Patriots-Lions Week 5 news, notes, and fun facts
BOSTON -- It's a throwback weekend for the Patriots, who will take the field Sunday against the Lions in their old school red/white look.
That also means the return of those incredible white Pat Patriot helmets that the team wore from 1984-92, and sporadically from 1994-2012. This will be the 14th time that the Patriots will wear their throwbacks since they went away in 1992, with the team touting a 9-3 record in the old unis.
The last time the Patriots wore their Pat Patriot look, they earned a 29-26 overtime win over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium during the 2012 season. Sunday will be one of two throwback games for New England this year, as the team will also go red and white against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football in December.
As for this weekend, the 1-3 Patriots will look to get back on track against the 1-3 Detroit Lions. Here's everything you need to know heading into the game.
Week 5 Notes
- The Patriots and the Lions have played each other a dozen times over the years. New England owns a 7-5 edge in the head-to-head series.
- This is the first meeting of the two teams since the Patriots lost in Detroit, 26-10, during the 2018 season. Matt Patricia was the head coach of the Lions for that Sunday Night Football clash.
- This weekend will be Detroit's seventh visit to New England, with the Patriots owning a 4-2 record over the Lions in Foxboro. The Patriots have won both meetings at Gillette Stadium: a 28-21 win in 2006 and a 34-9 victory in 2014.
- Detroit owns the NFL's top-rated offense, averaging 436.8 yards per game and 35 points per contest. But the Lions defense ranks last in the league, surrendering 35.3 points per game. Detroit has scored 140 points this season, but has allowed 141 points.
- The Lions have scored 18 touchdowns over the first four games of the season. The Patriots have scored just nine.
- Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots are 30-11 at home against NFC opponents. A win this weekend would move New England into a tie for the most home wins over the NFC by an AFC team in that span, tying the Steelers (31-8) and Ravens (31-10).
- The Patriots have started 1-3 nine times in franchise history, including twice when they were the Boston Patriots. They've finished above .500 just three times after starting a season 1-3: last season, in 2001, and in 1988. The 2021 Patriots finished the year 10-7 and lost on Wild Card weekend, the 2001 Patriots finished the regular season 11-5 before going on to win the Super Bowl, and the 1988 Patriots finished 9-7 .
Player Notes
- If Matthew Judon records a sack against Detroit, he'll become the first Patriots player to start a season with a sack in each of the first five games.
- With four sacks on the season, Deatrich Wise needs just one more to tie his career-best of five that he set as a rookie in 2017.
- Rookie Jack Jones had a pick-six last week against Green Bay. If he returns another interception for a touchdown this weekend, he'll become the first Patriots player to ever record a pick-six in back-to-back games.
- Jack Jones also forced a fumble against the Packers, and can become the first Patriots player with a forced fumble in back-to-back game since Jamie Collins accomplished the feat in 2019.
- Damien Harris scored the 20th rushing touchdown of his career last Sunday, and is two rushing scores away from moving into a tie with Stevan Ridley and Tom Brady for 10th place on the franchise's all-time list.
Connections
- Bill Belichick spent two seasons as an assistant coach in Detroit in 1976 and 1977.
- Patriots senior football advisor and offensive line coach Matt Patricia was head coach of the Lions from 2016-18. He was 13-29-1 as a head coach when he was fired during the 2020 season.
- Patriots defensive lineman Carl Davis Jr. and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu are both from Detroit.
- Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu is from Grafton, MA and attended Grafton High School.
- Lions corner Will Harris played his four seasons of college football at Boston College from 2015-18.
- Lions receiver/return man Kalif Raymond spent his college days at Holy Cross from 2012-2015.
We've got Sunday's Patriots-Lions game covered for you, starting at 11:30am with Patriots GameDay. After the game, you can watch Patriots 5th Quarter streaming only on CBSBoston.com!
