Patriots vs. Lions Preseason 2017: How To Watch, Kickoff Time, And More

The New England Patriots and Detroit Lions will meet in the preseason for the ninth time overall and the first time since 2013, when the Lions defeated the Patriots, 40-9, on Aug. 22, 2013, at Ford Field in Detroit. Detroit owns a 6-2 edge in the eight previous preseason meetings.

New England and Detroit last met in the regular season in 2014 when the Patriots beat the Lions by a 34-9 margin on Nov. 23, 2014, at Gillette Stadium.

New England enters this week with a 0-2 record after losing 31-24 at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars int he preseason opener and then drooping a 27-23 decision to Houston last Saturday night.

Detroit enters Week 3 of the preseason with a 2-0 record following a 24-10 win at Indianapolis and a 16-6 last week vs. the New York Jets.

Here's what you need to know about Friday night's game:

Kickoff

Friday night's game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by the Patriots Preseason Television Network and can be seen in every New England state, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. The preseason network’s flagship station is WBZ-TV CBS in Boston. WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche provides play-by-play and is joined by former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria in the broadcast booth. Former Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham will provide sideline analysis along with WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton. Patriots Football Weekly’s beat writers Paul Perillo and Andy Hart will also provide insight and analysis.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network’s 40 stations can be found in this press release. Playby-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello

Series History

The New England Patriots will travel to face the Detroit Lions in a preseason game for the ninth time and for the first time since Week 3 of the 2013 preseason when Detroit beat the Patriots 40-9 on Aug. 22, 2013 at Ford Field.

This week’s preseason game will be the fourth straight preseason game between the two teams in Detroit. The Patriots traveled to Detroit for the preseason in 2000, 2011 and 2013.

This week’s game will be the third time since 2011 that the Patriots and Lions met in the third preseason game at Detroit. The Patriots lost 34-10 on Aug. 27, 2011 and 40-9 on Aug. 22, 2013.

Overall, the Lions are 6-2 against the Patriots in preseason games. The Patriots lead the all-time regular season by a 7-4 margin. The teams last played in 2014 when the Patriots hosted the Lions at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 23, 2014, a 34-9 Patriots win.

In 2000, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady made his NFL debut against the Lions in a 34-9 Detroit win at the Pontiac Silverdome on Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 23, 2000. Brady entered the game late in the fourth quarter and completed on of three passes for six yards.

Information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations.

Image Credit: Bob Levey /Getty Images Stringer