“You don’t play well, you have no chance.”
Mike Vrabel kept it short and sweet when asked about the New England Patriots' 35-10 loss to the Detroit Lions in Germany on Sunday morning. And he wasn't kidding.
New England has been dealt a tough injury hand, with their star quarterback, Drake Maye, leaving the game in the first quarter, but there are a lot more issues that need to be addressed.
Here are the key takeaways from this Week 10 loss:
1. Drake Maye heads to the locker room
The Patriots get dealt another heartbreaking injury, as quarterback Drake Maye suffered an ankle injury, departing for the locker room after the team's opening drive. The injury occured on the final play of the drive, in which Maye was sacked by Aidan Hutchinson on third down while the Patriots were in the red zone.
He was listed as questionable to return, with Tommy DeVito taking over for the second drive that ultimately resulted in a punt. Luckily, punter Mitch Wishnowsky remains one of the team's top players, getting the ball down to the Lions' three-yard line. Unfortunately for him, the defense couldn't do anything to stop Detroit, getting run all over, with the drive ultimately ending in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Isaac TeSlaa.
Maye was downgraded to out during the second quarter.
After the game, head coach Mike Vrabel said that he had no updates on the severity of the injury, adding that the team will have to run more tests.
“He couldn't function, couldn't play, couldn't run, couldn't do whatever he needed to do to play quarterback to protect himself to execute, or function at that level," Vrabel added when asked about the decision to rule him out. “I know it was a lower leg injury. I don’t know the exact details of it, but I know he couldn’t go back in."
2. A.J. Brown gets involved, but it's short-lived
After the defense forced a punt with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Brown got a little more involved in the ensuring drive, but it once again, came at a price.
Brown recovered a fumble by fullback Reggie Gilliam, ultimately getting the first down. Then, Brown made his first grab of the game for six yards. A few plays later, DeVito hit Brown once again for a gain of 21 yards, but he was shaken up after the play. He then headed off to the sidelines where he went into the blue medical tent.
He was listed as questionable to return with a hamstring injury, already coming into the game with an ankle and a knee injury. After spending around six minutes in the blue medical tent, he headed into the locker room. And from there, he was ruled out.
"Wasn't able to finish [the game]," Vrabel said after the game. "We'll see what the severity of that is when we get back."
3. A promising opening drive ends with three points
The Patriots were moving the ball well on the opening drive, using a mix of the run game as well as some nice trickery and pass plays. Maye kicked things off with an 11-yard scramble to move the chains. Despite Rhamondre Stevenson starting, Corey Kiner took the majority of the snaps, bouncing back after a loss of one to gain four yards and six yards on back-to-back runs. Maye hit Hunter Henry for a gain of 10 yards, and then the team had some fun with a flea flicker as Maye hit Stevenson who sent it back to the quarterback. From there, he threw to Mack Hollins for a gain of 26.
However, the pre-snap penalties continued as Will Campbell was called for a false start, followed by the Patriots being penalized for a delay of game. Then, Maye was sacked, which is when he was injured, and New England settled for a field goal.
4. The Tommy DeVito Show
In the first three drives after Maye went down, the offense couldn't get anything going. Allowing sacks, giving up a few run stuffs, and A.J. Brown dropping a pass, the Patriots went minus-four yards in 11 plays.
Things didn't get any better as DeVito got the ball for a two-minute drill, but ultimately was picked off over the middle on a throw to Mack Hollins as Roger McCreary stepped right in front of the ball. And all of that came despite DeVito appearing to have Kyle Williams open.
DeVito ended the game going 12-of-24 for 81 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
"Not good enough," he said. "Offensively, we could never get going."
5. Christian Gonzalez records his first interception of the season
After a rough game last week and a tough start to the game, Gonzalez finally got his first interception of the season, giving the Patriots the ball back at the 39-yard line. And in honor of the location of the game, Gonzalez paid tribute to Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Olise, hitting his traditional celebration.
However, Gonzalez did have some struggles in the game, missing a tackle on Amon-Ra St. Brown that led to a 56-yard touchdown.
"He made a play and I came back and made a play," the cornerback said. "So I mean, obviously, we want to win. We want to win. It's not about me getting interception or somebody scoring or things like that. We went out there two weeks in a row and played bad. So I mean, we just gotta get to the drawing board."
Kevin Byard added an interception of his own at the end of the half, after DeVito was picked during New England's two-minute drive attempt. It came in the end zone right after he recorded a pass breakup on Sam LaPorta. And it kept the Lions from taking a four-score lead.
After the game, the captain added that the team is "searching for answers" defensively after giving up 35 points this week and 45 the week prior.
"They played harder than us today," he added. "They played more physical than us today, and that's, as a defense, that feels like a slap in the face that we let them play hard."
6. Lan Larison's first NFL touchdown
Both DeVito and running back Lan Larison recorded a first in Munich, with the quarterback hitting Larison for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to bring the deficit to 28-10. It was Larison's first NFL score, and it was DeVito first touchdown pass with the Patriots.
7. The backups come in
After the Lions took a 35-10 lead in the fourth quarter, both teams took out the majority of their starters. With Maye and Brown already ruled out, most of the changes came on the offensive line, as Greg Van Roten was put in at center, along with Andrew Rupcich at left guard, Marcus Bryant at left tackle, and Caleb Lomu at right tackle. As for the Lions, Goff was taken out, with former Patriots quarterback Joshua Dobbs coming in to replace him.
8. Other notes
- Lan Larison had his third straight game with at least two special tackles.
- Other Injuries: EDGE Dre'Mont Jones (cramps) and LB Robert Spillane (illness) were listed as questionable to return in the fourth quarter. OT Morgan Moses left the game early with a knee injury, but ultimately returned.
- WR DeMario Douglas is today's game-day captain. Patriots lost the toss, and the Lions elected to defer.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 8 takeaways from the Patriots' 35-10 loss to the Lions in Germany
