Amon-Ra St. Brown got the homecoming he wanted. The receiver whose mother is from Leverkusen ran onto the field carrying a German flag, caught two touchdown passes, and the Detroit Lions beat the New England Patriots 35-10 on Sunday, November 15, in front of 70,225 fans at Allianz Arena in Munich.
Jahmyr Gibbs did the rest. He ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 99 yards, 252 yards from scrimmage in all. Detroit has won five straight and is 7-2. New England is 5-5 after losing Drake Maye to an ankle injury on the first drive of the game, its second straight loss and third in four games.
One drive for Maye
The Patriots took the opening kickoff and looked sharp. Maye completed three of four passes for 48 yards and ran for 11 more as New England moved 60 yards in 11 plays. On third-and-goal from the Detroit 13, Aidan Hutchinson came free and pulled him down for a 2-yard loss. Maye limped to the sideline and did not return. Hutchinson hurt his right knee landing from his celebration and was later ruled out too. Andy Borregales kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead, and it was the last time New England led.
Detroit answered in six plays. On third-and-9 from its own 44, Jared Goff threw short to St. Brown, who broke free down the right side for a 56-yard touchdown. It was his first touchdown catch since Week 3.
Detroit pulls away before halftime
Tommy DeVito replaced Maye, and the Patriots punted on his first four possessions. The Lions started their next drive at their own 3 after a 57-yard punt and went 97 yards in 11 plays. Isaac TeSlaa caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-3 early in the second quarter.
Christian Gonzalez slowed Detroit down with his first interception of the season, but the next Lions drive belonged to Gibbs. He touched the ball on six of seven plays, including a 50-yard catch-and-run down the sideline, and scored on a 5-yard run on the next snap for a 21-3 lead with 2:06 left in the half. His 171 first-half yards from scrimmage were the most in a first half of any NFL game played outside the United States.
Both teams then gave the ball away. Roger McCreary intercepted DeVito and returned it 22 yards, and Detroit drove to the New England 3. On third-and-goal, Kevin Byard picked off Goff in the back of the end zone, and the score stayed 21-3 at halftime.
A scrum at the goal line
The second touchdown for St. Brown came midway through the third quarter. On third-and-10 from the New England 28, he caught a pass over the middle, was stopped short of the goal line, and his teammates pushed the pile into the end zone. That made it 28-3 with 8:16 left in the quarter. It was the 10th game of his career with two or more touchdown catches.
New England finally found the end zone on a 13-play, 87-yard drive that carried into the fourth quarter. A 20-yard touchdown pass to Lan Larison was wiped out by offensive pass interference, but DeVito found Larison from 10 yards out a few snaps later to make it 28-10. Detroit answered right away. Gibbs went around the right end for a 28-yard touchdown with 8:56 left, and that settled it.
The numbers
- Jahmyr Gibbs: 22 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns, plus seven catches for 99 yards. He is the first player since Priest Holmes in 2002 with at least 150 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and 95 receiving yards in a game, and he reached 1,000 rushing yards for the season in nine games.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: four catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns on five targets.
- Jared Goff: 20 of 31 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
- Tommy DeVito: 12 of 24 for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked four times.
- Detroit defense: five sacks, two by Derrick Moore, with one each from Hutchinson and DJ Wonnum. New England averaged 2.7 yards per play.
- Team totals: Detroit outgained New England 494 yards to 151 and ran for 191 yards to 61. The Patriots gained 60 yards on their first drive and 91 on their other 11, and punted eight times.
- Patriots leaders: Mack Hollins had five catches for 48 yards. Byard made 10 tackles to go with his interception.
What they said
“Being in Germany, number one, was a blessing, it’s been amazing,” St. Brown said. “But being able to win like that, with the guys, my teammates in front of the fans here in Germany, it’s like a dream come true.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell had no update on Hutchinson. “We’ll know more when we get back to the States,” he said. “Anytime you lose a player like that and you don’t know the entirety of it … it hurts a little bit.”
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Maye will have more tests in New England. “We’re heading into the bye and we have to get some things fixed and changed and corrected and figure out ways to win as opposed to what we’re doing right now, which is not giving ourselves enough of a chance,” he said.
New England also lost receiver A.J. Brown to a hamstring injury in the second half, and right tackle Morgan Moses missed part of the first half before returning. The details are in our full injury report from Munich, and the drive-by-drive story is in our step-by-step interactive of the game.
What comes next
The Lions host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, November 22, then host the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving. The Patriots have their bye in Week 11 and play next at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night, November 29.
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