The First Thing to Know about the Patriots: The Detroit Lions need to watch out for what Drake Maye does when plays break down
Drake Maye threw three interceptions against Green Bay, but his ability to extend plays creates a different challenge for the Lions. Here’s what Detroit needs to watch defensively and where it can attack New England on Sunday.
Drake Maye threw three interceptions against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and that’s the stat everybody is going to start with when they talk about the New England Patriots this week. It was a bad game. Maye also threw three touchdown passes, though. The thing Detroit Lions fans should be watching in Germany is what happens when Detroit almost gets him.
If the Lions flush Maye out of the pocket and somebody stops covering his guy, they might have just helped him make the biggest play of the drive. That’s the first thing to know about the Patriots this week.
Why Drake Maye is a real test for the Lions’ defense
We’ve been talking about how much better the Lions have gotten at limiting explosive plays. What I want to see Sunday is whether they can keep that up against a quarterback who can create one after you’ve already taken away the play New England called.
There’s a good example from the Chicago Bears game. Chicago sends six, and Cam Lewis comes through unblocked. That’s about as good as it gets if you’re calling the blitz. The quick throw to the running back is covered, too. So what happens? Maye gets away to his right. Efton Chism sees him moving and breaks back toward the sideline. Maye finds him for 16 yards. The Bears got exactly the pressure they wanted, and New England still moved the chains.
It’s the same thing we talked about with Malik Willis and the same type of thing we talk about with Josh Allen. The difference is the Patriots actually practice it. When Maye gets out of the pocket, his receivers know to give him options at different depths. Somebody goes deep, somebody works back to him, and he can still take off if everybody stays covered. Per Patriots.com, Maye had 449 passing yards on dropbacks of four seconds or longer before the Miami game. That led the league at the time.
Watch the safety
I’d watch the safety on those plays. Say it’s third-and-8, Maye gets outside, and there’s a receiver running 20 yards downfield. If Maye takes off for five yards and you tackle him, you’ve got a chance to get off the field. If the safety comes down too early and Maye throws it over his head, you’ve just given up the exact play you spent the whole week trying to prevent.
Now, does that mean the Lions should sit back all day? No. There’s something they can take from what Green Bay did. All three of Maye’s interceptions came in the first half. On one of them, he’s looking for Eli Raridon coming across the field. Xavier McKinney is sitting there in position, and by the time Maye lets it go, McKinney can get to the ball. The Patriots later hit Raridon for 28 yards on a similar concept. Same guy, similar idea, two very different results.
That’s why I wouldn’t come out of that game thinking there’s one coverage you can call and Maye is just going to throw you the ball. I do think you can make him work for those throws, though. Keep help deep, change where the pressure comes from, and see how willing he is to keep taking five or six yards when he wants 25.
Where the Lions can attack New England
The other thing from that Packers game is something Detroit can use when it has the ball. Green Bay had gains of 49, 43, 43, and 28 yards on plays where it snapped the ball less than two seconds after the line got set.
If I’m Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, I’ve got a couple of those quick snaps ready. The Lions may want to go a little up-tempo in this game and push the ball downfield. The Patriots are allowing deep passes, and they’re dealing with some injuries in their secondary.
That points to Jameson Williams. If I’m the Lions, I’m going deep to Williams in this game. Just don’t try to pick on Christian Gonzalez. He’s still out there, and that would not be the right thing to do.
What I’ll be watching Sunday is whether the Lions can get firm pressure on Maye. I don’t mean pressure that just moves him off his spot so he can go make a play somewhere else, because that’s what he wants. When Detroit gets to him, it has to be a sack. If it’s not a sack, it has to force a bad throw.
On offense, go deep and go up-tempo. This Patriots team can be beat. The Lions have the ability to do both of these things, and if they do, they could walk out of Munich with a win.
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