Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ win over the Lions in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Defense flexes its depth: Not many of the Patriots' main starters on defense even saw the field but that didn't stop this unit from continuing to be the dominating group we saw to close last season. In the first half, the defense allowed just three first downs, didn't allow a third-down conversion and had six of a game-high nine sacks as the Lions had minus-2 yards passing. The most impressive thing was it was a total defensive effort. The group up front stopped the run (5 carries, 15 yards from backs), the secondary had tight coverage, which caused the quarterbacks to hesitate, and the pass rush got home with a variety of people (Jamie Collins, Derek Rivers, Danny Shelton, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Shilique Calhoun). Very, very impressive.
Passing offense very efficient: To say that the passing offense has been inconsistent to this point in training camp, that would probably be kind. But when the lights were on Thursday night, everything was clicking. The protection was good up front, especially from LT Dan Skipper, the ball was out on time from both Brian Hoyer (12 of 14, 147 yards, 2 TDs, 150.0 rating) and Jarrett Stidham, and then the receivers made contested catch after catch. From N'Keal Harry, to Maurice Harris and Jakobi Meyers, the Patriots seemed to catch every ball even if the coverage was tight. Now, how much of that was the Patriots and how much was the Lions not playing many starters?
Jarrett Stidham looks comfortable: His final stats (12 of 24, 179 yards, 1 TD, 95.7 rating) didn't approach Hoyer's but it was a great debut overall from Stidham. He ran the two-minute offense, had a few deep passes that were on target but not hauled in and showed a deft touch and a strong arm when needed. Wouldn't go too nuts with how he looked against the Lions, but he nailed the big-picture stuff like getting in and out of the huddle, operating from under center, showing a good calmness, and throwing a few nice passes under pressure. He'll still be a project, but the early results on Josh McDaniels' work was very good.
TURNING POINT
After punting on the opening series, the Patriots looked like they might another shorter series as they faced a third-and-10 at the Detroit 32-yard line. That's when Hoyer threw back-shoulder to Harry and it opened everyone's eyes.
SECOND GUESS
FOUR UP
WR Jakobi Meyers: Posted a game-high six catches and 69 yards and two touchdowns. And most of them were not easy. Good to see a player who was the camp star carry that over into a game. Now he needs to keep building on that.
WR N'Keal Harry: Had a limited playing stint due to a leg injury, but both of his catches were big and impressive.
DE Chase Winovich: Had 1.5 sacks officially but it seemed like he was involved in every play in the second half. He wasn't going against starting-caliber players, but Winovich was impactful and dominated at times.
LT Dan Skipper: The best thing for an offensive lineman is never to be mentioned and you barely noticed the stand-in left tackle because he was rock-solid in pass protection and run blocking.
FOUR DOWN
Penalties: About the only place where the Patriots lost to the Lions was in penalties, where the Patriots had a whopping 12 for 135 yards.
CB Duke Dawson: Gave up an easy crossing route for a first down and also had a holding penalty that was declined due to another penalty. With so much depth in the secondary, every player needs to be on top of their games at all times.
K Stephen Gostkowski: Missed a 37-yard field goal and he couldn't even blame the holder because it was Ryan Allen, his normal partner. This will only lead to more conversation about why there's a punting conversation and not a kicking battle.
Whoever was responsible for this: Come, bro. Is Belichick withholding the K until he earns it with a big kick?
INJURIES
WR N'Keal Harry (hamstring): Came up limping after his second catch and was pulled from the game. Appeared to be the same right hamstring he hurt in practice on Tuesday.
TE Matt LaCosse (ankle): Got rolled up on while run blocking and immediately reacted and was helped off the field.
TOP PLAYS
TWO TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
These young targets aren't this good ... yet: It doesn't look good right now, but I'm sticking by my column from earlier in the week that said the Patriots need their real weapons back when it comes to the regular season. It's great that, specifically, Jakobi Meyers, Braxton Berrios and Dontrelle Inman looked good against the Lions, but that's not how they looked in practice with tighter coverage and more time against starters. This was a bit of an aberration.
Patriots are going to have some really tough cuts/trades: How are they going to choose between players, say, on the edge between John Simon, Derek Rivers, Shilique Calhoun et al? What about linebacker with guys like Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts, Ja'Whaun Bentley? What about cornerback and safety? Tonight was a perfect example of the depth on this team, especially on defense, and how there are going to be some very tough decisions.