What the New England Patriots are saying as they prepare for their Week 5 matchup vs. the Detroit Lions

8. “We aren’t in this for moral victories.” That was the line from Phillips when talking about being in every game this year, but not finding a way to make the one play to make the difference in a win vs. loss. The Patriots have started 1-3, just like the Lions.

“We have to make sure we do every little detail the right way to get the win because it’s so hard to get those wins. Close losses like that might affect you down the road, so every chance you get to go out there and stack in the W column, we have to take advantage of that,” he said.

That sounds a lot like the Lions’ mindset after four games.

9. The Patriots have been in a couple knock-down, drag-out fights the last couple weeks against good teams in Baltimore and Green Bay. They’ve come up short in both contests, last week’s in overtime vs. the Packers. Because of that, Belichick eased off practice on Wednesday and conducted just a walkthrough.