA Today photo)[/caption]
The New England Patriots return home to Foxboro for another big NFC matchup with the Detroit Lions. The game will be carried on Fox Sports and the kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will be on the call for play by play and in-game analysis.
The game has far reaching playoff seeding implications for both teams. With six games left in the season, it may be still early to dwell too much on that, but this is the time of year when teams begin to make moves to solidify their standing.
New England currently owns the #1 seed in the AFC but is only a game ahead of Denver and Kansas City for the top spot in the conference. Detroit is currently the #2 seed in the NFC but are one of four teams with the same record (7-3) which is also what their divisional rivals the Green Bay Packers are. They can ill-afford a loss now if they want to hold onto the division lead as well as the conference spot and earn a bye in the first week of the playoffs.
The Patriots (8-2) have won six in a row, and are fresh off big wins against divisional leaders Denver (43-21) and Indianapolis (42-20) which have them in the enviable position of being the top team chased in the conference.
The Patriots offense continues to roll up points, averaging more than 40 points per game during the current six game winning streak. Last week running back Jonas Gray rushed 38 times for 199 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Indy.
The defense for the second week in a row was able to limit a high-powered, high scoring offense by limiting them in the red zone, holding the Colts and Andrew Luck to just 20 points. The secondary led by Darrelle Revis and Kyle Arrington was outstanding, holding T.Y. Hilton to just 3 catches for 24 yards.
The Lions (7-3) lost a tough game to Arizona 14-6 in the desert as the tough defense of the Cardinals limited the Lions to just a pair of first half field goals. The offense just couldn’t get untracked and although the Lions suffered a couple of terrible calls by the officials in this one, will be the first to admit, their offense production must improve.
The Lions defense gave up a pair of 1st quarter touchdown passes to Drew Stanton but from there clamped down and played their normal stout game. Although they didn’t get to Stanton as much as they’ve been accustomed to in the pass rush department, they were able to shut the Cardinals offense out the rest of the way.
All-time History: The Patriots and Lions have only met 10 times in their history; the two teams rarely meet so there hasn’t been much of a rivalry between the two. The Patriots hold an overall 6-4 lead in games including the past three meetings and hold a 3-2 lead in games at Foxboro. The two last met in 2010 with New England winning a 45-24 game in Detroit.
As part of the lead-up to the game on Sunday, we’ll have a detailed breakdown of the matchups later in the week, but here are Five First Impressions of the Lions:
Suh, Defense Carrying the Team: Unlike in past seasons when the Lions had an explosive offense and a weak defense, this 2014 version of Detroit has the Lions defense carrying the team and may find themselves in prime position for a deep playoff run. That’s something that has been unheard of in the Motor City with only one playoff win in the past fifty years.
Detroit boasts the #1 defense in the NFL in terms of both points (15.6 ppg) and yards (290.3) and is led by arguably the best defensive line in the league headed by Ndamukong Suh. Suh spearheads a deep unit, including Nick Fairley and Ziggy Ansah that has allowed a league low 68.8 yards per game rushing including only 3.0 yards per carry.
The Lions defense is very physical and fast and they stop the run and get after the opponent’s QB extremely well with their front seven. They’ll be a tough opponent for an offense that has been rolling the past six weeks.
Bush Injury Has Offense Stuck: With so many weapons on offense, the big question this season has been why has the Lions’ offense been stuck in neutral? Coming into Sunday’s game, the Lions are averaging only 18.8 points per game, 26th in the league and a surprising 332.2 yards per game. Those numbers are down over sixty yards and six points per game from 2013…so what gives?
Reggie Bush’s injury this season has really limited the Detroit attack from being balanced. Bush had an outstanding 2013 and his ankle which has really bothered him since the beginning of the year has left the team almost one-dimensional. His absence has trickled down to the OL play as opponents have teed off on rushing the QB causing the protection to break down.
Part of being one-dimensional has really hurt them early in games is that they are constantly playing from behind. The Lions have only scored one first half touchdown in the past four games.
Joique Bell had a good game in Arizona (14 carries, 85yds) last week, but the Cardinals played mainly with a big dime look with rookie safety Deone Buchanon playing a hybrid safety/linebacker role similar to the Pats “Money” position as they loaded the secondary to slow down Detroit’s passing game. It worked; QB Matthew Stafford was only 18-30 for 183 yards on Sunday.
Bush was a game time to decision to play but was held out to give him a better chance to play at New England this week. His presence should give the Lions offense a big boost this week as he is expected to play.
Tight Ends, Options, Options, Options: The Lions already have an outstanding 1-2 punch at the WR position with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate but with a trio of tight ends that can catch the ball, it provides Detroit all kinds of matchup problems to work against opponents.
Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria and rookie Eric Ebron gives the Lions an embarrassment of riches at TE that Stafford can use in the passing game. But all three have had injury issues this season. Fauria hurt an ankle in mid-September and is just now beginning to round back into shape. Ebron has been slowed by a balky hamstring and Pettigrew has had a foot injury.
All three should play this week and will present a tough matchup regardless of who is on the field at any time. New England like many other teams in the league has struggled at times in covering tight ends.
Rush Defense Incredible: As we mentioned above the Lions are the #1 rush defense in the league allowing an average of a paltry 68.8 yards per game. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of how dominant they’ve been.
Only one team (Jets) has rushed for more than 100 yards on the season against Detroit, and the Lions have allowed only four rushing touchdowns all season, and only one in the past six games. Contrast that with New England running for four just last week in Indianapolis.
Every team they’ve faced has rushed for less than their season average and the Lions are holding opponents to nearly 38 percent below what they normally rush for. This is especially important to recognize as the Patriots rely on being balanced in the run/pass game to open up play action passing.
Special Teams Focus Again: In what could be a very tight defensive game, there could be an increased focus on Special Teams play again this week. Bill Belichick always talks about “total team wins” which means offense, defense and special teams.
The Lions were very poor in their field goal kicking earlier in the season; they’ve missed 11 field goals on the year. But they’ve solidified the position by signing former Broncos kicker Matt Prater. Detroit also has one of the better returners in the league with Jeremy Ross who handles both kicks and punts.
Facing a Patriots unit with the ever dangerous Julian Edelman, both units will be hard pressed to contain the other. Sam Martin has been outstanding for the Lions in the punt game with a 46.7 average and a 41.1 yard net.
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