Before the Detroit Lions‘ kickoff their first preseason matchup on 2018 against the Oakland Raiders late Friday night, it was already known that star Oakland’s pass rusher, Khalil Mack, was not going to appear for the Raiders. That was no doubt music to the ears of Lion quarterbacks! On the flip side of that same coin, there was no Ezekiel Ansah on the playing field for Detroit.
The game began with Detroit winning the coin toss and deferring to receive until the second half, a common tactic employed by the New England Patriots.