Information on the NFL’s 2026 regular-season schedule continues to leak out, and fans of the New England Patriots just learned their team’s first official assignment.
For a Patriots schedule that’s expected to rank among the league’s toughest in 2026 based purely on opponents, we’re already off to a brutal start.
The NFL confirmed its full international slate on Wednesday morning, and the Patriots are heading to Germany to play the Detroit Lions in Week 10. While these early-morning games are a fun change of pace for fans — Patriots-Lions will be a 9:30 a.m. kickoff in Munich — they shouldn’t be confused with any sort of advantage.
It’s just the opposite, actually, and as Patriots reporter Mike Reiss pointed out: The Germany assignment blocks New England from landing a game fans actually would have cared about.
2026 Patriots pre-schedule thoughts:
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 13, 2026
While technically a road game because Lions are home team, the Patriots have strong fan presence in Germany - one of their official "home markets" through NFL's international initiative. Also takes Thanksgiving road game at Detroit off table. https://t.co/iRrrHU5Ebd
The NFL did the Patriots no favors sending them to Germany in 2026
The Patriots always made a lot of sense as the Lions’ opponent in Munich. As Reiss wrote, New England has a strong fan presence in Germany. But aside from drawing quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions outside of Ford Field, there aren’t many positives here for the Patriots in 2026.
New England was already going to have a brutal schedule, including nine road games. The Patriots will now have to manage all the extra variables that come with traveling for a game overseas, while preparing for a tough and unfamiliar NFC opponent in the Lions.
The Patriots will still have eight true road games this season, including trips to Buffalo, Chicago, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Seattle, and Los Angeles to play the Chargers. New England went 9-0 on the road last year, including the AFC Championship Game in Denver. Repeating that feat will be next to impossible, but playing Detroit in their house, on a normal week of prep, feels far less daunting than all the unknowns that come with a game in Germany.
Patriots fans were also hoping to see their team draw the Lions in that marquee 12:30 p.m. EST spot on Thanksgiving Day. They haven’t played the Lions or Cowboys on Thanksgiving since 2010. It was long overdue, and with the Patriots only playing eight home games this season, that would have been the fairer outcome.
The NFL definitely didn’t do the Patriots any favors with the Germany game, and the gut punches could continue after the full schedule is announced on Thursday night.
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