For the first time since 2015, the Detroit Lions are heading overseas! The Lions have played only two international games in their history—going 1-1 in London, England—but this time they’re headed to Munich, Germany. Entering this matchup, they’ve won four straight games and want to keep that streak alive while claiming their first-ever win in Germany.
Detroit takes on the New England Patriots, who appear to be in a rough spot right now, losing two of their last three games and barely above .500.
Coming off a Super Bowl appearance last season, New England is currently the seven seed in the AFC, and with injuries also piling up, they’ve got a lot to overcome to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Let’s take a deep look at the Patriots’ season so far as they head into Week 10.
New England Patriots
2026 season thus far (5-4)
Week 1: Lost to Seattle Seahawks 13-10
Week 2: Defeated Pittsburgh Steelers 20-3
Week 3: Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars 35-6
Week 4: Defeated Buffalo Bills 29-26
Week 5: Defeated Las Vegas Raiders 45-17
Week 6: Defeated New York Jets 26-19
Week 7: Lost to Chicago Bears 30-24
Week 8: Defeated Miami Dolphins 24-19
Week 9: Lost to Green Bay Packers 45-27
Offensive stats:
Quarterback Drake Maye has had a rocky performance after being an MVP finalist last season. He had a rough first month, throwing “meatball subs,” as the kids say nowadays. Maye played well but had an abysmal Week 9, throwing three interceptions. This season, Maye is averaging 253.6 yards per game with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, tied for the league lead in interceptions.
The Patriots’ running game has been lackluster this season. Second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson is in a sophomore slump, compounded by injuries, with just 203 yards, a touchdown, and 3.9 yards per carry. Starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson hasn’t been explosive either, averaging 3.9 yards per carry with 399 yards and two touchdowns—and he could be held out of this game with a knee tendon issue. The team has seen a little bit of life in third-string back Corey Kiner, who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry with 244 yards and a touchdown.
At receiver, it’s been an interesting ride: the Patriots traded for wide receiver A.J. Brown to be their top receiver after losing Stefon Diggs in free agency, and Brown has battled ankle injuries, playing in only three games with 101 yards on nine catches. The top receiver currently is DeMario Douglas, who leads the team in yards (434) and touchdowns (four). The Patriots also signed Romeo Doubs in free agency to a big contract, and he is currently on IR, though he will return this season—he’s got 261 yards and three touchdowns in 2026.
One reason for the running game struggles is injuries on the offensive line. The Patriots are without both starting guards, Mike Onwenu and Alijah Vera-Tucker, and now left guard Ben Brown will most likely miss this week’s game, according to head coach Mike Vrabel. PFF ranks them 19th in run blocking (62.7), which plays a big part in why the running backs can’t find success on the ground. With them not having success on the ground, that puts more pressure on Maye to air it out, and suddenly he’s turnover-happy, trying to make plays for the offense.
Defensive stats:
On defense, the front seven has done a solid job overall. EDGE Elijah Ponder leads the team with 7.5 sacks and is tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore has 4.5 sacks while rookie EDGE Gabe Jacas has 3.0.
The secondary has been about average, as newly extended cornerback Christian Gonzalez has six pass deflections and a 51.4 PFF coverage grade. Former Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III has been doing well, with a 72 coverage grade. Nickelback Marcus Jones has played well, tied with Gonzalez for the team-leading six pass deflections, and earned a 59.5 coverage grade.
New England is allowing a 67.5 percent completion percentage, the third-highest in the NFL, and is just nine yards behind the Lions for most passing yards allowed this season (2,256), according to Next Gen Stats. They’ve allowed some big plays in the air, including 32 20+ yard passing plays (second-most) and seven 40+ passing-yard plays (tied for fourth-most). Despite the pass rush getting home, it isn’t getting there fast enough for the secondary to hold up its end of the bargain. With teams struggling to run against New England, they’ve had to air it out and risk that pressure, and the secondary has had its share of woes.
Injury notes
Key players ruled out: WR Romeo Doubs (IR), G Mike Onwenu (IR), G Alijah Vera-Tucker (IR), LB Harold Landry III (PUP)
Key players to monitor: WR A.J. Brown (ankle/knee), RB TreVeyon Henderson (illness), LT Will Campbell (knee), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (knee), CB Carlton Davis III (knee), LG Ben Brown (knee)
Injuries have started to pile up for the Patriots over the past few weeks. It started after Week 1 when A.J. Brown suffered an ankle injury and went to IR. He has returned from IR but has played only two games, as the injury is still bothering him. He has missed the last two games and, according to Tom Pelissero, should return sooner rather than later, perhaps after the Week 11 bye.
In his absence, Doubs and Mack Hollins stepped up but also suffered injuries: Hollins just returned from IR in Week 9, while Doubs is set to return from IR after the team’s bye week. The interior offensive line has seen both starting guards, Onwenu and Vera-Tucker, land on IR, with Vera-Tucker likely returning this season, though Onwenu’s status remains up in the air. New England is still waiting to activate linebacker Harold Landry III off PUP as well.
Week 9 was a bad week for New England injuries, starting with Henderson having a medical emergency that forced him to miss the game; his status is unknown. On the field, the Patriots saw four starters go down, all with knee injuries. Left tackle Will Campbell, Stevenson, Davis III, and Brown all left the game and didn’t return with their injuries. Campbell told the media after the game that he’s fine, while Vrabel didn’t provide an update on Stevenson or Davis III on Monday.
Biggest strength: Front seven
New England’s defense has been helping this team a lot, especially in stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. Starting with the pass rush, New England has 25 sacks overall, tied for ninth most in the league. Ponder has been playing lights out and has given this defense a big spark in their pass-rushing abilities. PFF grades them with an 82.8 pass rush grade, second-highest in the NFL.
This front seven can do more than get to the quarterback; they can also slow down the running game. They’ve allowed an average of 3.9 yards per carry, tied for ninth-fewest. More impressively, though, they’ve allowed only one run over 20 yards, for 34. This team makes it really hard to run the football and dares you to drop back to throw it.
When you’re forced to air it out, that pass rush comes into play and pressures your quarterback. It’s a seesaw battle opposing offenses have to deal with. Do you go aggressive and try to run on them, or lean on your passing game to hopefully light it up? If the passing game succeeds, it opens the door for the run game to have a better chance of breaking one through; if you can’t do either, it’s going to be a long day for your offense.
Biggest weakness: Offensive injuries
While the data and numbers show the Patriots offense is average to slightly above average, injuries are piling up on that side of the ball. Maye has barely had his top two wide receivers together, and now possibly both of his top two running backs could be missing time as well. It doesn’t help that the team is already down two starting guards, and one of their replacements won’t be playing. Campbell has been playing great at left tackle, so if he somehow misses this game, it could really hurt New England’s chances at winning.
Maye hasn’t been consistent, and it’s hard when you don’t have all five starters in front of you for protection and your top weapons on the sidelines. New England has leaned on him to help with ground-game struggles, but with Hollins and Douglas as the top receivers, it’s tougher to expect much production than with Brown and Doubs. Maye is doing all he can, but he’s taken a step back from last season.
These injuries are piling up, and sure, some of the players will return and aren’t gone for the year, but if they don’t return soon, there might be nothing left to play for when they do. The AFC isn’t as dominant as the NFC, so New England can afford a few losses, but you don’t have an avalanche to start, and suddenly it’s December and fans are waiting for the 2027 NFL Draft in April.
Key matchup: Lions ground attack vs. Patriots front seven
This matchup will likely determine who wins this football game. While Detroit’s ground attack hasn’t had many big plays yet, the longest being a 30-yard rush, it’s still a strong part of who they are as an offense. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is having a solid season and making his case for MVP consideration. Detroit averages 4.4 yards per carry and has found the end zone 10 times on the ground.
I mentioned earlier how the Patriots’ run defense has been solid, and this will be a good-on-good battle. Detroit has a plethora of weapons in the passing game, and they can win through quarterback Jared Goff if need be. Against the Packers last week, the Patriots allowed 372 passing yards, and Detroit’s strong passing attack could give the Patriots secondary PTSD. While Detroit can lean on the passing game, that doesn’t mean it wants to, and it will keep trying to run the ball on this Patriots front seven. If Detroit can break through this unit and move the ball on the ground, that opens the door for the passing game to find success too.
If New England holds its ground and keeps opposing running backs down, Detroit could run into trouble. In their two losses, Gibbs totaled 98 rushing yards and only one touchdown on the ground. Detroit’s offense can survive a rough Gibbs game, but we haven’t seen them do it so far in 2026. If the Patriots can contain Gibbs, Detroit could have a long flight home.
Vegas line for Sunday: Lions favored by 2.5
