Matt Patricia went 13-29-1 in two-plus seasons with the Detroit Lions. He was fired on Saturday. Paul Sancya/Associated Press

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions have fired General Manager Bob Quinn and Coach Matt Patricia, ending the franchise’s attempt to replicate the success the men helped Bill Belichick achieve in New England.

The Lions made the moves Saturday, surprising no one.

Detroit (4-7) lost consecutive games for the third time this season, collapsing in a 41-25 loss to Houston at home on Thursday after getting shut out for the first time in 11 years in its previous game at Carolina.

The setbacks dropped Patricia to 13-29-1 in two-plus seasons and Quinn’s mark fell 12 games under .500 over five seasons.

Quinn, who was part of the Patriots’ personnel department for 16 years, was given his first shot to run an NFL front office in January 2016. He retained coach Jim Caldwell and Detroit reached the playoffs but then fired him the next season after another 9-7 record wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the postseason.

When Quinn let Caldwell go with a 36-28 record over four seasons and an 0-2 mark in the playoffs, he said the move was made to find a coach to take the team to the next level.

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Patricia did that, but it wasn’t the level he or Quinn needed to keep their jobs.

Detroit was 6-10 under Patricia in 2018, won just three games last season and was barely better this year.

Patricia was on Belichick’s staff for 14 seasons, including six years as defensive coordinator, before Quinn gave him his first shot to be a head coach at any level. Patricia was incessantly peppered with questions about his job being in jeopardy, dating to the 2019 season, and refused to engage in the conversation with reporters.

PATRIOTS: Isaiah Wynn’s knee injury, which already figured to keep him out of Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against Arizona, will keep him out of at least the next three.

The Patriots’ left tackle, Rex Burkhead, Carl Davis are all headed for three weeks off according to ESPN’s Field Yates who tweeted:

“The Patriots are placing starting LT Isaiah Wynn (knee), RB Rex Burkhead (knee) and NT Carl Davis (concussion) on injured reserve, per source.”

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Under the modified injured reserve rules in place for 2020, players must miss at least three games if they go on injured reserve.

Burkhead’s injury suffered in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-20 loss to Houston is expected to be season-ending. He’s likely to be replaced in the lineup by Sony Michel, who Bill Belichick said was likely to be active against the Cardinals. Michel had already returned to the 53-man roster.

Wynn suffered his injury shortly after Burkhead and didn’t return to the game either. The Patriots have several offensive line shuffling options they could use in his absence. Jermain Eluemunor or Korey Cunningham could set in or Michael Onwenu or Joe Thuney could move over into the slot.

The Patriots signed Davis, a defensive lineman, off the Jaguars practice squad in mid-October, but he’s been dealing with the after-effects of a concussion for most of his time in New England.

Offensive lineman Justin Herron and tight end Devin Asiasi are both eligible to come off of injured reserve this week.

STEELERS: Pittsburgh placed running back James Conner on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday, while its scheduled opponent next Tuesday, the division rival Baltimore Ravens, added six more players to the list.

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Conner is joining three teammates already on the list along with 20 Ravens – they are down to three defensive linemen – casting further doubt on the ability to pull off a game rescheduled from Thanksgiving night to Sunday to Tuesday night.

Conner, who leads the unbeaten Steelers (10-0) with 645 yards rushing and five touchdowns, joins defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs and reserve offensive lineman Kevin Dotson on the COVID-19 list.

The Steelers also announced special teams coordinator Danny Smith will not coach on Tuesday due to what the team described as an “illness.” Quarterbacks coach Matt Canada will also be unavailable due to an illness.

The announcement came the same day Baltimore Ravens put outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, right tackle D.J. Fluker, defensive lineman Broderick Washington, offensive lineman Will Holden, and two others – defensive backs Khalil Dorsey and Tavon Young – were on injured reserve before joining the list.

The Ravens already had several starters on the COVID-19 list, including quarterback Lamar Jackson and running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins.

49ERS: San Francisco and other teams may need to find a temporary new home after Santa Clara County banned all contact sports from holding games and practices for the next three weeks.

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County officials issued the directives in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the area. The rules take effect Monday and will last until Dec 21.

The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county. The team had no immediate comment on the new rules.

The rules also will impact the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and college teams at Stanford and San Jose State.

DOLPHINS: Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was downgraded to doubtful for Sunday’s game at the New York Jets, meaning it’s likely veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick will make his first start since Oct. 18.

Tagovailoa hurt the thumb on his throwing hand in practice Wednesday and was limited in subsequent workouts this week. The rookie’s status was downgraded Saturday, and Miami elevated quarterback Reid Sinnett from the practice squad to the active roster to reinforce depth at the position.

Fitzpatrick’s most recent start came in a 24-0 win over the Jets, one of his former teams, before he was replaced in the starting lineup by Tagovailoa. Fitzpatrick came off the bench in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss at Denver when Tagovailoa struggled.

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BROWNS: Cleveland’s chief of staff Callie Brownson will handle game-day duties for Cleveland’s tight ends on Sunday in Jacksonville, a first in team history for a female.

Brownson, who was hired by Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski shortly after he came to Cleveland earlier this year, will fill in for coach Drew Petzing. He did not travel to Florida with the team after his wife, Louisa, gave birth to the couple’s first child on Saturday.

Brownson is one of a handful of female coaches currently working in the NFL. Her normal duties stretch across Cleveland’s entire coaching staff.

Earlier this week, Stefanski, who broke in with Minnesota in a role similar to Brownson’s, praised her ability to juggle an ever-changing schedule this week because of COVID-19 issues. The team had to close its facility three times due to players testing positive.

CHARGERS: Los Angeles activated running back Austin Ekeler from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game at Buffalo.

Ekeler has missed the past six games after suffering a hamstring injury during the first half of an Oct. 4 loss at Tampa Bay. Ekeler has 392 yards from scrimmage (248 rushing, 144 receiving) and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He led the AFC in scrimmage yards after three weeks.

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Los Angeles (3-7) has also activated linebackers B.J. Bello and Cole Christiansen and nose tackle Breiden Fehoko from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. Bello and Christiansen saw most of their action on special teams last week against the Jets, while Fehoko has been called up for the first time due to injuries on the defensive line.

SAINTS: New Orleans placed starting left tackle Terron Armstead on their COVID-19 reserve list, making him ineligible for Sunday’s game against the Broncos in Denver.

The Saints also ruled out return specialist Deonte Harris, who had been listed as questionable a day earlier because of neck injury that kept him out of practice this past week.

TITANS: Tennessee activated three-time Pro Bowl punter Brett Kern and cornerback Tye Smith from injured reserve, and linebacker David Long also is back from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

RAMS: Cornerback Tyrique McGhee has been suspended without pay for two games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

McGhee has been on the Rams’ practice squad all season. He signed with the team during the spring as an undrafted free agent.

He is eligible to return following the Rams’ Week 13 game at Arizona on Dec. 6.


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