Amon-Ra St. Brown scored two touchdowns in Germany on Sunday — in his mother's home country, in front of a Munich crowd that had come to see him. The Detroit Lions star spent the week listed as questionable with a rib injury, and he needed exactly one drive to make the game his own.
On Detroit's first possession, quarterback Jared Goff found St. Brown on a short pass, and the receiver did the rest. He juked New England cornerback Christian Gonzalez out of his shoes, cut back inside and outran everybody downfield for a 56-yard touchdown. It was his first touchdown since Week 3, and it put the Lions ahead 7-3 after the Patriots had opened the scoring with a field goal.
He was not done. In the third quarter, on third-and-9 from the 28-yard line, Goff hit St. Brown on a middle screen. St. Brown plowed his way through defenders for the final five yards and into the end zone again, stretching Detroit's lead to 28-3. For the celebration, the Lions offense formed a human centipede behind him.
The setting is what makes the day special. St. Brown's mother, Miriam, was born in Germany. He speaks German, spent part of his childhood there, and the NFL knew exactly what it was doing when it sent the Lions to Munich with him as the headliner. He said so himself on Friday, after the team's practice at the FC Bayern Campus.
“I haven't been in the end zone in some weeks, so I feel like Germany would be a great time to touch the paint again.” — Amon-Ra St. Brown, Friday, Nov. 13
He was right, twice over. And the touchdowns answered the only real question hanging over him before kickoff. St. Brown had been limited in all three of Detroit's practices during the week with the rib injury, and the Lions listed him as questionable. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning that he was expected to play, and by the end of the first quarter nobody was asking about the ribs anymore.
There was a second story unfolding at Allianz Arena, and it was a bad one for New England. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was hurt on the very first drive of the game. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sacked him on third-and-goal at the Detroit 15-yard line, and Maye's right ankle was caught as he went down. He limped off the field, walked to the locker room for evaluation and was later ruled out for the rest of the game. Backup Tommy DeVito took over on New England's second drive.
Hutchinson was hurt on the same play, apparently while celebrating the sack, and the Lions listed him as questionable with a knee injury. Maye had completed three of his first four passes for 48 yards before he went down. The Patriots get their bye next week, which gives him extra time to recover — but there is no official timetable for his return beyond Sunday, and the team has not announced the full severity of the ankle injury.
For St. Brown, the two touchdowns also got a quieter chase back on track. He entered Sunday leading the Lions with 61 catches, 657 yards and five receiving touchdowns. He opened the season on a tear — 19 catches for 209 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games — but had just one 100-yard game in the seven weeks since, and no touchdown since Week 3. He is trying to join Marvin Harrison, Antonio Brown and Davante Adams as the only players in NFL history with five straight years of 100 catches, 1,000 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. Days like this one are how that chase survives.
The rest of the Lions kept piling on around him. Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 171 yards of total offense in the first half alone, scored on a five-yard run in the second quarter. Goff also found Isaac TeSlaa for a 12-yard touchdown. By halftime Detroit had outgained New England by 312 yards to 69, and the 21-3 lead already looked comfortable. The Patriots, who came in at 5-4 after an ugly 45-27 home loss to the Green Bay Packers in which Maye threw three interceptions, never found a way back into it.
THE SCOREBOARD
First quarter: Patriots field goal, 3-0. Amon-Ra St. Brown 56-yard touchdown catch from Jared Goff, Lions 7-3. Second quarter: Isaac TeSlaa 12-yard touchdown catch, Lions 14-3. Jahmyr Gibbs five-yard touchdown run, Lions 21-3 at halftime. Third quarter: St. Brown 28-yard touchdown catch on a screen, Lions 28-3. The Lions entered the game at 6-2 on a four-game winning streak, their latest win a 19-9 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 8.
THE STORY SO FAR
Friday, Nov. 13: After practice at the FC Bayern Campus, St. Brown says Germany would be a great time to get back in the end zone. He has been limited all week with a rib injury and is listed as questionable. Sunday morning: NFL Network reports he is expected to play. 9:30 AM ET: Kickoff at Allianz Arena in Munich. New England drives to the Detroit 15, settles for a 33-yard field goal, and loses Maye to an ankle injury on a Hutchinson sack on the same drive. Minutes later: St. Brown takes a short Goff pass 56 yards for a touchdown, 7-3 Detroit. Second quarter: TeSlaa and Gibbs score, and Detroit leads 21-3 at halftime with Maye ruled out. Third quarter: St. Brown scores again on a 28-yard screen, and the lead is 28-3.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The game still has to be finished, and the final score will settle how big the win is — but the two things that matter most are already decided: St. Brown delivered the homecoming performance Munich came to see, and the Patriots lost their starting quarterback in the first quarter. New England now heads into its bye week, which at least gives Maye time for the ankle to be evaluated and treated without missing another game. For Detroit, the win would stretch a four-game winning streak to five and keep the Lions firmly in the NFC North race. And for St. Brown, the chase continues: two more touchdowns banked toward the 10 he needs, and a 100-catch, 1,000-yard season that is very much alive.
