The New England Patriots' game plan against the Detroit Lions worked to perfection.
Facing the NFL's highest-scoring offense, the Patriots pitched a shutout, stopped the Lions on all six of their fourth-down conversion attempts, scored a defensive touchdown, won the turnover battle and got a monster game out of running back Rhamondre Stevenson (25 carries, 161 yards), all while third-string rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe played mistake-free football behind a dominant offensive line.
Head coach Bill Belichick praised his players for their execution when he addressed the team after its 29-0 win at Gillette Stadium.
"Look, the big thing here (is) we played the game the way we wanted to play it," Belichick said, as seen in a locker room video shared by the Patriots on Monday. "All right? So, good ball security. Mondre, 160 yards. No. 1 in scoring -- shutout. Shutout. Six fourth-down stops. Six fourth-down stops. It's all about us, fellas."
The video also showed Belichick personally congratulating Zappe, center David Andrews and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who caught seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown after missing the previous two games with a knee injury.
"It's good to have you back," Belichick told the wideout.
Zappe also got a hug from team owner Robert Kraft, who said he was "really proud" of the first-year QB. Zappe went 17-for-21 for 188 yards and one touchdown with one interception in his first NFL start, with that pick coming off a Nelson Agholor drop.
Special teams captain Matthew Slater saluted Zappe, Stevenson and the Patriots' O-line during his traditional postgame breakdown.
"How do we feel about that shutout, though?" he asked.
"Aww, yeah," his teammates replied in unison.
The 2-3 Patriots will visit the 2-3 Cleveland Browns this Sunday.
