Matt Patricia won’t forget Sunday night anytime soon.
Patricia finally earned his first win as an NFL head coach — against his former team, no less — as the Detroit Lions upset the New England Patriots 26-10 at Ford Field.
It was a moment of joy and relief for Patricia, who endured a rough first two weeks in Detroit. After a brief postgame embrace with New England head coach Bill Belichick, the former Patriots defensive coordinator headed to the locker room to celebrate his milestone.
Click here to watch video of Patricia and the Lions celebrating inside the locker room.
A couple things to note:
— Patricia’s players looked genuinely thrilled for their new head coach, offering him hearty shoves and congratulations before swarming him in the middle of the locker room. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford also gave Patricia the game ball for notching his first NFL win.
— Patricia is more demonstrative than his old boss, but he still has a little Belichick in him. At the end of his speech, Patricia made sure to keep the Lions focused on the big picture.
“We’ve got to keep stacking them together,” he said. “We’ve got to roll now, you got me? Enjoy it tonight, men, I’m just telling you. We’ll be done with it tomorrow, and it’s on to the (Dallas) Cowboys.”
Patriots fans probably wouldn’t have liked to see it come at their team’s expense, but Sunday night’s celebration was a cool moment nonetheless.
