Saints Put Dagger in Patricia and Quinn Regime, Win, 35-29

The New Orleans Saints marched into Ford Field, and despite numerous starters being unavailable, defeated the Lions, 35-29.

The loss was crushing for the regime of head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn due to the staggering amount of mistakes, the poor tackling and the lack of an answer for the Saints' best offensive weapon -- running back Alvin Kamara.

For the fourth time in four games, the Lions' offense struck first.

On Detroit's opening drive, quarterback Matthew Stafford was able to use his feet to secure a big gain on the ground, and then, he found Danny Amendola wide open for a 50-yard gain.

Detroit's opening drive spanned eight plays and 77 yards, and was capped off by a touchdown pass from Stafford to rookie running back D'Andre Swift.

Swift only played six snaps last week, but he was the chosen target in the red zone on the first drive.

Detroit's defense continued its knack for causing turnovers on the Saints' first offensive drive.

Nose tackle Danny Shelton tipped a Drew Brees pass that was intercepted by defensive back Darryl Roberts.

The Lions immediately capitalized when Stafford found Kenny Golladay to put Detroit ahead 14-0 early in the game.

Brees and New Orleans' offense quickly rebounded, and bullied Detroit's defensive line on its next three offensive possessions.

The Saints used their rushing attack to march down the field for their first and second scoring drives of the game, eating up a large chunk of the clock and wearing out Detroit's defense in the process.

In the first quarter, New Orleans averaged 4.4 yards per rush, and secured 53 yards on 12 carries.

Stafford threw an inexcusable interception in the second-quarter when he attempted to find tight end T.J. Hockenson in the end zone, but the ball was underthrown and intercepted by Patrick Robinson.

The Saints' offensive barrage continued in the second quarter.

Detroit had no answers, as the Saints scored 28 unanswered points to take a 28-14 lead with 3:03 remaining in the first half.

Simply stated, the Lions' defense collapsed, and even Amendola and fellow veteran Trey Flowers committed personal fouls in the second quarter.

Brees completed 11 of his last 13 passes in the half for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

And for the half, New Orleans -- with the help of Brees and Kamara -- converted 5-of-6 third downs and 3-of-3 red-zone opportunities.

Stafford was able to lead the team in the third quarter on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown pass to Hockenson.

Unfortunately, Detroit never found an answer for the Saints' rushing attack, however.

The defensive line was bullied, beleaguered and simply outclassed by New Orleans' offensive line.

Stafford and the offense continued to battle, as an Adrian Peterson touchdown and a successful two-point conversion with less than four minutes remaining cut the deficit for Detroit to six, 35-29.

The Lions' defense failed to get the late stop needed to get the ball back to the offense, however.

In every way possible, the defense was the Achilles' heel of the Lions for a fourth consecutive week.

And with Sunday's defeat, Patricia & Co. have now blown a lead of 10-or-more points in all three of their losses this season.

Detroit (1-3) heads into the bye with plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of a regime that has no answers for what ails this roster.

Get the latest Detroit Lions news by joining our community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our SI All Lions page. Mobile users click the notification bell. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @detroitpodcast