12 instant takeaways from another frustrating Patriots loss overseas in Week 10

When the Patriots play an international game, it never seems to go their way. In fact, it's always the complete opposite, and unfortunately for them, it was no different when they faced the Lions in Munich on Sunday.

It was already bad enough that they went into this week's game after a brutal loss to the Packers, meaning they needed a big road win to head into their Week 11 bye on a high. But an injury to Drake Maye on the first offensive drive meant they were in for an even tougher day, as the next three hours showed.

It was far from what this team needed at this point in the season, and things only got worse as the game continued.

From more injuries to a frustrating showing from backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, the Patriots never had a chance once Maye went down.

12 instant takeaways from the Patriots Week 10 loss to the Lions

1-Christian Gonzalez went into this game needing a bounce-back after last week's stinker, in which he gave up nearly 200 yards against Matthew Golden and Christian Watson, and based on how he talked all week, it was clear he felt confident it would happen.

Unfortunately, he didn't set an optimistic tone early, falling while covering Amon-Ra St. Brown, who went on to score a 56-yard touchdown. It was a terrible way to start, leaving many wondering what is going on with the Patriots' highest-paid player.

He did make things a little better by recording his first interception of the season on a 3rd-and-9 play by the Lions, marking just his third of the season.

2-Drake Maye was cooking on the opening offensive drive, leading the team to the three-yard line before pre-snap penalties and an illegal hip-drop tackle derailed their chance to score a touchdown. To make matters worse, Aidan Hutchinson's sack appears to have injured the quarterback, who was ruled questionable to return with an ankle injury ahead of the Patriots' second offensive series.

Because Maye has been the main playmaker for the depleted offense, his injury was a serious disaster, especially so early in the game, and after driving the ball 70 yards against what has been a solid Detroit defense.

3-An aversion to prop tackling is still an issue for the defense. That was clear on St. Brown's 56-yard touchdown, and it continued for the rest of the game. The group that was supposed to keep the Patriots afloat with so many injuries on the other side of the ball is becoming more of a liability, and it doesn't make much sense given the defensive roster's star power.

4-A.J. Brown returned this week, and the issues we saw before his knee flare-up were still there, as he dropped his first two passes and couldn't separate from defenders on others. It's starting to look like he's either not 100% and just trying to get back on the field, or he's not the player the front office thought he'd be when they traded for him.

No matter what it is, it's not looking good so far, and got even worse when he left the game at the end of the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

5-The Patriots' front office's decision not to invest more money in a reliable backup quarterback proved to be costly the moment Maye left the game. Although Tommy DeVito was once a starter for the Giants, there's a reason he's a second-stringer now, and his performance in Maye's place made that clear.

They decided to go the cheap route and put all their trust in Maye remaining healthy, which is never a wise decision, and that contributed to their struggles on Sunday. It will be even more disastrous if Maye has to miss any time after next week's bye.

6-The defense's struggles seem to worsen every week, raising questions about what's causing the problem. They were an elite group last season, and while some might chalk that up to an "easy" schedule, they played at a high level then, but that hasn't translated this season.

Is it a lack of talent? Is there reason to question Zak Kuhr as the defensive coordinator? Clearly, something has to change because what they're doing is not working.

7-In the third quarter, the Lions scored to make it 28-3, immediately bringing up Super Bowl LI memes. The problem is that Tom Brady is no longer on the team, and you certainly can't count on DeVito to put on a cape to save the Patriots, and Brady certainly wasn't walking through that door.

8-Lan Larison scored a 10-yard receiving touchdown, just as well predicted, to give the Patriots a smidge of momentum in the fourth quarter. The running back made a good effort, and although it didn't change the game much, it was good to see him take advantage of his opportunities and score his first touchdown.

9-Andy Borregales might not have missed a field goal or extra point in this game, but he did kick out of bounds after Larison's touchdown, giving the Lions the ball at the 40-yard line, which couldn't have been a worse time to do so.

10-The coaching staff, and maybe even the players, gave up on this game halfway through the fourth quarter. Although it was arguably out of reach at that point, with the score at 35-10, it was still disappointing to see, especially given the team's present concerns about their effort this year.

11-This game proved without a shadow of a doubt that Drake Maye has been the MVP of this team, carrying the entire roster on his back to 5 wins, which might have been 6 had he not gotten injured, as we watched the team fall apart from the moment he headed to the locker room with an ankle injury.

12-Julian Edelman couldn't have summed up this week's game any better than he did with this post. The sad part is that he tweeted it during the first quarter, but it stayed relevant all day.

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