Munich — It was a week of celebration as Detroit Lions fans took over Bavaria, crowding the streets of downtown Munich with chants, song and general merriment.
The good times carried into Sunday afternoon as the Lions steamrolled the New England Patriots, 35-10, at Allianz Arena. It marked a fifth consecutive win for the Lions, moving them into first place of the hyper competitive NFC North division.
However, for the second time in three weeks, a pall was cast over the victory, thanks to an early-game leg injury suffered by superstar defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
The Patriots had taken the game’s opening possession and swiftly moved into the red zone. Yet a pair of penalties had New England facing third-and-goal from the 13-yard line.
As the Lions crashed the pocket, pressuring quarterback Drake Maye, Hutchinson tracked the passer down from behind for the drive-ending sack.
Hutchinson hopped up, jumped into the air in celebration, but immediately collapsed upon landing, clutching his right leg. After an initial evaluation, the defender was listed as questionable to return with a knee injury, before eventually being ruled out in the second half.
Maye was also lost for the game on the play, suffering an ankle injury.
Regardless, much like the Lions did two weeks earlier, when their game against the Minnesota Vikings was stopped for 10 minutes while linebacker Jack Campbell was carted off the field with a severe neck injury, the team managed to maintain its focus and finish the task at hand.
Sparked by a 56-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown — his first in six games — and 171 yards from scrimmage from Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions (7-2) jumped out to a 21-3 lead at halftime.
That offensive explosion was contrasted against the Patriots (5-5), who mustered just two first downs their next eight possessions, one via penalty, without their starting quarterback.
Following halftime, the Lions kept their foot on the gas. St. Brown, the son of a German mother, delivered again for the adoring crowd, powering through multiple defenders across the goal line on a screen pass for his second touchdown.
And Gibbs added the exclamation point with a 28-yard romp around the right edge in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring, leading into the Lions pulling many of their starters.
Scoring summary
First quarter
● 9:12 — The Patriots quickly moved down the field with the game’s opening possession, punctuated by a 26-yard flea flicker into the red zone. But two penalties — a false start and delay of game — led to them stalling out and settling for a field goal. PATRIOTS 3, LIONS 0
● 6:13 — Despite getting behind the sticks when Goff was sacked on first down, back-to-back passes to St. Brown, led to a 56-yard touchdown for the receiver.
Taking in the short throw near the right sideline, he made a defender miss, cutting up field and slicing through the Patriots’ secondary for the long score. LIONS 7, PATRIOTS 3
Second quarter
● 12:57 — Buried at their own 3-yard line to start the series, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki combined for 79 yards on seven touches, setting up a 14-yard back-shoulder touchdown toss to Isaac TeSlaa. LIONS 14, PATRIOTS 3
● 2:06 — Gibbs provided all the production on a seven-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, including receptions of 22 and 50 yards, setting up a 5-yard touchdown run. LIONS 21, PATRIOTS 3
Third quarter
● 8:16 — After trading punts to open the second half, the Lions moved into field goal range before St. Brown took a screen and plowed through a wall of defenders across the goal line for a 28-yard score, his second of the game. LIONS 28, PATRIOTS 3
Fourth quarter
● 12:40 — After a lengthy offensive drought, the Patriots finally broke through with a 13-play, 82-yard drive. Little-used rookie running back Lan Larison caught a flare in the right flat, scooting across the goal line for the 10-yard touchdown. LIONS 28, PATRIOTS 10
● 8:56 — After modest gains on three touches early in the series, Gibbs broke free around the right edge for a 28-yard touchdown. LIONS 35, PATRIOTS 10
Turnovers
● On a third-and-9 pass intended for St. Brown, Goff’s throw was undercut and intercepted by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
● With under a minute remaining in the first half, a deep pass from Tommy DeVito was intercepted by Lions cornerback Roger McCreary.
● Having pushed deep into the red zone in the waning seconds of the second quarter, Goff forced one into traffic in the back of the end zone, which was intercepted by safety Kevin Byard.
Key stats
● Goff finished 20-of-31 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
● Gibbs racked up 153 yards on the ground and 252 from scrimmage, his second-most productive day of his young career.
● Gibbs also led the Lions in receiving, hauling in seven passes for 99 yards. St. Brown and Jameson Williams each had four grabs, with St. Brown netting 98 yards and the two touchdowns.
● Linebacker Derrick Barnes led the Lions with seven tackles, while four Lions defenders had sacks, including two for Derrick Moore for the second straight week.
Notable
● Gibbs’ 171 yards from scrimmage in the first half were the most in franchise history.
Injuries
● Hutchinson collapsed to the ground clutching his right leg while celebrating a sack in the first quarter.
Inactives
The Lions made the following players inactive: Defensive back Keith Abney, defensive end Ahmed Hassanein, center Cade Mays, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, cornerback DJ Reed and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo.
Mays (ankle) and Reed (hip) didn’t travel and were ruled out earlier in the week. The other four were healthy scratches.
Next game
Detroit heads back home to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m.