New England Patriots trounce high scoring Detroit Lions in shutout fashion

The New England Patriots rebounded from their tough overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers with a convincing 29-0 blowout, shutout win over the hapless Detroit Lions who fell to one and four on the season.

The win, engineered by backup rookie quarterback, Bailey Zappe, touted in some places as the no-question starter in relief of the injured Mac Jones, has rewarded that suggestion. The win brings the Patriots up to two and three on the year and revives their hopes for a winning if not a playoff season.

There was no prediction for this one, but if there had been, it would have been for a win due to the poor opposition provided by the Lions. A loss to Detroit may have essentially finished any hopes for a successful season.

Now, the door is still open although the Buffalo Bills continued to roll on ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East Division, though the Miami Dolphins stumbled without Tua Tagovailoa and were thumped by the suddenly and surprisingly resurgent New York Jets, 40-17.

Let’s take a look at some key aspects of how the Patriots rolled at home over the Lions.

New England Patriots keys to trouncing Detroit

First, the wearing of the throw-back Red, White, and Blue Pat Patriots uniforms had to have a positive impact on the game. No question about it. Those uniforms are still fabulous and they evidently inspired the home team to great heights against Detroit.

The play of backup rookie Zappe also has to draw lots of attention. Zappe threw for a monstrous 81 percent completion rate on 17/21 completions with a touchdown and an interception. If this space didn’t know any better, it might ask if there may be a quarterback controversy brewing in New England.

‘Nuf said about that, but winning can become habit-forming. You go with the hot hand and there will be lots of motivation for Jones to get back in action with Zappe proving himself to be quite an astute fourth-round defeat pick to this point, indeed.

In addition, you can take it to the bank that a likely key to any Patriots victory will be the play of their best defensive and overall player. That would be “sack a game”, super-edge player, Matt Judon. Five 2022 games have yielded five Judon sacks. It is what it is, superb, and it is no surprise in this space.

Before his 2021 season was derailed by Covid in 2021, Judon was on the same pace. This season, fully healthy, he’s a terror on the New England Patriots defense and easily the team’s best player. His stellar play was even highlighted by the All-Time best Patriots’ linebacker, sack man, and both Patriot and Pro Football Hall of Famer, the great, Andre Tippett.

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Tipp had this to say about Judon as related by ESPN’s fine reporter, Mike Reiss,

"“He brings excitement. I love watching him play,” …  “He has that change-of-direction, that hump move, where he gets the tackle moving up, and then he comes back and slips under with that rip, uppercut,” he said. “It’s a [lethal] move. If the tackle doesn’t move his feet and can’t move with him, he’s going to blow that quarterback up, and that can be a turnover.”"

The free agency splurge in 2021 yielded mixed results but in Judon’s case, it was a grand slam home run. Give credit where credit is due, the Patriots personnel team nailed it when they splashed the cash for Matt. Judon was a Pro-Bowler last season and he may even be heading toward an All-Pro designation after this one.

Judon notched a sack against Lions quarterback, Jared Goff that resulted in a  “take-it-to-the-house” fumble recovery by emerging star safety, Kyle Dugger.

Dugger has what it takes to be a Pro-Bowler and his only challenge is staying healthy. If he does, he’s on his way to stardom.

In addition, another 2022 fourth-round pick, Jack Jones, doing his best J.C. Jackson impression,  notched his second interception in two games  A reevaluation of the 2022 draft may be necessary shortly. Stay tuned.

So those are a few of the positives in this big, perhaps season-altering win. Can the Patriots sustain the improvement? Could this possibly be the start of something big? Hope so.

We’ll see next week against the solid Cleveland Browns, who lost a close one to the LA Chargers today. Can the New England Patriots wear their retro uniforms every game? Just askin’.