Matt Patricia weaved his way through a crowd to

hug the man who helped him live a dream.Patricia beat mentor Bill Belichick http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-john-hannah-jersey , seemingly making all the right moves to help the Detroit Lions defeat the New England Patriots 26-10 Sunday night."I'm sure it meant a lot, his first win as a head coach," Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "Probably no sweeter than to do it against your old team."We needed this one."The Lions (1-2) suddenly looked like a team with a plan on offense and defense under their first-year coach, and former New England assistant. They opened the season with a 31-point loss to the New York Jets at home and fell short in a comeback at San Francisco.Patricia was given a game ball by his players, but refused to relish in the moment."I'm just happy for the guys," he said. "They're the ones who deserve it," he said.The Patriots (1-2) have had weaknesses exposed on both sides of the ball, losing two of their first three games for the first time since 2012.And, Belichick was in no mood to reflect on his former defensive coordinator earning his first win."My job is my football team," said Belichick, who is 14-9 against former assistants. "That's what I'm worried about. That's what I'm concerned about."Patricia and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also hugged briefly at midfield after the game and other New England players made a point of connecting with their former coach.Detroit was in control from the start, creating holes for rookie running back Kerryon Johnson and giving Matthew Stafford time to pass.Johnson had 101 yards rushing on 16 carries White Julian Edelman Jerseys , becoming the first player to reach the mark for the Lions since Reggie Bush ran for 117 yards against Green Bay on Nov. 28, 2013. Detroit's 70-game stretch without a 100-yard rusher was the longest since the NFL-AFL merger."We knew we needed to run the ball and take some of the pressure off Stafford and the receivers if we wanted to win this game," Johnson said. "The offensive line was hitting holes and we were attacking. That's the most physical game they've played all year, and we were able to take advantage of it."Brady pulled the Patriots within three points on a 10-yard TD pass to James White early in the third.Detroit refused to let the five-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback get any closer.Stafford responded with a 33-yard TD pass, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took more than 6 minutes off the clock.Darius Slay picked off Brady's pass at the Detroit 15 midway through the fourth quarter, helping the Lions seal the win.While Patricia and his players downplayed how much he could help them prepare for a team he helped coach the previous 14 years, Slay said it was a factor."He knows everything about that team and he made sure we knew it as well," Slay said.THE QBSStafford was 27 of 36 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Brady was 12 of 24 for 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception.THAT'S COACHINGDetroit ran the play clock down often in the second half, seemingly choosing to shorten the game and keep Brady off the field."That was a key part of the game," Patricia said. "You certainly don't want to give the ball back to them."Fans booed at Ford Field when Patricia chose to kick a 38-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-1."Any points against a team like that is going to be a good thing," Stafford said. "We had a positive drive and you would hate to come away from it with no points."Patricia also won a challenge Julian Edelman Jerseys 2019 , getting a call overturned that gave Stafford a 5-yard touchdown pass to put Detroit ahead 10-0.ALMOST A LIONNew England tight end Rob Gronkowski confirmed an ESPN report in which sources said he threatened to retire instead of being traded to Detroit in the offseason."Yeah, it happened," Gronkowski said. "Brady's my quarterback. That's all. I'm not going anywhere without Brady."INJURY REPORTPatriots: WR Josh Gordon (hamstring) was inactive, delaying his New England debut, after warming up with teammates. S Patrick Chung and DE Trey Flowers were inactive because of concussions. RB Rex Burkhead left the game in the second half with a neck injury.Lions: DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder) was inactive.UP NEXTPatriots: Hosts the AFC-East leading Miami Dolphins (3-0).Lions: Play at Dallas (1-2). At a time when the NFL appears to be willing to liberalize its approach to marijuana, one of the game’s ambassadors admitted that he was a frequent user, and that the league’s testing program isn’t really designed to catch people.During an appearance on the , retired defensive end (and former Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year) Chris Long admitted that he “enjoyed my fair share” of marijuana during his playing career.“We should be headed to a place where we allow players to enjoy what I would not even call a drug — it’s far less dangerous than guzzling a fifth of alcohol and going out after a game,” Long said, via Yahoo Sports. “Chances are the player won’t even make it to the club [laughs] to do this sort of thing that we all kind of wag our finger at when we hear about a guy getting in a fight or getting a DUI, you’re never going to read about him sitting on the couch and binge-watching ‘Game of Thrones’ again.“I think from a standpoint of what’s safer for people and the player, certainly people in the spotlight White Rob Gronkowski Jerseys , it is far less harmful than alcohol, it is far less harmful than tobacco, and at various points in the league’s history, they have engaged in partnerships on different levels with those respective industries.”Long’s not the first to point that out, and the fact the league does business in a number of precincts with varying levels of acceptance of marijuana makes it harder for them to continue to deny its use. Long also pointed out the ridiculousness of the league’s testing policy, in which a player can pass one test a year (during a period which begins on April 20, of course), and be clear for the rest of the season“I think testing is arbitrary. The league, speaking plainly, knows damn well what they’re doing,” Long said. “Testing players once a year for ‘street drugs’, which is a terrible classification for marijuana Rob Gronkowski Jerseys 2019 , is kind of silly because, you know, players know when the test is, we can stop, and in that month or two that you stop, you’re going to reach for the sleeping pills, you’re going to reach for the pain killers, you’re going to reach for the bottle a little bit more.“On the weekend you’re going to have a few more drinks, and a few turns into a few too many. . . It’s just not the same. If you’re serious about players not smoking, you’d be testing more often. I hope they go the opposite direction and kind of realize how arbitrary doing that one test a year is.”The league moving at all on the issue may be the surprise, though they’re leaning on the medical and pain-management perspectives for now. Long’s comments — particularly coming from a respected member of the league establishment — should open more eyes to the larger issues.