NFL Thursday Preview: New England Patriots vs Detroit Lions
Three regular season games have been scheduled for this Thursday in what would be a short week for six NFL franchises. The first game of the day is scheduled for 12:30 between the New England Patriots and the Detroit Lions. Both teams played this Sunday
and have only 3 days to prepare for the game.
“I think it has its physical challenges and its mental challenges,” New England’s quarterback Tom Brady said. He added that time was flying by them without them even noticing and Thursday approached quickly. Brady had a tumultuous week. He missed a practice
due to a foot injury and there was speculation that he might not be ready for Thursday. But Brady has assured that he was in good shape and would start the game for New England.
The Patriots are coming off a close win over the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. “It would be nice to be able to sit around and put your feet up on the table and enjoy last night's game for a little bit but we're on to Detroit,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick
said.
Due to the short week both teams are taking it easy. Practices have reduced contact and many players have limited participation to make sure nothing goes wrong before Thanksgiving.
There really is no competition between the two teams. The New England Patriots rank second best in the league with 8 wins and 2 losses while the Detroit Lions shine at the other end of the spectrum being the second worst team in the league with 2 wins and
8 losses. After the kind of season Detroit has had, all they could really hope for is just to make the game as tough a contest as possible. That is what the Detroit fans are looking for. The Lions have already sold out this Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game
and the crowd just wants to be entertained.
Though the Lions are playing at home and they haven’t exactly been pushovers. 5 of their 8 losses came with a 5 or fewer points spread. The Lions still have no strength they can play against the Patriots. Their defence ranks below 21 teams in terms of points
allowed and not they are going to face the league leaders. Their offence is just average. The Patriots defence isn’t particularly strong. It certainly isn’t an insurmountable obstacle for quarterback Shaun Hill who would start for the Lions on Thanksgiving.
Hill probably would put points on the board but the Lions are still going to lose the match and the Patriots would continue to hold on their place in the standings, if not move up a place.
Also where the Patriots are coming off wins against two of the toughest teams this season, the Lions have lost consecutively in the last two weeks against two of the worst teams in the league right now, the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys. The odds
of a Detroit win are miniscule. The only question is how much of a fight the Lions would put up.
Tags: