New England Patriots romp over Detroit Lions in Thanksgiving day Classic
All it took was a perfect QB rating from Tom Brady. For the second time in his career, the New England Patriots quarterback had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in his team’s 45-24 dismantling of the Detroit Lions on Thursday, 25 November.
The game was a lot closer than the final final score would indicate, as Detroit kept pace with the Patriots for the first three quarters. The game was tied 24-24 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, before Brady and his bunch systematically carved up
the Lions defence in Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving afternoon game.
"We showed some resiliency, coming out in the second half and playing the way we did when the crowd was into it," Brady said after the game.
Brady threw four touchdown passes, all in the second half, and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had two rushing touchdowns to go with his 59 rushing yards. Calvin Johnson led the Lions in receiving with 81 yards and touchdown, while running back Maurice
Morris ran for 55 yards and had two touchdowns.
"I don't think we're at where we need to be at," Brady continued, “But this is a tough group."
Lions center Dominic Raiola was impressed with the opposing QB, revealing, “He's like a surgeon."
Brady threw the go-ahead pass to Deion Branch to kick off the fourth quarter. The 79-yard pass and score was the longest completion of the season for the Patriots. Wes Welker’s second touchdown of the game sealed the victory for New England.
After the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick expressed, “When you outscore a team 35-7 in the second half, a lot of things have to go right."
Center Raiola had the fans emotions on his mind, and shared in their disappointment regarding the loss. "This one is really tough because we gave everybody so much hope," Raiola said. "We were up 14-3, Ford Field was going crazy, and then boom, boom, boom."
Coach Belichick gave credit to Patriots rookie cornerback Devin McCourty for making an interception that switched momentum towards New England. "That was a big play by Devin that really swung the game," Belichick said. The interception led to Wes Welker’s
tying touchdown.
The win was another milestone for coach Bill Belichick. He joined Hall of Famer Tom Landry as the only coaches with at least 10 consecutive winning seasons with the same team since the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970.
The Patriots now sit at 9-2 and are tied with the New York Jets, who beat the Cincinnati Bengals last night, atop the AFC East division.
Before the game, it was announced the Patriots had re-signed all-purpose running back Danny Woodhead to a two-year contract extension. Woodhead refused to comment on the signing, simply revealing, “I’m very happy to be here,” when asked about the extension.
The Lions, who were playing without starting quarterback Sam Bradford as he recovers from his second shoulder injury of the season, are 2-9. Though their record remains unimpressive, the team has seen much improvement from last season, particularly on the
offense.
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