The Patriots will return from Germany with a .500 record, zero identity, and the real possibility of a complete unraveling ahead.
This game against the Lions had presented the possibility of a fork in the road. Instead, the Patriots looked like they wanted to put a fork in the game at halftime. The final score of 35-10 was embarrassing, but more concerning is the status of Drake Maye, who suffered an ankle injury that took him out of the game in the first quarter.
Last year’s rallying cry was Stefon Diggs’ “All we got.” Well, that’s been the Patriots’ offensive identity this year—as in, Maye is pretty much all they’ve got (with help from Rhamondre Stevenson). Most teams are cooked when their starting quarterback goes down, but with the injuries sustained by New England this season, they were already parboiled before Maye’s injury. If he’s out much longer than the now-well-timed bye week, they’re deep-fried. Tommy DeVito was simply uncompetitive against the worst pass defense in the league.
The Patriots' defense, which has not suffered the same injuries as the other side of the ball, is in a state of collapse. Don’t be fooled by the secondary finally generating the takeaways requested by head coach Mike Vrabel weeks ago. Jahmyr Gibbs ran like Barry Sanders and collected a combined 252 yards on the ground and through the air. Jared Goff picked apart the Patriots’ attempts at disguises and trickery, targeting exactly who he wanted, when he wanted (notably, at the expense of depth cornerback Charles Woods). The Lions played with smarts and violence, pushing their pile into the end zone to shellac New England, then performed a cinematic, if disgusting, celebration. Their last two opponents—likely playoff-bound teams—posted 80 points against them.
Maye is tough. If he can recover after the bye, the Patriots could get much-needed reinforcements with Romeo Doubs and Alijah Vera-Tucker returning off injured reserve in Week 12, just in time for a get-right game against the utterly hopeless Los Angeles Chargers.
After that game, however, New England faces a gauntlet. The Buffalo Bills, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Kansas City Chiefs comprise a nasty three-game stretch in December. Then, they’ll ring in the new year hosting the Denver Broncos on January 3.
This team has been unpredictable. A week after they looked dead to rights following their loss to Jacksonville, they handed the Bills their first loss at the shiny new Highmark Stadium. Star receiver A.J. Brown’s return from injury made it feel possible the Patriots could get off the mat that way again in Munich, but instead, they suffered their losing streak in brutal fashion. Brown continues to struggle with his health, as a hamstring took him out of action in the second half Sunday.
Their calling card is how they beat up on bad teams, but—with the exception of a Thursday night loss against the Bears—get greased by the league’s top tier.
That identity doesn’t spell success for the remainder of this team’s season, even with the blessed Dolphins and Jets filling out the calendar. Vrabel could pull a rabbit out of a hat after a week off, finding five more wins to secure a playoff spot. What looks much more likely is that his team suffers the fate shared by many Super Bowl losers before them: a lost season.
