The New England Patriots will attempt to wipe the bad taste from their mouths when they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday in Munich, Germany.
The Patriots (5-4) are coming off an ugly 45-27 home loss to the Green Bay Packers in which they fell behind 17-0 early in the second quarter and trailed by 28 points late in the third.
New England committed four turnovers and received subpar performances from top players, including quarterback Drake Maye, who threw three interceptions in the first half, and Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who allowed 187 receiving yards and one touchdown.
The loss dropped New England’s record against teams with a winning record to 2-4 this season – and the Lions (6-2) arrived in Germany with a four-game winning streak.
“Well, we’re not trying to reflect on anything,” said New England coach Mike Vrabel. “We’re just trying to focus on this week, who we can have available, who can improve, who can practice and all those things. And finding a way to win a game, eliminate the things that get us beat, continue to do the things that we’ve done that are productive and that have been productive.
“We just have to come back and re-center, challenge, compete, stop the run, pressure the quarterback and the things that we do when we’re successful.”
Detroit (6-2) has climbed into the NFC’s top wild-card position despite ranking last among NFL teams with 260.9 passing yards allowed per game. However, the Lions rank third in sacks with 27 having recorded at least three sacks in six of their eight games.
“The record is not the true indication of what this team (New England) is,” said Detroit coach Dan Campbell. “There’s a number of things that go into that. That Green Bay game the other day — (Green Bay quarterback Jordan) Love was just on a heater.
“You look at the totality of what this team is capable of, the firepower they have, and they’re a good team. They’re dangerous, and they’re going to clean a lot of things up (on offense). … And then defensively, they’re kind of a lot like us. They don’t want you to run the ball on them.”
Detroit figures to have the edge at running back with Jahmyr Gibbs, who leads the NFL in touches (211), scrimmage yards (1,132), first downs (55) and touchdowns (11).
After tying for the third-fewest turnovers in the NFL last year (15), Detroit has been even better at taking care of the football this season. The Lions have committed five turnovers — the second-fewest in the league. New England is minus-11 in turnover differential, which is tied for last in the league.
“Really, the big thing right now is their turnover ratio,” Campbell said. “That’s it. Get a couple more (or) take care of it (and) it’s a 5-4 record to 6-3 or even better. It makes a difference.”
Detroit hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in any of its last three games: victories over Green Bay (20-17), Minnesota (19-15) and Miami (19-9).
“Again, I think they know how to win,” Vrabel said. “They’ve built, I would say, a program that I know that they’re proud of, and Dan’s a good football coach. I think Jared’s (Detroit quarterback Jared Goff) playing at a high level.
“Great skill players, speed, physical. The defense has played really well the last three weeks, and they stay aggressive on fourth down. They stay aggressive on special teams. So, certainly it’ll be a huge challenge. They don’t turn the ball over offensively at all.”
New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson sustained a knee injury during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Green Bay and reportedly will be out several weeks. TreVeyon Henderson, the team’s No. 2 running back, missed the last two games with an illness and he will miss Sunday’s game as well.
Receiver A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) will travel but remains uncertain to play. He was limited in Wednesday’s practice and has missed the past two games.
Lions edge rusher DJ Wonnum (concussion) was a full practice participant on Wednesday after sitting out last week’s game. Wonnum has five sacks this season.