FOXBOROUGH – The tone of the Patriots' 29-0 win on Sunday was set on the Lions' first of six fourth-down attempts.

Detroit decided to go for it on the game's opening drive as it faced just 4th-and-inches from its own 45-yard line. A reasonable call considering the distance, its strong offensive line, the talent of running Jamaal Williams, and New England's inability to stop the run in recent weeks.

Instead, that play resulted in what would the first of several good plays for the Patriots on Sunday and what would be the first of many empty-handed moments for the Lions. Patriots defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore crashed the interior in order to get Williams in the backfield to force the turnover on downs.

Godchaux was blunt in his assessment of the play and how it got the Patriots' defense going on Sunday.

“It's disrespectful. You've got to make the play,” Godchaux told ClutchPoints when asked how it felt to make the stop. “They've got a great center in Frank Ragnow – I played against him in college at Arkansas and he's a great center. Top five in the league.

“But there's no way I was about to let these guys run the ball on us. I was like, ‘Nah – they're not running the ball. You're a good player, I'm a good player, but you're not running the ball. Christian Barmore, Ja'Whaun Bentley, and all the 11 guys on defense contributed to that stop.”

That fourth-down stop was the first of six fourth-down stops the Patriots had on Sunday – an NFL record for most fourth-down stops without giving up a first down on any fourth-down attempts. The Lions consistently fell short in the clutch moments on offense, going 0-for-3 in the red zone, too.

Following the first fourth-down stop, the Lions drove down to the Patriots' 18-yard line on their second dive of the game. As they looked to go up 7-3, Goff tried to find tight end T.J. Hockenson in front of the goal line. Instead, the ball found rookie Jack Jones, who recorded his second interception in as many weeks as he tiptoed along the sideline to complete the impressive grab.

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The Patriots were only up 6-0 at one point in the final minutes of the first half. The Lions decided to go for it on a 4th-and-nine from the Patriots' 32. However, New England's strong pass rush got to Goff quickly. Matthew Judon delivered the hit that knocked the ball out of the quarterback's hand and safety Kyle Dugger scooped it up and ran it back 58 yards for a touchdown that put the Patriots up 13-0.

Patriots safety Devin McCourty credited Judon and Dugger for making a play that was “obviously a key point in the game.”

“To get the first touchdown of the game, get some breathing room and to do what we’ve done the last two weeks is score on defense. I think it’s huge,” McCourty said. “Anytime you can score, whether it’s defense or special teams, and give the offense free points is going to help us. I thought our offense did a good job of that turnover, then getting off the field and just to continue to move the ball and get points on the board kept the game flowing in our way and our momentum.”

Like Godchaux felt on the first fourth-down stop of the game, Judon used the moment to motivate him to gear up and make a big play.

“As a defense, you want the pressure on you – whether it’s in the fourth quarter and you need a stop or a play on fourth down. You want the pressure on you,” Judon said. “We embrace that as a defense. We have plays called and put in to allow me just to go and sometimes I’ve got to run a game and loop things of that nature. But, when I get those calls and I hear those calls, I’m excited.”

That play was just one of many Judon made on Sunday. The Patriots' Pro Bowl edge rusher recorded two sacks, four quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss as he consistently got into the backfield.

Godchaux said that Judon “played out of his mind” while Judon credited the rest of the Patriots' defensive line for helping to make big plays against a Lions offensive line that's believed to be one of the best in the NFL.

“They do have a good line, but I’m taking whoever we line up and puts their hand in dirt over anybody,” Judon said. “[Josh] Uche, [Deatrich] Wise, DG (Davon Godchaux), Carl [Davis Jr.] LG (Lawrence Guy), [Christian] Barmore. I’m taking us over anybody. So, all respect to their offensive line and offensive lines throughout the league, but we kind of really don’t care. We’re going to go out there and do our job.”

The Patriots' defense made a pair of red zone stops in the fourth quarter. The first was the most emphatic as the Lions had four goal-to-go plays and still couldn't get the ball into the end zone, with the fourth-down play resulting in an incomplete pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Godchaux took pride in how the Patriots' defense held their ground in the red area over and over again on Sunday.

“Red zone is big. Red zone is big,” Godchaux said. “I think I said it last year in the media, yardage doesn't matter – points do. Because at the end of the day, they could've had 300 rushing yards and had three points. So, the red zone matters the most because they've got to put the ball in the end zone.

We always want – in the red zone defense – to be the best as long as the third-down defense and coached a great fourth-down defense. We were really great with that. It was amazing that we were able to get a stop every time in the red zone.

“We wanted to get the ball – kind of make Jared Goff win.”

The Patriots succeeded in their mission on Sunday.