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ALLEN PARK Zach Zenner Jersey White , Mich. (AP) — For some franchises, being undefeated through three games seems almost routine.The Detroit Lions are not one of those teams. Coach Matt Patricia and quarterback Matthew Stafford were under pressure to show signs of progress in 2019, and so far they’re delivering.“There’s great teams every week, and things can go either way pretty quickly, but I think the group’s working really hard,” Patricia said. “I think they’re trying to do everything they can the right way. We’ve got a long way to go.”Stafford has put up big numbers at times in his career, but he’s been dogged by the team’s inability to beat top competition, especially on the road.So Sunday’s 27-24 win at Philadelphia resonates. Although the Eagles were short-handed because of injuries, they’re still less than two years removed from a Super Bowl title.Patricia took over the Lions before last season and the team went 6-10. It wasn’t a particularly great year for Stafford, and when Detroit blew a fourth-quarter lead in its 2019 opener at Arizona, settling for a tie, it was easy to envision another dreary campaign. The next three games were against the Chargers, Eagles and Chiefs, all playoff teams last season.Well, the Lions (2-0-1) have won the first two games of that stretch. They led 27-17 in the fourth quarter at Philadelphia before giving up a touchdown and having a field goal blocked. A couple of crucial penalties on the Eagles helped Detroit hold on.It was a shaky finish, but if the Lions can keep winning games such as that, it will go a long way toward winning over an understandably skeptical fanbase.A few words of caution: The previous time Detroit was unbeaten through three games was in 2011, when the Lions started 5-0 and looked poised for an extended stretch of success with Stafford Womens Matt Prater Jersey , Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh. Detroit ended up going 10-6 that season, lost its postseason opener and didn’t make the playoffs again until three years later.This year’s Lions have given up more yards than they’ve gained, and all three of their games could have gone either way.But they’ve put themselves in position to win, regardless of the competition.“These are very competitive people, very much so want to win and want to do the things the right way,” Patricia said Monday. “I think we truly believe that if we put the work in every single week, and we go out and approach it the right way that we should go out and be as competitive as we can be.”WHAT’S WORKINGDetroit has allowed only three sacks this season and they were all in Week 1. The offensive line hasn’t necessarily been dominant, but the Lions have done a decent job avoiding negative plays.WHAT NEEDS HELPThe running game still isn’t all that productive. Kerryon Johnson scored a touchdown but finished with only 36 yards on 20 carries Sunday.STOCK UPJamal Agnew was relieved of his punt returning duties the previous weekend, but he bounced back in a big way with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Eagles. He also had a 24-yard punt return.STOCK DOWNRookie tight end T.J. Hockenson had only one catch for 1 yard, and he has only two catches in the past two games following a stirring debut in the opener. The first-round draft pick clearly has potential, but it’s time to tap the breaks on talk of instant stardom.INJUREDA couple of key defensive players left Sunday’s game. Defensive tackle Mike Daniels (foot) left in the first quarter and didn’t return, and cornerback Darius Slay (hamstring) exited in the third quarter. Patricia had no updates on them.KEY NUMBER32 — Touchdown passes Stafford is on pace for this season. He has six already after posting only 21 a season ago.NEXT STEPSDetroit hosts Kansas City (3-0) this weekend in a matchup that surprisingly includes two unbeaten teams.Unlike the Chargers and Eagles, the Chiefs very much seem to be firing on all cylinders offensively and are living up to preseason expectations.“I wouldn’t look at it as a measuring stick,” Detroit defensive lineman Trey Flowers said. “It’s definitely a challenge that we’re willing to take — we’re willing to face great quarterbacks, great opponents.” DETROIT (AP)The Detroit Lions hired Matt Patricia on Monday, doubling down on the franchise’s hope it can copy the New England Patriots’ formula for success.The expected hiring of the defensive coordinator came a day after the Patriots lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.”This position comes with great responsibility, and I will commit every ounce of my energy to this football team, starting today Womens Kerry Hyder Jersey ,” Patricia said in a statement released by the team.Lions general manager Bob Quinn made the move, reuniting with someone he worked with in New England for more than a decade.”He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he’s ready for the responsibility and its challenges,” Quinn said.The Lions plan to formally introduce him at a news conference Wednesday.Quinn fired coach Jim Caldwell last month with a record eight games above .500 over four years and postseason appearances in 2016 and 2014. The Lions went 9-7 this season and missed the playoffs.Patricia was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator for six seasons, ending with his unit giving up 41 points and 538 yards to the Eagles.”Obviously, I didn’t do a good enough job here with the defense,” he told reporters Sunday night.The 43-year-old Patricia was on Bill Belichick’s staff for 14 seasons, overlapping with Quinn for many years. Quinn was a part of the Patriots’ personnel department for 16 years before Detroit gave him his first shot to be an NFL GM.He cuts a distinctive figure on the sideline, with a bushy beard, backward ball cap and a pencil above his right ear.Patricia earned an aeronautical engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he played center and guard, and later went to the University of Massachusetts to add a master’s degree in education to his resume. While trying to figure out which career path to follow, the native of Sherrill, New York, was an aeronautical engineer for two years.His climb includes being a graduate assistant at RPI and Syracuse and coaching the defensive line at Amherst College.Belichick hired Patricia in 2004 as a coaching assistant, was an assistant offensive line coach the next season and worked his way up, leading linebackers and safeties, before being to defensive coordinator in 2012.Patricia said he tries to learn something from everybody all the time Womens Ricky Jean Francois Jersey , including Belichick.”He’s been a remarkable mentor to me, not only as a football coach but also as a man and as a friend,” Patricia said. ”I have learned immensely from his detailed leadership approach to the game, which has certainly shaped me into the football coach that I am today. Quite simply, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with, who I believe, is the greatest coach in NFL history.”Patricia’s top task in Detroit may be helping it establish a good running game.The Lions ranked among the worst the NFL’s worst in rushing offense in each of the previous four years under coach Caldwell, who was fired last month with a 36-28 record, plus two postseason losses with the franchise.Like Jim Leyland did as Detroit Tigers manager, Patricia made a point to connect with New England’s players before each game, usually with a handshake on the sideline.”It just lets us know he has our back,” safety Duron Harmon has said. ”He has our back.”While the Lions also interviewed Mike Vrabel, who was hired by the Tennessee Titans, they seemed to want Patricia from the start of their coaching search.The feeling was apparently mutual because Patricia may have turned down a shot to lead the New York Giants after interviewing with the four-time, Super Bowl-winning franchise, to take on a challenge in a city that has experienced only one playoff win since winning the 1957 NFL title.”Now I turn all of my attention to the Lions,” Patricia said. ”I look forward to the next chapter of my career in Detroit.”—