If watching the Detroit Lions beat the New England Patriots was something you didn't know could happen, you also probably learned something new about first-year head coach Matt Patricia on Sunday night. He has an absolute cannon for an arm.
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Early in the second quarter, with the Lions already up 3-0 at Ford Field in Detroit, Patricia was attempting to challenge a play that ultimately resulted in a Kenny Golladay touchdown catch from Matthew Stafford. The crazy part is it looks like Patricia could trot out on the field and throw darts because he launched the challenge flag about a mile.
Matt Patricia was really, really fired up to throw the challenge flag. pic.twitter.com/euUGja7sIR
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 24, 2018
Alright, so it wasn't a mile. It was more like 20 yards. Still, if there is a way to get a referee's attention, chucking the red challenge flag as far as you possibly can has to be one of the best.
Patricia is a big dude, but nobody could have expect that kind of arm strength and the throwing motion of a future Hall of Fame pitcher like Justin Verlander.
Just check out the similarities.
Matt Patricia vs. Justin Verlander, Arm Action. pic.twitter.com/ukRPOjf0T8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 24, 2018
Patricia, a Sherrill, New York native, played college football at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. He was a four-year letterman as a center and a guard with the Engineers from 1992-1995.
So the 44-year-old has been out of the game for a little bit, and never was a quarterback, but this was one of the best throws in football the entire weekend.
Although most people will talk about the impressive toss of the challenge flag, it was just important the Detroit Lions beat the New England Patriots, whom Patricia served as the defensive coordinator for from 2012-17 and won three Super Bowl titles with, for his first-ever win as an NFL head coach.
https://twitter.com/DetroitMoments/status/1044108322566270976
The Lions moved to 1-2 on the young season with the impressive 26-10 victory over his former boss, Bill Belichick, and we all now know Lions coach Matt Patricia's arm is just as strong as his beard.
