The Lions hosted the New England Patriots for three joint practices this week ahead of the teams' preseason opener Thursday evening.
"It's a lot of good experience, obviously," quarterback Matthew Stafford said of the joint practices. "It's a lot of fun getting to go against someone else this time of year. We were kind of beating our heads against a wall there for a little bit practicing against each other.
"Obviously, they're an extremely talented team and give us a bunch of challenges and it's fun to practice and get some work with them."
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is looking to put the big play back in the Lions' offense, and some of that was on display in practice this week with wide receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay.
"We like to go up and get it, there's no question about it," Jones said after Monday's practice. "We definitely love what's going on right now. We're just using this camp to take it day by day. Get more in tune with the offense day by day and some good things will come out of it."
Catch up on all the action from the week of Lions-Patriots joint practices:
- Highlights: Day 1 | Day 2
- Practice photos: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
- Tim & Mike observations: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
- Camp Spotlight: Matthew Stafford | T.J. Hockenson
PRESEASON WEEK 1 RECAP
The Lions dropped their preseason opener to the Patriots, 31-3 Thursday evening.
"We have to do a better job of going out and competing," head coach Matt Patricia said after the game.
"A lot of these guys that had an opportunity tonight, they have to go out and play well. That's the bottom line. It's your opportunity to go out there and show us what you can do."
Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, quarterback Tom Savage and defensive tackle Darius Kilgo all left the game with injuries and did not return.
"Couple guys got hurt out there today, so that was not a good situation to be in," Patricia said. "We're in the evaluation process with those guys and trying to find out exactly what the status is."
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- Go behind the scenes of Lions training camp with Episode 2 of Inside the Den.
- Watch Tori Petry talk with Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris on his visit to Lions training camp.
- View photos of Lions visiting with players from FC Barcelona at Michigan Stadium.
