The New England Patriots struggled throughout a 35-10 defeat against the Detroit Lions in Munich on Sunday morning.
Head coach Mike Vrabel summarized the team’s performance by stating, “You don’t play well, you have no chance.”
New England faced an immediate setback when starting quarterback Drake Maye sustained an ankle injury during the opening drive.
The injury occurred after Maye was sacked by Aidan Hutchinson, leading to the quarterback being ruled out for the remainder of the contest, according to Patriots Wire.
Regarding the decision to pull Maye, Vrabel noted, “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.”
Tommy DeVito replaced Maye and finished the game completing 12 of 24 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
The offense faced additional complications when wide receiver A.J. Brown left the game in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury, as reported by the team’s data portal.
On the defensive side, Christian Gonzalez secured his first interception of the season, though the unit struggled overall to contain the Lions.
Safety Kevin Byard expressed frustration regarding the defensive effort, noting that the team is currently searching for answers after conceding significant points in consecutive weeks.
Byard further emphasized the disappointment of the loss by saying, “They played harder than us today, and that’s, as a defense, that feels like a slap in the face that we let them play hard.”
The Patriots managed to score their only touchdown in the fourth quarter when DeVito connected with Lan Larison for a 10-yard reception.
Despite the late effort, the team was unable to overcome the deficit as both sides eventually turned to backup players in the final minutes.
The organization now faces a difficult week of medical evaluations to determine the long-term status of their injured starters.