LOOK FOR PATS TO BOUNCE BACK
DETROIT — The Patriots are extremely good at cleaning up their messes. They don’t let losses multiply into worrisome stretches or disastrously long losing streaks. During the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era, losses are typically followed by wins. Following a regular-season loss, Brady-led Patriots teams are 36-6. They have only lost backto-back games twice in the last four years.
Enter Detroit and a date in prime time tonight with Matt Patricia and the 0-2 Lions. There’s nothing like facing a struggling opponent for a bounce-back win, but the opponent typically doesn’t matter when it’s time to right the ship.
To properly set the scene, the Pats put themselves in this position by producing their annual September dud, suffering a 31-20 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla., last week.
The players know the drill and the history when it comes to rebounding. They want to get the losing taste out of their mouths as quickly as possible. “You can’t dwell on the losses in this league. You have to move on pretty quickly, and focus on the next opponent,” said receiver Chris Hogan. “I think everyone in this locker room does a really good job. We learn from the corrections, and we move on.” Coming off a win in the Super Bowl LI, the Patriots raised the championship banner and were promptly throttled in the 2017 opener by Kansas City. The following week, they quickly erased that memory by beating the Saints at the Superdome. Two other times during the year, they followed up losses with wins, the last time coming from behind to take down the Steelers in Pittsburgh after losing to the Dolphins in Miami.
“There’s always been that sense of urgency around here,” said Devin McCourty. “It doesn’t even need to be said. Guys understand how to approach the week and make sure we play better than we did last week.”
Given how thoroughly the Jaguars beat them, there’s been some panic about the defense — Blake Bortles threw for 377 yards and four touchdowns — and the lack of weapons for Brady.
Off the field, the latter problem was addressed during the week with the addition of former Browns star Josh Gordon. The Patriots traded a fifthround pick to Cleveland to acquire the highly talented wideout, whose off-field issues led to numerous suspensions.
Gordon practiced with the team on a limited basis in the lead-up to tonight’s game. He’s been nursing a minor hamstring issue. It’s anyone’s guess if he plays. Given his ability to take the top off a defense, even for just a few plays here and there, he certainly would help the Patriots get back in the win column.
“He’s a tremendous athlete, a great receiver,” said linebacker Dont’a Hightower. “We’re glad to have him.”
Patricia, the Patriots’ defensive coordinator the past seven seasons, knows what kind of threat Gordon can be. He watched Gordon catch a pass on former Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib during a game in Foxboro five years ago and outrun everyone on the field for an 80-yard touchdown.
“Obviously a tremendous player,” Patricia said. “Again, I think unfortunately the last time I saw him, he caught a slant that he’s probably still running.”
Patricia will be facing his former team and former mentor, providing another subplot to tonight’s showdown. He hasn’t started out well, and the prospects of beating the Patriots after a loss, or in general, aren’t the best.
The Patriots, however, respect Patricia, and what he might have in store.
“He’s a great coach, a great defensive coach and I know he’s going to have a good scheme and be ready for us,” said Rob Gronkowski, “so we’ve got to be ready too.”
Offensively, the Lions have a lot of talent, starting with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Last week, down 30-13 to San Francisco, they showed their firepower and resiliency with a pair of touchdowns to draw within three. If given time, Stafford can really sling it, with plenty of weapons to choose from. Theo Riddick is one of the league’s best pass-catching running backs, and the Pats got burned repeatedly by Jaguars back Corey Grant (six catches, 56 yards) last week. Stafford also has Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay and Golden Tate, and all have big play capability.
“It’s just a tough offense to play against,” said McCourty. “The biggest thing in the passing game, once you add Riddick, there’s a lot of threats on the field, in all areas of the field. That makes them extremely difficult to try and shut down for four quarters.”
The good news?
The Pats have won four straight against Detroit, and have not lost to the Lions during the Brady era. The last time Brady was at Ford Field, he merely had a perfect passer rating was 21for-27 (77.8 percent) passing for 341 yards (12.6 yards/attempt) and four touchdowns. McCourty wasn’t buying into that. He said what happened in the past doesn’t hold a lot of weight. The Patriots are trying to establish themselves this season, and that means rebounding from last week and winning their first road game.
“Right now, we’re not a good road team,” he said. “We haven’t won on the road. I don’t think we can speak about what’s been done in the past. We have to go try to become a good road team.”
Prediction: Patriots 34, Lions 28