Patriots Given Underwhelming Chance to Defeat Lions in Germany

As the New England Patriots prepare for their upcoming game this week against the Detroit Lions, the team knows that they have to be better.

New England was completely dominated by the Green Bay Packers a week ago, sending them to a 5-4 record for the year. The Patriots couldn't do much of anything against Green Bay last week, despite the game being played at home.

The Lions will be entering this game with a record of 6-2 on the year, with Detroit starting to find its footing on the field. This team has played much better defensively, which has helped it grab some wins.

This game will be played in Germany, with each side understanding how big of a contest it is. But for the Patriots, it may be as close to a must-win as possible at this point in the regular season.

The Patriots can't afford to keep dropping games, and the team has to stay the course with the other elite teams in the AFC. But after a strong week of practice, New England is entering the matchup with a lot of confidence.

Experts Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, Kris Knox, Moe Moton, Brent Sobleski, Wes O'Donnell, and Ian Hanford of Bleacher Report made picks for every game on the schedule this week. Among these, only two of the analysts went with New England to take down the Lions in Germany this weekend.

Only Gagnon and O'Donnell went with New England, showing a clear lack of faith in the Patriots after last week. Detroit is also playing very well right now, which may have played into the picks.

One key to this game will be the play from quarterback Drake Maye, who again struggled last week for New England. Maye threw three interceptions against the Packers, limiting what the Patriots' offense could do.

For the team to take down the Lions this week, Maye is going to have to take care of the ball, giving the offense more chances to score. New England has been dealing with all sorts of injury issues, especially at wide receiver, but Maye has to play better for this team to win.

The Patriots have the talent to win this game against the Lions, but it will take a full 6--minute effort from both sides of the ball to make it happen. Weird things tend to happen in these international games, but New England has to be ready for anything that comes their way this week.