Patriots defense calls out exact play Lions will run right before ball is snapped

Either the New England Patriots employ a couple psychics on their defense, or the Detroit Lions need to change up their audibles. The Patriots may have exposed a flaw in Detroit’s offense Sunday night, as the team appeared to call out a Lions play just before the ball was snapped.

The play call in question took place as the Lions were driving into Patriots territory. The exchange was picked up by NBC microphones during the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford reads the defense, points to linebacker Dont’a Hightower on the Patriots and yells “Alert. Alert. Tag 54.” The camera cuts to Hightower, and someone on the Patriots’ defense yells out, “It’s a toss.”

The Lions snap the ball and sure enough …

It was a toss to LeGarrette Blount.

The Patriots’ defense read the play perfectly. Kyle Van Noy shoots through the Lions offensive line immediately, but you can also see Hightower cheat to his left and cornerback Jonathan Jones allow a receiver to run right by him so he could play the run.

Despite all that, Blount actually managed to pick up a yard on the play. He had to cut the ball back to the middle of the field in order to evade all the Patriots’ defenders who read the play.

Given the Patriots’ role in Spygate, some might be quick to assume the team is once again engaging in some nefarious business. That may not be the case, though.

The Lions have had an issue this season with defenses calling out their plays. The New York Jets boasted that they knew what plays the Lions were running after their Week 1 blowout win over Detroit.

Because of that, the Lions may want to consider making some adjustments to the way Stafford uses hand signals or audibles. You know, just to be safe.

For this week, at least, it didn’t matter. The Patriots couldn’t figure out the Lions’ offense enough in Week 3, losing the game 26-10.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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