The New England Patriots and Detroit Lions are gearing up for a huge international game this weekend. Both teams will travel to Munich for a Week 10 battle in front of a frothy German crowd. Playing in front of an international audience always seems to add another level of pressure. As does traveling overseas with a short period of time to get ready for such a big game.
Both the Lions and Patriots are both in the playoff hunt. Gaining a signature win in Germany will give the victor a huge advantage moving forward. Meanwhile, the losing team will have a lot to think about on their long flight home.
So which team will come out on top in this one? And how much will this overseas trip influence both teams?
Here are three bold predictions ahead of Sunday's huge international matchup between the Lions and Patriots.
Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)Drake Maye's best and worst habits show up in front of a global audience
No player will be under more pressure in this game than Drake Maye.
When Maye has struggled this year, the Patriots tend to struggle. He can also single-handedly pull the Patriots back into games and will them to victory. If the Patriots want to score enough points to keep up with the Lions, they'll need Maye to have a great game.
Putting a player under that type of pressure is always risky, but especially so during an international game.
The young quarterback has made more than his fair share of mistakes when things have gotten rough this season. Maye is tied for the most interceptions in the league with 11 through nine games. He's also taken 20 sacks, which is also in the bottom tier of starting NFL quarterbacks.
New England's supporting cast is not as good this year, but Maye is still the same guy who was the MVP runner up last year. He will at least give the Patriots a shot to win this game, but he may make some mistakes along the way.
Maye will throw at least one interception in this game and be sacked at least twice. He will also throw for at least 300 passing yards, something he's only done twice in 2026.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown each have huge performances in Munich
New England better bring their A game on offense. If they don't, Detroit's high-powered offense will leave them in the dust.
Everyone knows that Gibbs is arguably the best running back in the entire NFL. He is pacing towards the best season of his career after already rumbling for 847 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. The Lions will make it a priority to get Gibbs established on the ground. When defenses sell out to stop Gibbs it sets up the rest of the offense in an advantageous situation.
On paper, the Patriots have one of the better run defense units in the league. In fact, they are up there with the Lions in terms of rushing yards allowed per game. But even an elite run defense unit is not enough to keep Gibbs bottled up for an entire game. Eventually he'll do his damage.
Meanwhile, the Lions have more than one reason to feature Amon-Ra St. Brown in Week 10.
St. Brown's role in the slot is the perfect complement to Gibbs. If one player is having a great game, there's a chance that both of them are gaining plenty of yards.
Beyond that, St. Brown is an incredibly popular player in Germany. St. Brown's mother grew up in Germany and the superstar receiver speaks the language fluently to this day. Detroit will want to let St. Brown shine in front of the German crowd, which could help create an artificial home field advantage across the pond.
The combination of Gibbs and St. Brown may be too much for New England's defense to deal with.
Both Gibbs and St. Brown will each go over 150 all-purpose yards against the Patriots.
Detroit's defense smothers New England's hobbled offense
Detroit's defense has been playing a lot better over the past four games. Will they continue their hot streak against New England?
It does help that the Patriots are dealing with quite a few significant injuries ahead of this Munich game.
A.J. Brown was spotted on the practice field this week, but he's been hobbled for most of the season. Rhamondre Stevenson is dealing with a knee injury and his status is unclear. But TreVeyon Henderson's status is perfectly clear, as he's already been ruled out for Week 10.
Put all that together, and the Patriots are clearly lacking at the skill positions right now.
The Lions have injuries of their own, most recently with Jack Campbell on injured reserve and Jimmy Rolder out for the season. Fortunately, they have enough depth to survive against a Patriots offense that has few legitimate stars.
Make no mistake, New England is still capable of moving the ball against Detroit's middling defense. However, the Patriots' lack of playmakers on offense and Maye's propensity for turnovers are major obstacles. Once the Lions pull out in front with their elite offense, the onus will be on the Patriots to catch up throughout the rest of the game. Eventually, they will make one too many mistakes to come back from. That could be what decides this ball game.
Detroit will gain a 10-point advantage in the first half then run away with the game in the second half.