The Patriots are in Munich. Their Lufthansa charter from Boston landed at Munich Airport at 9:38 a.m. on Thursday, about 78 hours before kickoff, and the team walked off the plane onto a red carpet with a brass band playing and about 20 German Patriots fans waiting on the tarmac. In the city, the NFL’s shop opened its doors, and the Lions’ fan pub at the Hofbräuhaus opened for its first day, while the Lions themselves were still in Allen Park.
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. Wednesday’s injury reports and the team’s departure are in our Munich game week, day two story, and the travel plan for the trip is in day one.
A brass band, gingerbread hearts and six trophies
Flight LH2573, an Airbus A350-900, came in at Franz Josef Strauss Airport in the middle of the morning, 10:38 a.m. in Cairo. Lufthansa handed out gingerbread hearts with the route “BOS–MUC” written on them, and a band in traditional dress played as Mike Vrabel and the players came down the stairs. The cargo hold carried more than seven tonnes of freight, including 80 helmets and all six of the franchise’s Super Bowl trophies, from the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons. The flight also started a new deal: Lufthansa is now the Patriots’ official partner in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The Patriots are welcomed on the tarmac in Munich. Video by NFL Deutschland.
It was the first time at any of the six NFL games in Germany that local fans were allowed on the tarmac to meet an arriving team. Lufthansa set it up with Patriots Fans Germany, the umbrella group for the club’s German fan clubs, and fans came from Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Bavaria. Vrabel went straight to them, and Drake Maye and several players signed autographs and posed for selfies.
Frank Neuber, who founded a Patriots fan club in Hanover, came with a gift for the head coach. “We handed Mike Vrabel a bag of sweets,” he told German reporters. “For diet reasons, he is supposed to share it out among the players and the staff.”
The Patriots’ trip from Foxborough to Munich. Video by the Patriots.
Lorenz Metz comes home
The loudest welcome was for Lorenz Metz, the German offensive tackle on New England’s practice squad. Metz, who signed with the Patriots in January, is from Neuötting, about 90 kilometers east of Munich. He is 2.06 meters tall and weighs about 145 kilos, and he played for the Kirchdorf Wildcats in the German Football League before his NFL chance.
“A lot of my teammates don’t even play in their hometown in the States,” Metz said on the tarmac. “Now we are playing in Munich. That is unbelievable. I am really looking forward to it.” He has already planned a night out for his teammates: “Everything is planned. We are going out for Bavarian food. There will be roast pork, schnitzel and all the other good things.” He will also have dinner with his family before the game, because his grandmother cannot be at the stadium on Sunday.
Practice at Bayern’s training ground
The Patriots do their on-field work this week at Säbener Straße, FC Bayern Munich’s training ground in the south of the city. On Wednesday the soccer goals on the pitch outside Bayern’s locker room were taken away and replaced with yellow football goalposts. The Lions get a Bayern field too, at the club’s youth campus on Ingolstädter Straße in the north of the city. None of the sessions are open to the public.
| Day | Team | Field | Munich time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov. 12 | Patriots | Säbener Straße | 4:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. Cairo) |
| Fri, Nov. 13 | Patriots | Säbener Straße | 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. Cairo) |
| Fri, Nov. 13 | Lions | Bayern youth campus, Ingolstädter Straße | 3:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Cairo) |
Thursday’s session gives New England its first look at the conditions, after a week of cold weather and steady rain in Munich. The Patriots ruled out TreVeyon Henderson, Ben Brown and Carlton Davis III on Wednesday, and A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) and Rhamondre Stevenson (knee) both made the trip. Thursday’s report, the first one from Germany, will show whether Stevenson is back on the field. Maye, a full participant on Wednesday with a right shoulder injury, speaks to reporters at 11:15 a.m. ET, which is 6:15 p.m. in Cairo.
The Lions are still at home
Detroit holds one more practice in Allen Park on Thursday and then flies overnight, landing on Friday with about 48 hours to go. Jared Goff (chest) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (rib) were limited on Wednesday’s estimated report, and Thursday’s report will be the first one from an actual practice this week. St. Brown, whose mother is German, plays his first game in the country on Sunday, and the team posted a short video of him getting ready for the trip.
Amon-Ra St. Brown before the trip to Germany. Video by the Lions.
The NFL Shop opens, with a price tag
The league’s official shop opened on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Neuhauser Straße 47, by Stachus in the city center. It sells jerseys and gear for all 32 teams, legends jerseys, limited pieces with Mitchell & Ness and New Era, and a Munich city collection. It is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Cairo) through Saturday and again on Monday, November 16, and it is closed on game day. Some of the memorabilia is expensive: German reporters found a football signed by Goff for €710 and one signed by St. Brown for €855.
Inside the NFL Shop in Munich. Video by NFL Deutschland.
Day one at the Lions’ pub
The Lions’ takeover of the Hofbräuhaus on Platzl started at 11 a.m. Fans walking in on the first day were handed a Lions poster made for Munich game week. The pub is open until midnight Thursday through Saturday, and the Lions’ Fan Fest at Odeonsplatz opens on Friday. All of the week’s fan events, including the Patriots Haus, are in our Munich “Novemberfest” fan map.
The poster handed to fans at the Hofbräuhaus on Thursday. Photos by Jeremy Reisman.
The Patriots are 5–4 and hold the AFC’s No. 7 seed. The Lions are 6–2 after a 19–9 win in Miami. New England has its bye after Munich, and Detroit goes home to face the Buccaneers and then the Bears on Thanksgiving.
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