In a Patriots season riddled with injuries, there’s one that matters most: Drake Maye

Résumé détaillé

It felt as though this game could be a turning point for the Patriots. It still will be, just not in the way they thought.

The crowd of 75,000, most clad in Lions blue and silver, had just celebrated star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson’s third-down sack. It forced the Patriots to settle for a field goal on their opening drive of the game.

Hutchinson jumped into the air as part of his celebration, only to land awkwardly and immediately grab for his right knee. The crowd fell silent, while trainers came out to tend to Hutchinson.

Lost in all the action, though, was Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who suffered an ankle injury on that same play. With almost all of the stadium’s attention on Hutchinson, Maye limped off the field largely unnoticed.

Maye stayed on the bench while Andy Borregales connected on a 33-yard field goal attempt before eventually walking back to the locker room. The team initially listed Maye as questionable to return, but ruled him out before halftime.

Replay showed Hutchinson’s right calf landing on Maye’s ankle during the tackle. NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira said on the FOX broadcast that the play was not an illegal hip-drop tackle because there was no swivel or unweighting. The NFL’s officiating and rules analyst Walt Anderson confirmed Pereira’s explanation via a league spokesman.

“Three things have to happen,” Pereira said. “You have to unweight yourself, swivel all around the back, and land on the back of his leg below the knee.”

Backup Tommy DeVito took the field for New England’s second drive of the game. In the 35-10 loss, he completed 12 of his 24 pass attempts (50 percent) for 81 yards.

Since becoming a starter in Week 6 of his rookie year, Maye has not missed a game. He suffered a concussion in Week 8 in 2024 but started the following week. He started all 17 regular-season games and four postseason games last year.

Sunday’s game against a tough NFC North opponent in Munich had the opportunity to galvanize the Patriots, coming off a blowout loss to the Packers.

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