Patriots @ Lions Preview

Week 1 of the preseason is a couple of days away and football season is back in full swing. As it seems like a yearly tradition, New England will journey to Michigan to face Matt Patricia and his Detroit Lions. The first preseason game is extremely hard to predict because you have no games to base any opinions off of. I will try my best to make as many valid points as possible.

These two teams met last year in Week 3 on SNF. Detroit handed the Pats a surprising upset and had their first 100 yard rusher in 70 games (Kerryon Johnson). Although this game doesn’t matter for the standings, a whole hoard of Patriots need to impress if they want to make the 53 man roster in September. Every year, it seems like the first preseason game or so provides a fantastic game by a young rookie looking to make a name for themselves. These players, such as Ralph Webb, Devin Lucien and Austin Carr, quickly become fan favorites throughout Foxboro. With all three of these players having stellar preseason performances, fans would assume that they will find a place on the final roster. In all three of these cases, Belichick cuts the young buck.

A few people who need to shine in Detroit on Thursday come mainly on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots have a crowded WR/TE situation and will attempt to weed out as best they can. WR, such as Dontrelle Inman, Ryan Davis, Braxton Berrios and Stephen Anderson all must perform at a high level if the want to make a name for themselves as a Patriot. UDFA rookie WR Jakobi Meyers has had an impressive camp and is buzzing around New England as a possible star in the making. He has gotten first team reps all throughout Training Camp, but will Meyers catch the Belichick bug and find himself off the squad in a few weeks time? After Thursday, that question will be much more clear.

Some players on the defensive side of the ball will also need to shine to stand out. LBs Terez Hall and Elandon Roberts will need to outperform Ja’Whaun Bentley, who is returning from an injury last season. Bentley even had an interception against this Lions team in that Week 3 loss. Bentley looked like the real deal last preseason and will need to continue that to push out the other linebackers in this group.

The first week of preseason is almost impossible to predict a score because you have no game data for this season. But based off the depth that the Patriots can rotate on both sides of the ball, my call is 24-13 New England.