ive last week, days after rejoining his team from the previous three seasons. Butler signed with Arizona in free agency but was cut at the

Lions vs. Patriots recap: Lions stun the Patriots Luke Willson Jersey , 26-10 The Detroit Lions have a win, y’all and the 2018 season ain’t quite over yet. Detroit left Sunday night a winner over the New England Patriots, 26-10. Let’s get to the recap. First quarterThe game got off to an inauspicious start, as the Lions allowed another big kickoff return to the Patriots’ 42-yard line, but the defense stepped up big with a quick three-and-out. The Lions offense came out looking efficient and balanced. Six passing attempts, five rushing attempts and the Lions got themselves into field goal range, despite the fact the Patriots were calling out Detroit’s plays again:Unfortunately, a third-and-5 play came up a half-yard short, and Matt Patricia elected to kick a field goal. Lions 3-0.After another three-and-out from the Patriots thanks to an bad overthrow from Tom Brady, the Lions offense had a chance to extend their lead. Again, a balanced attack worked the Lions deep into Patriots territory, this time into the red zone. By the end of the first quarter, Detroit got themselves first-and-goal from the Patriots’ 9. Look at these first quarter stats:Lions yards: 126Patriots yards: 5Second quarterAfter a sick run from Kerryon Johnson, Matthew Stafford connected with Kenny Golladay for a catch that was originally ruled short of the goal line. However, Patricia, with a cannon of an arm, threw the challenge flag and replay confirmed Golladay had scored. 10-0 LionsStop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Lions defense responded with... another... three-and-out. The Lions were primed for good field position, but a block in the back penalty pushed them back to their own 22-yard line.That didn’t stop the Lions offense from steadily driving down the field yet again. Thanks to solid rushes from Johnson and this wild play from Stafford:But the Lions’ drive stalled in the red zone, and Detroit settled for a chip shot field goal. 13-0 LionsThe Patriots would finally get theirs in the ensuing possession, but the Lions defense made a key stop on third-and-short, holding Brady and the Patriots to a field goal. The Lions had 40 seconds to answer, but ran out of time as they were crossing into Patriots territory, so the teams went into the locker room with a score of 13-3 Lions.Third quarterThe Lions have been notoriously bad horrible in the third quarter this year, and Sunday night appeared to be no different. On the Lions first possession, Stafford forced a ball towards Luke Willson and was picked off by linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, giving the Patriots the ball around midfield. New England quickly worked their way into the red zone, and although the Lions stiffened up there Sylvester Williams Jersey , Brady laid a beautiful pass into the arms of James White for the score, and suddenly the Lions were only up three. Lions 13, Patriots 10. But the Lions weren’t going to let the third quarter narrative ruin them this week. Detroit responded with another long drive—10 plays, 75 yards—culminating in a huge 33-yard strike to Marvin Jones Jr. on just a perfectly executed play:Lions 20, Patriots 10.The Lions defense held strong yet again, and the Lions offense wasted no time getting into field goal position as the game turned to the fourth quarter.Fourth quarterThe Lions had a chance to go up three possession, driving into the Patriots’ red zone, but Detroit had to again settled for a field goal, pushing Detroit lead to 23-10 with just under 13 minutes remaining. Lions 23, Patriots 10.After an intentional grounding penalty on first down, Brady couldn’t pull the Patriots out of the hole. A third-down coverage sack produced the Lions defense’s fourth three-and-out of the day. But the Lions offense turned out their first three-and-out of the game and punted right back—their first punt of the game. The Lions’ lead held at 13 with 9:18 to go.You can never count out Touchdown Tom, and the fact that the Lions had been settling for field goals was worrisome. But Brady made a big mistake on the next drive, trying to connect on a long play. You never target Darius Slay deep, and Slay made him pay with his first interception of the year. The Lions took over at their own 19-yard line with 7:23 to go. The Lions couldn’t get much going on offense, but most importantly, on a third-and-long the Lions ran a draw play, and it HAPPENED.The Lions defense stepped up again, basically putting away the game with a four-and-out, and the party was on.A Lions holding penalty gave the Patriots an extra 40 seconds to work with, but Detroit tacked on a field goal and pushed it to a 16-point lead. 26-10 Lions. THE LIONS GOT A WIN AND A 100-YARD RUSHER. LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN.PregameThe Lions kick off against the New England Patriots in just a few hours. The inactives have been announced and the Lions are nearing full health. T.J. Lang returns after missing last week, Darius Slay is active despite suffering a concussion last week, but Ezekiel Ansah remains sidelined due to a shoulder injury from Week 1.The Patriots are beat up, missing three starters on defense, and their newest headlining addition, wide receiver Josh Gordon, will not play Sunday night. Earlier in the day, the Packers and Vikings both dropped games, giving the Lions a prime opportunity to gain ground in the NFC North after dropping their first two games of the season. But the Patriots are looking for a rebound tonight Eli Harold Jersey , too, so don’t expect Bill Belichick to roll over for his former employee Matt Patricia. It’s not quite do-or-die season for the Detroit Lions, but it’s pretty much do-or-die season for the Detroit Lions. Sitting at 0-2, the local fans are bumming, confidence in the team’s general manager is at an all-time low, and another loss would essentially bury any hopes of playoffs and it’s not even October yet. Unfortunately for Matt Patricia and the Lions, the New England Patriots are in town, and Tom Brady is not happy. New England looked like a shell of themselves last week, as the Jacksonville Jaguars got their revenge from last year’s AFC Championship game. However, the Patriots are notorious for their ability to bounce back from losses with Bill Belichick at the helm.So with Patricia looking to avoid an 0-3 start to his head coaching career, and his mentor on the other sideline looking to avoid a second-straight embarrassing loss, who will come out victorious on “Sunday Night Football?” Here’s how to catch the game:How to watch Lions-PatriotsDate: Sunday, September 23, 2018Time: 8:20 p.m. ETLocation: Ford Field—Detroit, MINationally televised: NBCAnnouncers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele TafoyaOnline streaming: NBC SportsNational radio: Westwood OneNational radio announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mike MayockLocal radio: WJR-AM NEWS TALK 760Radio announcers: Dan Miller, Lomas BrownOdds: Patriots by 7 The vibes are vastly different for a pair of 1-2 teams trying to put rough starts behind them.The Detroit Lions just secured their first win under new coach Matt Patricia, against longtime boss Bill Belichick and New England, in prime time no less.The Dallas Cowboys can’t fix a dysfunctional passing game even with the first 100-yard rushing performance of the season for star running back Ezekiel Elliott in a loss to Seattle.The vibes won’t matter to Patricia on Sunday when he goes after his first road win, just three weeks removed from a jolting 48-17 loss to the New York Jets at home in his debut.“They’re all one-week seasons,” the former Patriots defensive coordinator said. “I would say the good thing about where we’re at right now is we’re starting to get into a little bit more season mode coming out of training camp, getting kind of into a little bit of a schedule rhythm.”The Cowboys can’t find anything remotely resembling a rhythm with quarterback Dak Prescott and a new group of receivers trying to replace Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. Three Detroit receivers — Golden Tate, Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones — have nearly 200 more yards receiving (690) than the entire Dallas offense (498).Prescott is averaging 166 yards passing with a QB rating (74.9) exactly 30 points lower than his NFL rookie record when he was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016.“This is about everything we’re doing offensively,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We have to coach better. We got to play better. We got to run it better. We got to throw it better. We got to protect better. We have to do all the things that good offenses do.”Actually, the Cowboys figured out the running part with Elliott’s 127 yards on 16 carries in a 24-13 loss to the Seahawks. But he had two crucial errors, stepping out of bounds before catching what would have been a tying touchdown pass in the first half Ricky Wagner Jersey , and fumbling when the offense was finally on track in the fourth quarter.“We can’t have our defense on the field the majority of those first halves,” said Elliott, who is tied with San Francisco’s Matt Breida for the NFL rushing lead at 274 yards. “We’ve got to come out there, get a fast start, execute, get some momentum and carry that through the game.”Things to consider in the first meeting between the teams since a 42-21 Dallas victory late in the 2016 season when Prescott and Elliott were the dazzling rookie duo leading the Cowboys to an NFC-best 13 wins:ANOTHER STAFFORD HOMECOMINGLions quarterback Matthew Stafford is set for his fourth appearance at the home of the Cowboys, just a few miles from his Dallas high school. Stafford won his hometown debut in 2011, rallying the Lions from 13 points down in the fourth quarter for a 34-30 win. He’s lost two straight since, including one of the blemishes on his 0-3 playoff record. The Cowboys won a wild-card game during the 2014 season on Tony Romo’s late touchdown pass.ROOKIE MILESTONELeighton Vander Esch, the Cowboys’ first-round pick in April, is set for his first career start with Sean Lee sidelined by another hamstring injury. Lee was injured in Seattle, and Vander Esch tied for the team lead with a career-high 10 tackles. “There’s a reason they drafted me in the first round, and I gotta live up to that,” Vander Esch said.KERRYON WAYWARD SONRookie Kerryon Johnson had the Lions’ first 100-yard rushing game in nearly five years in the 26-10 win over the Patriots. While the Cowboys have the NFL’s No. 3 overall defense, they’ve been more vulnerable against the run. Detroit’s previous 100-yard game was by Reggie Bush (117) in a 40-10 win over Green Bay on Thanksgiving in 2013. “It’s been a while,” said Johnson, who had 101 yards on 16 carries. “But I feel like as a group, as an offense, as a team, that’s what’s expected of us. That’s doing our job.”RECEIVER CAROUSELThe Cowboys carried seven receivers last week, with six active against Seattle. Brice Butler could play after being inactive last week, days after rejoining his team from the previous three seasons. Butler signed with Arizona in free agency but was cut at the end of the preseason. If Butler is active, there’s a chance Terrance Williams will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his six-year career. Williams has played just 22 percent of the snaps so far.ANSAH WATCHDetroit defensive end Ziggy Ansah, playing on the franchise tag this season, has been out since injuring a shoulder in the opener against the Jets. He missed the first practice of the week. “He’s working extremely hard and he’s doing everything we’re asking him to do,” Patricia said. “I have the utmost respect for his work ethic and what he’s trying to do to help us.”