Detroit Lions crushed by New England Patriots
The New England Patriots were expected to simply breeze through today’s game against the Detroit Lions but things didn’t exactly go their way. The Detroit Lions started the game a bit slow.
Their first and second drives completely collapsed without many yards gained. New England didn’t have a particularly better run on the offense but they did manage to score a field goal on one of their drives. They closed in and got to Detroit’s 2-yard line
on their final down and instead of going all or nothing for the touchdown, the Patriots opted for the field goal instead, which was good.
Detroit’s quarterback Shaun Hill had better luck on his third drive. He rushed 13 yards from the 32 and threw a 19 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson to put Detroit in the lead before the first quarter ended.
The Patriots started the second quarter on the offense but a seven yards penalty on a play that would have given New England 14 yards set them back. They started the drive on 18 and took the punt on the 21 yard line after three plays.
Detroit’s answer cemented its lead in the next drive. The Lions returned the Patriots punt for 8 yards to start their offense on the 37. Detroit pursued the drive with short but consistent gains. The longest pass thrown in the drive was for just 9 yards.
Shaun Hill was very accurate in the drive and missed just one of five passes. Detroit’s usually helpless running game also came to life and complemented Hill’s effort for a touchdown. With the second touchdown the Lions led 14 against 3 and were beginning
to look like they could win.
Having found little offensive success in the first quarter and for most of the second quarter, the Patriots changed their strategy. On their next drive New England’s running back Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis, carried the ball 5 times for 38 yards, including a
15 yard rush for a touchdown. Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady completed just two passes for 18 and 13 yards to help the drive along. The rest was all up to the running backs and they delivered.
The Patriots had narrowed Detroit’s lead down to 3 points with the second touchdown and with just 39 seconds remaining on the clock for Detroit to mount an offensive, it didn’t seem like the scores would change before the 3rd quarter.
But they did, in just 39 seconds of play Detroit got from its 33 to New England’s 26. In the Last second the Lions attempted the field goal and it was good giving the Lions a 7-point lead in the 3rd quarter.
New England’s first offensive drive of the 3rd quarter failed but an interception, returned for 23 yards, in Detroit’s second play gave New England the break they needed. The Patriots were just 26 yards short of the end zone and they covered the
distance with ease as Tom Brady threw a 5 yards touchdown pass to Wes Walker, equalizing the score.
Detroit took back the lead in their next drive with a touchdown but Brady was on a roll. After the touchdown, Tom Brady threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Deion Branch to equalize again and he was far from done. Detroit was unable to score again after the
3rd quarter when the points were tied at 24. New England, however, didn’t stop scoring.
Just over a minute into the 4th quarter, continuing an offensive from the 3rd, New England scored its fourth touchdown with Deion Branch picking up a 22 yard pass from Tom Brady.
After foiling another drive by the Lions, the Patriots scored again. Brandon Tate rushed 17 yards and Rob Gronkowski received a 26 yards pass to set up the touchdown. Brady finished it off with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Wes Walkers, second touchdown for
Walker and fourth for Brady.
Barely a minute after the touchdown Patriots’ cornerback Devin McCourty intercepted Hill for the second time in the game. McCourty caught the ball on New England’s 38 and ran with it into the red zone for 50 yards. On the 12 yard line, a 5 yard penalty,
3 yard and a 3 yard pass took the Patriots to the one yard line. Green-Ellis rushed the final yard to score his second touchdown of the game, and sixth for the Patriots.
The Lions made one more push for the touchdown but their drive proved unsuccessful. The final quarter ended with the ball in New England’s possession and a 21-point lead over Detroit to win the game.
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