Drake Maye Hurt and 6 More Instant Takeaways from Patriots' Loss to Lions in Germany

It's hard to imagine that the New England Patriots would have had a worse game than their 45-27 loss last week. But it somehow happened.

In their second-ever game in Germany, the Patriots got thrashed — and injured even more — as the Detroit Lions boat-raced their way to a 35-10 win in Munich. Drake Maye would end up leaving the game with an ankle injury suffered in the first quarter and the Patriots offense, reeling from that, couldn't muster up anything that looked productive.

They're now losers of two in a row and will go into next week's bye sitting at .500 — and limping into what could be a really interesting stretch run these next two months.

Here's what happened, and what it means going forward.

1. Promising First Drive Gets Backed Up

Football - NFL - Detroit Lions v New England Patriots - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 15, 2026 Detroit Lions' Aidan Hutchinson sacks New England Patriots' Drake Maye on 3rd and goal REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth | REUTERS

The Patriots came out firing. Maye went 3-for-4 for 48 yards and picked up several first downs to Hunter Henry and Mack Hollins (on a flea flicker). They were driving down the field and looked poised for an opening drive touchdown.

But then pre-snap penalties — a false start on Will Campbell and a delay of game — backed them up from the three-yard line to the 13-yard line. Then Aidan Hutchinson broke through on third down to sack Maye and force the Patriots to settle for a field goal.

On the sack, Hutchinson would go down with an injury as he was celebrating. He'd be ruled out with an knee injury. But it would get much, much worse...

2. Drake Maye Leaves Early With Ankle Injury

A.J. Brown and Rhamondre Stevenson were back in the lineup after injuries, so the Patriots' injury luck had to be turning, right? Nope. It got worse.

After Maye was sacked on the first drive, he would get looked at on the sideline. He'd slowly make his way to the locker room with what the team announced was an ankle injury. Maye would be ruled questionable to return and wouldn't end up coming back.

In his place, second-string Tommy DeVito would come in and not have much success. He'd go 12-for-23 with 81 passing yards, a touchdown, a really bad interception to Roger McCreary over the middle and a couple of hospital passes. He'd also add 19 yards with his legs.

3. Christian Gonzalez Has Up-and-Down Day

Football - NFL - Detroit Lions v New England Patriots - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 15, 2026 New England Patriots' Christian Gonzalez celebrates intercepting a pass by Detroit Lions' Jared Goff REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth | REUTERS

After a game where he allowed 11 receptions to Matthew Golden and Christian Watson, the Patriots cornerback had the perfect opportunity to rebound from the worst outing of his career.

On the opening drive, covering Amon-Ra St. Brown on third down, Gonzalez got juked as the Lions wideout made one cut and took it 56 yards to the house.

He'd eventually get his get-back in the second quarter, undercutting St. Brown across the middle for his first interception of the season — one of two they got in the game.

Would that help the Patriots get some more momentum? Nope, they'd punt it away almost instantly. The Lions would tack on a touchdown on a Jahmyr Gibbs five-yard touchdown up the middle to take a 21-3 lead into halftime.

4. Another Bad Showing From A.J. Brown

After missing the last two weeks, getting Brown back was supposed to help elevate the Patriots' passing attack. In his first three games, he combined for nine total receptions and 101 yards. Without Maye throwing him passes and the offense as a whole out of sorts, Brown wasn't able to break out of the funk.

He finished the day targeted five times and caught two passes for 27 yards. On his second target, he dropped a pass on third down that forced the Patriots to punt it away. He would also get called for a false start in the third quarter to back the Patriots up into a 3rd-and-12.

Brown also recovered a fumble after Reggie Gilliam lost control along New England's sideline. He'd also suffer a hamstring injury and leave the game in the fourth quarter.

5. Jahmyr Gibbs Runs Wild Against NE Defense

Football - NFL - Detroit Lions v New England Patriots - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 15, 2026 Detroit Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs celebrates after rushing in for a 5-yard touchdown REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth | REUTERS

There's a reason Gibbs is one of the league's best players. He ran the ball 22 times for 153 yards, caught seven passes for 99 yards, scored two times and was untouchable all game. His 252 total yards of offense easily outpaced the Patriots, who were only able to muster 151 net yards all game.

On the drive that ended in Gibbs' first touchdown, the Lions running back amounted for a 50-yard catch-and-run that set them up inside the Patriots' 10. Then Gibbs would punch it home from five yards out for his 12th touchdown of the season.

6. Oh, And More Injuries

Maye got hurt and that will be the headliner. But the Patriots — who have started a league-high 42 different players this year — also had a lot more players get banged up in the loss. Offensive tackle Morgan Moses would leave the game for a bit with a knee injury, but would come back.

Several other Patriots had to get medical help.

Safety Craig Woodson got checked out in the blue medical tent before coming back.

Linebacker Robert Spillane was slow to get up after a Kevin Byard interception to close the first half. He'd later be questionable to return with an illness.

Cornerback Charles Woods would limp off the field after a Lions touchdown and would later walk to the Patriots locker room.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown headed into the tent after making a pair of catches in the third quarter. He would be announced as questionable to return with a hamstring injury to go with his prior knee and ankle ailments, and walked to the locker room — where he'd later be downgraded to out.

Edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones had cramps and would be announced as questionable late in the game.

7. Young RB Gets First-Career Touchdown

Football - NFL - Detroit Lions v New England Patriots - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 15, 2026 New England Patriots' Lan Larison in action REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth | REUTERS

It took until deep into the game, but the Patriots finally scored a touchdown. After a defensive penalty helped set the Patriots up deep into Detroit territory, DeVito connected with running back Lan Larison for a 10-yard touchdown.

That score was the first of Larison's young NFL career, and felt similar to other obscure Patriots touchdowns to happen in international games in recent years (JaMycal Hasty and K.J. Osborn both scored against Jacksonville in 2024).

The Lions weren't deterred. Gibbs struck once again, bouncing off the right side of the line and scored from 28 yards out. The lead then ballooned to 35-10, meaning the Patriots had allowed 80 points in the last two games.

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