A 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff in Germany stood between the New England Patriots and the bye week. So did the Detroit Lions.
Head coach Dan Campbell’s side thoroughly outmatched head coach Mike Vrabel’s side by a score of 35-10 in Munich.
Here’s a glance back on Sunday’s rout at Allianz Arena as the AFC East and NFC North visitors fly back across the Atlantic Ocean with 7-2 and 5-5 records.
Maye departs after opening drive in Munich
October’s AFC Offensive Player of the Month made an early exit in Munich. Drake Maye completed 3-of-4 passes for 48 yards
with no touchdowns nor turnovers against the Lions before being announced as questionable to return due to an ankle injury. The 24-year-old Patriots quarterback was downgraded to out after heading to the locker room.
Starting in “12” personnel and scrambling past the sticks on the first snap, New England’s opening march spanned 11 plays and 5:48 of game clock before resulting in a 3-0 lead. That was after a false start, a delay of game and a hip-drop sack had sent the field goal unit on.
It’d be Tommy DeVito at the helm for the remainder of Sunday. Unsettled, the backup QB went 12-of-24 for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his most extensive action since 2024.
New England’s second series of game gave way to a sack and a punt. Then came three consecutive three-and-outs and a pick between the hashes by Lions cornerback Roger McCreary. A throwaway that wasn’t thrown away.
By halftime, the score read 21-3 while the Patriots had totaled 64 passing yards to the tune of 4.9 per attempt. Longs of 12 and 26 were buoys among them when Maye was under center. There were no buoys left on the road back down to .500. Coming out of intermission, there were consecutive three-and-outs as well as a touchdown pass to reserve running back Lan Larison. That 13-play scoring drive transpired in the fourth quarter.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ group finished 4-of-13 on third down while punter Mitch Wishnowsky was called upon eight times for 364 total yards.
Tough sledding for Stevenson and Kiner on 16 carries
A knee tendon issue did not keep Rhamondre Stevenson from making the flight to Germany. Back-to-back limited practices and a questionable game status followed for the running back.
So did the start. But Stevenson turned six rushes into four yards against the Lions. A loss of a handful was endured.
With TreVeyon Henderson placed on injured reserve after being ruled out for a third week in a row due to an illness, the backfield depth chart went by Corey Kiner between the tackles. The cutdown deadline pickup logged a team-high 25 rushing yards across 10 carries a week after scoring his first NFL touchdown.
In all, New England’s ground attack averaged 2.8 yards per attempt in fullback Reggie Gilliam’s first game back from injured reserve.
No. 1 hardly on hand in return
After missing two straight weeks worth of practices and starts because of knee concerns, A.J. Brown returned to the wide receiver room.
The June trade acquisition, who had been listed as questionable following a series of limited sessions, got the start while also still working back from a high ankle sprain. From there, Brown was flagged for a false start, recovered a fumble, and caught a pair of passes for 27 yards on six targets before going to the locker room with a hamstring issue in the final quarter. He was downgraded from questionable to out.
Brown’s first look of the game fell incomplete down the right sideline and his second look went in the books as a drop. It wasn’t until the fifth that a catch was made on a slant. No. 1 entered the overseas kickoff with just nine receptions on the season.
New England’s wideout depth chart was led by eldest stateman Mack Hollins’ five catches for 48 yards.
Offensive line’s sixth starting combination unlocked early
Ben Brown had been ruled out back in Foxborough after departing from last weekend’s 45-27 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers due to a knee injury. And with his recent replacement, August trade acquisition Walter Rouse, inactive while in concussion protocol, a sixth combination would have to be unlocked along the offensive line.
New England’s starters in Germany would include Will Campbell at left tackle, Greg Van Roten at left guard, Jared Wilson at center, Matt Pryor at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle. That was the arrangement after an activation from injured reserve on the eve of the meeting. It wasn’t without interruptions.
First-rounder Caleb Lomu had to spell in at right tackle after a knee injury sent the pass protection’s captain to limping to the locker room with a questionable listing on the second drive. A return followed.
But so did five sacks for Detroit. Aidan Hutchinson opened the floodgates off the blindside at the 9:43 mark in the opening quarter before suffering a knee injury on the celebration. Derrick Moore, Alim McNeill and D.J. Wonnum went on to join the former No. 2 overall pick in the column.
Backup offensive linemen Marcus Bryant and Andrew Rupcich played out the stretch for the Patriots.
Picked twice, Goff finds three touchdowns
Jared Goff connected on 20-of-31 throws for 303 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions on the way to taking a seat. Against a secondary that had just given up 372 yards to MVP candidate Jordan Love, who went 17-of-18 for 335 yards with a pair scores while targeting field stretchers in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden at Gillette Stadium, it was more of the same on Sunday.
Christian Gonzalez missed an early tackle on third down after being picked apart during last week’s 45-point barrage. He so against dual citizen Amon-Ra St. Brown, who proceeded to sprint 56 yards for a touchdown to make it a 7-3 game. But the extended All-Pro cornerback answered back with his first interception since last year’s AFC Championship Game.
With veteran Carlton Davis out due to a knee injury, Marcus Jones and a hobbled Charles Woods were part of the starting lineup. Kevin Byard III, who broke up a TD in the back of the end zone before intercepting the 38th pass of his NFL career on the subsequent snap, occupied the backend next to sophomore safety Craig Woodson.
The Lions marched 11 plays and 97 yards on the second drive, which ended in the hands of wideout Isaac TeSlaa on a back-shoulder throw. The third series brought a three-and-out. And while two picks were gathered going into halftime, so was a 17-point deficit.
By intermission at Allianz Arena, Detroit’s quarterback stood with a 89.8 passer rating that would ultimately climb to 101.9. The ball was soon back St. Brown’s hands behind a convoy of blockers for a 28-yard touchdown on third down. Like that, it was a 28-3 game with another quarter to go and old friend Joshua Dobbs under center for it.
Gibbs slashes Patriots to the tune of 256 yards
Jahmyr Gibbs headed to Germany ranked third around the NFL with 847 rushing yards and first around the NFL with 1,132 scrimmage yards. The record-setting Lions running back headed there tied for the league lead with 11 total touchdowns, too.
No. 0 showed why he has visited the end zone more often than any player under the age of 25 in league history.
Gibbs rushed for 153 yards across 22 carries, including stretching touchdowns from 25 and 28 yards out. His blend of patience, vision and acceleration also turned seven catches into 99 yards, led by a runaway of 50 going into halftime. The Patriots saw taillights.
Effort and finish. There wasn’t enough of either from a defense that started in the nickel and got pushed into a penny.
Two sacks were notched by New England’s front on Sunday. No. 55 overall pick Gabe Jacas and linebacking captain Robert Spillane split the first. Milton Williams, who started at defensive tackle next to Cory Durden, got the next to force the punt team on. But Detroit finished 8-of-15 on third down and 2-of-3 in the red zone.
