Jim Schwartz (Getty Images)
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The Detroit Lions are the the doormat of the NFC no longer. Detroit pummeled the Patriots 34-10 on Saturday night in an impressive display of football on all sides of the ball. The Patriots, considered a Super Bowl contender, were outplayed from the starting whistle to final gun.
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Tom Brady stepped forward, pulled his arm back and was ready to throw
deep - when Detroit's Cliff Avril slammed the New England quarterback
to the turf from behind, knocking the ball loose.
It was only a preseason game, but Saturday night's 34-10 victory over
the Patriots was everything the Lions envisioned when they started
training camp with such high hopes.
Detroit overwhelmed Brady with an aggressive pass rush and raced out to
a comfortable lead behind a terrific performance by Matthew Stafford.
The Lions, who haven't had a winning season since 2000, delighted their
home crowd and even earned some kind words from Bill Belichick after
their emphatic win.
''There was good energy in the stadium tonight,'' the New England coach
said. ''The Lions gave their fans a lot to cheer about - a lot for the
fans to be energized here with. The team played very well. They handled
us, easily, so I'm sure everybody here is excited about their
performance, and they should be.''
The excitement began building in Detroit after the Lions won their
final four games to finish last season 6-10. It was the first real sign
of improvement for a team that went 0-16 in 2008, and Detroit is hoping
to take another step this year now that Stafford is healthy. The former
No. 1 draft pick played only three games last season and had surgery on
his throwing shoulder, but he was nearly flawless Saturday, going 12 of
14 for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Brady didn't fare nearly as well, thanks to Detroit's imposing
defensive front. When he wasn't being chased by Ndamukong Suh, Brady
was trying to avoid Avril, Corey Williams and the rest of the defensive
line. Another sack by Avril in the second quarter left the Patriots in
an embarrassing third-and-31 situation.
''That is what we want,'' Suh said. ''We want to continue to press the
quarterback with everyone having their shot at any point in time.''
The Lions' powerful defensive line wasn't even at full strength
Saturday. First-round draft pick Nick Fairley is still recovering from
surgery on his injured left foot, and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch
has been bothered by a sore shoulder and didn't play against the
Patriots.
''We didn't have Vanden Bosch out there today - Kyle's going to be a
big part of what we do. We didn't have Fairley out there today - he's
going to be a big part of what we do,'' Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.
''Again, that's not just a front four. You can probably go front seven,
front eight when you talk about our defensive line.''
Brady said the Patriots were eager to throw downfield, and he may have
held the ball too long at times.
Brady did catch the Lions in a defensive breakdown in the second
quarter, finding a wide open Wes Welker over the middle for a 44-yard
touchdown. Detroit answered with a field goal, and Ricardo Silva
intercepted Brady late in the half to set up backup quarterback Shaun
Hill's 9-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Brown that made it 27-10 at
halftime.
Belichick left Brady in to start the second half before finally pulling
him. Stafford's night was long over by then. His passer rating in three
preseason games - all wins - is 154.0. Perhaps most importantly, he's
remained healthy, even after absorbing a big hit Saturday night when
linebacker Jerod Mayo came charging across the line of scrimmage
unblocked.
''I know there were a lot of people who kept asking about, `Do you want
to see him take a hit?' No, not really,'' Schwartz said. ''Obviously,
he was able to hang in there. ... He's played very well, particularly
last year and this year when he's been on the field - we just have to
keep him that way.''
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