TB, Pats on target
Dominant in Detroit
DETROIT — Tom Brady and the Patriots tuned up the Lions last night in Motown, though they didn’t return home fully intact.
If this was indeed their final preseason audition before the Sept.7 opener against the Chiefs, the Patriots surely looked like the juggernaut looking to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Patriots won, 30-28, and the starters left the game in the second quarter with a 24-7 lead.
Brady was 12-of-15 for 174 yards and two touchdowns, though his night ended oddly when he forced a deep ball to Chris Hogan that was intercepted in the end zone by Glover Quin.
But aside from that largely meaningless mistake, Brady was on fire with his heavy artillery. Hogan caught four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns that gave the Pats a lightning-quick 13-0 lead.
“It was a good start,” tight end Rob Gronkowski said. “We’ve got a lot to work on still. But coming out fast, scoring a touchdown on the first drive, it’s how you want to start a ballgame.”
The Patriots’ greatest issue of the night, however, was the likely loss of Julian Edelman. He had three catches for 52 yards on the opening drive before he was carted into the locker room with a right knee injury. The initial tests on Edelman’s knee were ominous, and the Patriots believe he suffered a season-ending injury, though he’ll have an MRI today to know for sure, according to sources.
“You never want to see a guy go down,” Gronk said.
Danny Amendola (two receptions for 27 yards), Gronkowski (1 for 9 yards), Brandin Cooks (1 for 8 yards) and James White (1 for 8 yards) also caught passes from Brady and Mike Gillislee added eight carries for 38 yards, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion during his preseason debut with the starters.
The Patriots jumped all over the Lions before anyone in the building even broke a sweat. Brady completed his first four attempts for 59 yards and an easy 7-yard touchdown to Hogan for a 7-0 lead. The brisk seven-play, 75-yard drive finished with 11:51 left in the quarter.
The Lions didn’t exactly roar back. Golden Tate caught an 8-yard pass from Matthew Stafford, but Malcolm Butler punched out the ball that was recovered by Jordan Richards at the Lions’ 32-yard line. On the first play, Brady uncorked a smooth 32-yard TD pass to Hogan down the left sideline for a 13-0 lead, as Stephen Gostkowski pulled the extra point wide left.
Touchdowns 21 seconds apart, the Patriots kept the momentum intact by forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing series. Brady made a strong third-and-4 delivery to Amendola for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, Gronkowski drew his second defensive flag of the night, and the pass interference set up the Pats at the Lions’ 12.
After two White runs for 11 yards, Gillislee got his first carry of the preseason and followed blocks by James O’Shaughnessy and James Develin for a 1-yard touchdown with 6:29 to go in the first. After a Lions’ illegal formation penalty, Bill Belichick opted for a 2-point try, and Gillislee hit the end zone again to make it 21-0.
“We go out there each and every day and give it all we’ve got,” Gillislee said. “We practice hard. We’ve been looking good at practice, and it showed tonight.”
Brady, who was 10-of-11 for 157 yards in the opening quarter, capped the frame with a fourth consecutive scoring drive, as Gostkowski’s 46-yard field goal made it 24-0.
The defensive starters remained on the field for the next series when Stafford finally broke through. He completed four consecutive passes for 70 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown to Marvin Jones that made it 24-7.
Stafford was 11-of-17 for 125 yards, a touchdown and a pick against the Pats starting defense. He played one more series against the backups and was 4-of-5 for 65 yards and a touchdown to Dwayne Washington.
Jake Rudock kept the comeback alive in the battle of the backups by leading a pair of TD drives, delivering an 11-yard scoring toss to Jared Abbrederis and Washington’s 1-yard run made it 28-24 midway through the fourth.
The Patriots didn’t move the chains on Jimmy Garoppolo’s first three drives, but he went 3-of-6 for 38 yards on his fourth chance. D.J. Foster chipped in with six carries for 30 yards, including a 13-yard gain on fourth-and-5 that set up Gostkowski’s 25-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 28-27 with 3:41 to play.
Garoppolo (7-of-12, 84 yards) later delivered a 32-yard pass to Cody Hollister to set up Gostkowski’s 45-yard game-winning kick with 2 seconds left.