Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ loss to the Lions in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Drake Maye (ankle) injured, does not return: At the end of a promising opening drive, the Patriots had 2nd and goal at the Detroit 3. Then Will Campbell had a false start and team had a delay of game penalty. That made it 3rd-and-goal from the 13. Maye went back to pass, Campbell blocked Aidan Hutchinson like it was a 3-step drop, and the Lions' star pass rusher dropped Maye for a sack. It appeared to be a hip-drop tackle, but rules official Mike Pereira said it didn't have all three elements. I'm guessing Hutchinson, who looked like he tore his ACL celebrating the sack, will be fined this week.
Aidan Hutchinson goes down holding his leg after jumping and celebrating a sack https://t.co/jT4UxVOCyU
— JM Football (@JomboyMediaFB) November 15, 2026
In relief of Maye, Tommy DeVito was terrible. At halftime, he was 4 of 9 for 16 yards, one interception and three sacks for a passer rating of 12.0. The Patriots had two first downs on the next seven drives.
DeVito finished 12 of 24 for 81 yards, a TD to Lan Larison and a 54.3 rating.
Now the question is how long will Maye be out, and can the Patriots stay afloat? The schedule:
BYE
at Chargers
vs. Bills
vs. Vikings
at Chiefs
Obviously, wasn't able to finish the game, so we'll have to get some more tests run, and we'll see, you know, when we come back what it ends up being and the severity of whatever injury he has," Mike Vrabel said. "No, I don't think Drake's being in there would have really ... I mean, it may have ... I would highly doubt it. You know, until we start doing the little things better in all three phases, the fundamentals, being able to run the football, being able to get open and catch and protect our quarterback, tackle, get off the field on third down, create turnovers... Obviously, we have to stop turning it over offensively, and then you know special teams got to be able to create a spark for us and create some momentum play. So you know we're zero and zero. We got 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."
Other teams deal with this all the time. The Vikings haven't had a QB all year and they are 6-2. Time for the coaches to get the work, and for the defense to do their part. Speaking of which ...
Patriots' defense fails again vs. NFC North: The Patriots lost their quarterback after the first drive, and how did the defense respond? In just the first half, the Patriots allowed 312 yards, 14 first downs, 108 rushing yards, two receivers over 70 yards, 5 of 8 third downs, and 2 of 3 red-zone touchdowns—and the Patriots got two Jared Goff interceptions! There's no excuse for how this defense has played the past two weeks.
The Patriots are now 0-3 against the NFC North, with the Vikings coming up. The defense in those games:
Bears - 30 points, 20 first downs, 405 total yards, 289 passing yards 116 rushing yards
Packers - 45 points, 22 first downs, 478 total yards, 349 passing yards, 129 rushing yards
Lions (before Jared Goff left) - 35 points, 21 first downs, 480 total yards, 303 passing yards, 182 rushing yards
Patriots' defensive averages in 3 games vs. the NFC North: 36.6 points 454.3 total yards 313.6 passing yards 142.3 rushing yards 21.0 first downs https://t.co/YtlAqtWJrD
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) November 15, 2026
A.J. Brown returns, injured again: Brown returned to the lineup, and it was much the same, as he lacked explosion and even had another drop. He also lost a physical battle with journeyman CB Rock Ya-Sin on third down. Brown had a catch, but he went offsides to negate it. He finally caught back-to-back passes later in the game, including a 21-yard slant, but then he went out with a hamstring injury and did not return.
TURNING POINT
The way DeVito played, it was when Maye was injured. It shouldn't have been that way, especially against a porous Lions defense that lost its best player, but that's the way it went.
SECOND GUESS
That was a pathetic performance by DeVito. If that's the best he can do, he was the wrong choice as backup quarterback. Josh Dobbs, who entered in relief of Goff, could do a lot better than that.
THREE UP
WR Mack Hollins: Caught 5 of 6 targets for 48 yards.
P Mitch Wishnowsky: Another strong game with 45.5 average, a long of 57, zero touchbacks, two inside the 20, including one to the 3-yard line.
DE Gabe Jacas: I thought he had a strong game against the run and the pass, and had two pressures and a sack.
THREE DOWN