Munich game week starts on Wednesday with the two teams on very different clocks. The Patriots practice in Foxborough and then fly overnight to Munich, giving them three full days in Germany before Sunday’s game. The Lions stay home for two more practices in Allen Park and leave after Thursday’s session, which leaves them about 48 hours on the ground. Inside the FC Bayern Munich stadium, the conversion from soccer to football has begun, and the referee who gets the game already has a German phrase on his record.
Patriots vs. Lions kicks off on Sunday, November 15, at 3:30 p.m. in Munich, which is 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. in Cairo. Detroit is the home team. It is the third regular-season game in Munich, after Buccaneers–Seahawks in 2022 and Panthers–Giants in 2024.
The Patriots fly a “small village” to Munich
New England’s trip is much bigger than a team charter. Alex Foster, the Patriots’ senior manager of international business, said in an interview with a German football site this week that about 700 people will fly with the club. The team flies direct from Boston to Munich on a Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 named “Rostock.” Because the club decided that players’ and staff members’ families could come on this trip, the first plane carries about 300 people. A second plane brings about 300 guests and business partners, and about 50 more Patriots employees travel as well.
“You can imagine it as us flying to Munich with a small village,” Foster said. The heaviest freight left months ago. The first shipment went to Munich by sea in August, with material for fan events, marketing and early equipment, and a cargo flight follows with helmets, pads and shoes. Every player has at least two of everything, and “some players bring up to five pairs of shoes,” Foster said, including cleats worn only for warmups as a style statement. Asked what the heaviest thing on the trip is, he said: “Our O-line! The guys all weigh around 150 kilos.”
The food is not packed. “Luckily the food in Germany is very good,” Foster said. Players will find their names on their seats, and Lufthansa plans a welcome at Munich Airport. Foster said the club measures the trip’s emissions at about 35 percent above a normal game week, and that the flights use sustainable aviation fuel through a partnership with Shell Deutschland. Marketing material was built to be reused at later events: “We don’t build anything that is only used once.”
This is New England’s second game in Germany, after its 2023 loss to the Colts in Frankfurt. The club has held marketing rights in Germany since 2022, and Foster said the Patriots learned they were going back about 24 hours before the 2026 schedule was released in May.
The Lions practice at home until Thursday
Dan Campbell chose to keep Detroit in Allen Park for Wednesday and Thursday practices. “After Thursday practice, we will head over,” he said. “So, we’ll have 48 hours to get adjusted and ready to roll.” He played down the travel on Monday. “We’ll be good,” Campbell said. “They got to go through the same thing.” He added: “The team with the most energy has got a good chance of winning this game.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose mother is German, plays his first game in the country this week. In a Tuesday interview shown by the league’s German account, he said he is most excited about seeing his family and the fans, and about German food, naming currywurst and schnitzel.
The goalposts go up in Bayern’s stadium
The conversion of the FC Bayern Munich stadium is underway. On Tuesday the league’s German account posted video of the yellow goalposts being installed in the Bundesliga stadium, five days before kickoff. That was the same day the NFL and the Bundesliga renewed their partnership, covered in our story on the NFL–Bundesliga agreement.
The goalposts going up inside the FC Bayern Munich stadium on Tuesday. Video by NFL Deutschland.
Clay Martin, a referee who has spoken German on the field
Clay Martin’s crew has the game, his second time working a game in Germany. His crew averages 16 flags a game this season, tied for the sixth-fewest in the league, but it threw a season-high 26 last week in Dallas, as covered in our story on Martin’s crew in Cowboys–Colts. On Tuesday the league’s German account replayed earlier games in Frankfurt and Munich where Martin and Shawn Hochuli announced penalties in German, including “Fehlstart,” the German for false start.
Martin and Hochuli announcing penalties in German at earlier games in Germany.
Munich game week in Cairo time
| Day | Patriots | Lions and fans |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Nov. 11 | Patriots practice in Foxborough, then fly overnight from Boston to Munich | Lions practice in Allen Park |
| Thu, Nov. 12 | Patriots arrive in Munich and hold a walkthrough | Lions practice, then fly to Munich in the evening; Lions fan pub opens at the Hofbräuhaus, 11 a.m. to midnight (noon to 1 a.m. Cairo) |
| Fri, Nov. 13 | Patriots’ full practice in Munich | Lions arrive; Lions Fan Fest at Odeonsplatz from 11 a.m. (noon Cairo), Kevin Saunderson concert from 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Cairo) |
| Sat, Nov. 14 | Final preparations | Fan Fest from 11 a.m. (noon Cairo), Big Sean concert from 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Cairo) |
| Sun, Nov. 15 | Kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Munich, 9:30 a.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. Cairo | LaBrassBanda sing the German anthem, Drew Baldridge the U.S. anthem, and Cage The Elephant play halftime |
The full list of fan events is in our Munich “Novemberfest” fan map and our Munich and Madrid game-week guide. The halftime show is one of seven listed in our international halftime guide.
The Patriots are 5–4 after a 45–27 loss to Green Bay, and the Lions are 6–2 after a 19–9 win in Miami. New England has its bye after Munich.
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