New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions Sat. Aug. 27, 2011 8 p.m. EST

The NFL regular season couldn’t get here sooner for the New England Patriots and the Detroit Lions as these are two eager football teams ready to showcase their new talented players this year.

The New England Patriots ended last season on a sour note with a loss to the division rival New York Jets in the playoffs, but Tom Brady and company were arguably the best team in the league during the regular season and will look to replicate that this season. With the addition of Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and Pro Bowl defense tackle Albert Haynesworth, the New England Patriots should be an even better all-around team this year with a focus on playing some hardnosed defense that was sorely lacking last year.

Whether or not either one of these new additions pays off for the Patriots remains to be seen, but things do look promising for New England moving forward as Tom Brady will finally have that downfield threat back in the offense and Bill Belichick will have that dominant force on defense that he has wanted over the last two years.

The Detroit Lions on the other hand are a team on the rise in the NFL as they are stacked with talented young players on both sides of the football. With Ndamukong Suh and rookie Nick Fairly leading the way on defense, the Lions might be able to maintain leads on the scoreboard this season, but it will be the offense that everyone will be looking at with quarterback Matthew Stafford back healthy and wide receiver Calvin Johnson primed to put up some monster numbers this year.

On Saturday night, these two potential playoff teams will collide in Detroit in what could be the tough test for the Lions.

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