With the New England Patriots in Munich for the remainder of the week for their Week 10 international battle against the Detroit Lions, it's time to get a read on what will make or break them before the final whistle blows.

The Patriots need a perfect game on Sunday. They had the unlucky draw of facing the NFC North, a division that may have all four of its teams in the postseason come January.

At 5-4, if you look at the Patriots' four losses, all of them came at the expense of mistakes that cost them the scoreboard and individual matchups on the field.

Here are a few things to consider ahead of Sunday.

The Patriots are now tied for the worst turnover differential in the NFL at -11, and leading the league with 19 giveaways. It's hard to argue that if you throw multiple interceptions or have a few fumbles, you will most likely lose the game.

In contrast, the Lions are +3 with only 5 giveaways all season (second-fewest in the NFL). The Lions' defense is banged up but still aggressive in areas that could be costly for the Patriots' offense.

We now sit and wait to see if Drake Maye can revert to the calm, collected version of himself he's shown in the pocket in past weeks.

It's been mentioned numerous times this week that the Patriots are a slow-start team. In the last three games, they have fallen behind early. It's a trend we've seen with Mike Vrabel-coached teams in the past.

Despite losing Ben Johnson to the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, the Lions offense is still a well-oiled machine. They rank fifth in scoring in the NFL right now, averaging 27.8 points.

The Patriots will need a strong first quarter offensively to hang with the Lions if they want a shot at a win by the time we reach the fourth quarter.

Before catching the plane to Munich, Mike Vrabel admitted it was pivotal for the Patriots to stop Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Vrabel also made it clear that the Patriots defense doesn't have anyone on its roster fast enough to slow Gibbs down properly.

In true Vrabel fashion, that wasn't him bad-talking his players but rather challenging them publicly to stop a juggernaut opponent out of the backfield. Gibbs currently has a PFF score of 88.0 overall (3rd among qualified NFL running backs). He's a dual threat out of the backfield as a runner and pass catcher, with 177 carries, 847 yards, 4.8 yards per carry, 9 touchdowns, and 34 receptions on 41 targets for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Stopping Gibbs will be a major stress test for the Patriots on Sunday.

There is an interesting scoring trend going into this game for both teams. The Patriots' offense has scored at least 24 points in six consecutive games, even during their recent losses.

The flip side of that coin is this: that streak runs directly into a Lions defense that has allowed more than 21 points only once in the past month. Something is going to have to give here.

Are we in for a shootout, or a one-sided victory for one of these teams? We'll know by Sunday afternoon.

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