TEACHER VS. PUPIL TO WATCH

Bill Belichick is not new to this, but Matt Patricia is.

When Belichick’s Patriots play Patricia’s Lions on Sunday night in Detroit, it will mark the fifth chapter in Belichick’s “teacher vs. pupil” series during his wildly successful tenure in New England.

Patricia, who was Belichick’s defensive coordinator 2012-17, was hired as the Lions head coach in the offseason. Belichick is 11-4 against his former Patriots assistants and 13-8 overall.

He’s 5-0 against Bill O’Brien and the Texans, was 5-3 against Eric Mangini, who coached the Jets and Browns after leaving New England, 1-0 against Romeo Crennel and 0-1 against Josh McDaniels, who’s back with New England as the offensive coordinator after a short stint coaching the Broncos.

Belichick is also 2-2 against Nick Saban, who coached with him in Cleveland, and 0-2 against Al Groh, also a Browns assistant for him.

McDaniels told reporters during the week that coaching against his mentor “was tough, because you know you came from a place that really gave you your foundation.”

“[Patricia] knows our system very well [but] you have to balance that out,’’ McDaniels said. “You can’t try to get every guy in your building to know everything that [the Patriots] are doing, or could do, or you could potentially overwhelm them. There’s a balance there."