The New England Patriots were awfully familiar with their opponent Thursday night.
The Patriots opened the preseason on a high note, drubbing the Detroit Lions 31-3 at Ford Field. The matchup was preceded by three joint practices, which allowed a handful of former teammates to reunite. The Lions’ roster features quite a few ex-Patriots, headlined by Danny Amendola and Trey Flowers.
The man calling the shots in Detroit also used to call New England home. Matt Patricia, who served on the Patriots coaching staff from 2004 through 2017, is set to enter his second season as Detroit’s head coach. After the game, a number of Pats, including Bill Belichick, Julian Edelman and Dont’a Hightower, made sure to show Patricia some love.
Patricia still holds some bragging rights against his former team. Thursday marked his second matchup against New England since taking over as the head man in Detroit. As Pats fans likely will remember, Patricia’s Lions handed the eventual Super Bowl LIII champs one of their ugliest losses in the 2018 season in Week 3.
The Patriots now will set their sights on Week 2 of the preseason. Ironically enough, their next opponent, the Tennessee Titans, also feature a number of folks with New England ties. Belichick and Co. will reunite with Logan Ryan, Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler and head coach Mike Vrabel during their time in Nashville.
