The Lions starters on offense remained into their game against the Patriots into the third quarter and the extended playing time allowed them to end their night with a pair of scoring drives.
Running back Dwayne Washington took a pass from Matthew Stafford for an 18-yard touchdown to end the night for the majority of the Lions offensive regulars after the Patriots had already started moving down the depth chart. Stafford and Marvin Jones connected on a 23-yard score just before halftime for the first Lions points on a night that saw the Patriots jump out to a 24-0 lead.
The Lions helped that effort with a turnover on their first offensive play. Patriots corner Malcolm Butler ripped the ball from wide receiver Golden Tate’s hands to set up a Tom Brady touchdown pass. The Lions would turn the ball over again when cornerback Eric Rowe picked off Stafford on a pass to rookie Kenny Golladay and Detroit only gained 78 yards on their first five possessions.
Stafford ended his night 15-of-22 for 190 yards and Ameer Abdullah ran 13 times for 60 yards, which looks better on paper than it felt on the field given the way the Patriots offense stomped on the Lions defense to open the game.
