Three things to watch against the Patriots in Germany

Listen, you're going to hear from Dan Campbell coming up. You're going to hear from Amon Ross St. Brown. You are going to see Sheila Ford tap a catch. You know what? I think she did it better than Barry Sanders did. I loved her technique. It was great. She did a great job, no doubt about it. We're going to have much more coming up from here in Munich right now, though we'll send it back to Woody and Bertie in the studio. Guys, back to you. Thank you, gentlemen, and let's keep it rolling by bringing in Will Birchfield from 971theticket.com. Will, I saw you at the coffee pot for like 40 minutes, so I know that you're caffeinated and ready to go. What are your thoughts on the matchup for the Lions on the international stage in Germany? It wasn't coffee I was putting in this cup this morning, but the rest remains to be seen. I just got a dispatch from Woj over there in Germany. Yeah, I heard. That he just drained his seventh stein of the day. So we'll see what kind of content our friend produces over there in Germany. But, Woody, within... All the pomp and circumstance and hops and suds today is a really, really big football game for both teams. And for the Patriots, they're trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time under Mike Vrabel. And a loss today would drop them, the defending AFC champions, to 5-5 on the season and reinforce a lot of the doubts that surrounded them entering this season. And for the Lions, a chance to put a real stamp. on their four-game surge, and two big questions for them to answer. Defensively, can they validate the way they've played for the past month against a highly explosive offense? And for their own offense, can they get back to humming after being held to 20 points or fewer in three straight games for the first time since 2021, when things were very different for this team? So look, one team tonight is going to get a long, uncomfortable, Upset flight home back to the U.S. And one is going to get a very happy one. And we'll see which teams those are today. I'll tell you right now, that's going to be the Lions. All right, let's stay ahead of the sticks and look in on this week's Figer Law Injury Report. Now, we know about linebacker Jack Campbell, but there were a few more injury concerns for Detroit. Dan Campbell announced on Friday that Kirby Joseph, Cade Mays, and DJ Reed are all out for today's game. And that's still the case as the inactives have just been released. Amon Ross, St. Brown, and Sione Bakke were listed as questionable, but they will both play as expected. Now for the Patriots, wide receiver A.J. Brown will be in the lineup, and that is good for Drake May. So now that we know who's in and who's out, let's take a look at three things to watch brought to you by Michigan's First Credit Union, and Will, why don't you start with something called Take from Drake? Yeah, look, all week long we've heard the Patriots are better than their record. They've just been a victim of turnovers, and indeed, they're tied with the 0-8 Chargers. For the most giveaways in the NFL with 19 and the two and seven Colts for the worst turnover differential at minus 11 and Drake May is tied with Justin Herbert for the most picks with 11 through nine games after throwing just eight all of last season when he was runner up for MVP. That included three as you see here last week against Green Bay. The Lions haven't exactly been ball hawks this season, but they do have a pick in each of their last four games, all of which. As we know, have been wins may will give them chances to make plays on the ball. His pursuit of big plays often puts the ball in harm's way. So the question is, who's taking advantage today for the Lions? I'll take the embattled Roger McCreary. Oh, and his first pick of the season. Maybe that's a play that swings today's game. All right. That brings us to thing number two. It's called angry nest. Now after the Patriots got crushed last week against the Packers. Dan Campbell said the hornet's nest has been kicked. The Lions have come ready to play to match their angry opponent, and that means patience. In my opinion, the Lions need to handle that first wave of emotion from the Patriots and then strike back with a literal tsunami of offense that will put New England in a hole, and I don't believe the Patriots have that kind of comeback ability. In fact, I don't think that angry Patriots squad exists. I'd call New England desperate because if they lose, then they'll be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, and that is not something that Mike Vrabel, Wants to see happen with his team. All right, well, I'll throw it back to you for an explanation of the third thing to watch. Why are we calling it hold your ground? Because there's been a lot of talk over the past month about the Lions tightening things up in the secondary. And certainly that's gone a long way in their defensive turnaround. But so has this. They have been smothering the run every single week. During this four-game surge, they haven't allowed a single team to rush for more than 81 yards. Haven't allowed a single back to rush. For more than 55, in fact, they haven't allowed a single rushing touchdown over this four-game surge while outrushing the opposition by a combined 340 yards. That is the Dan Campbell recipe for success when his teams are playing well. And this is a banged-up Patriots backfield. Even if Ramond Drake-Stevenson plays, as we know he will, he's been fighting a knee injury. If the Lions can stuff the run again today, they can pin back their ears and get after Drake May. And ideally, force turnovers and errant throws and hopefully capitalize on those for turnovers. So today it begins with, sorry, stuffing the run. And one thing we know about run defense, that's a want-to kind of thing. Yeah. And so far we have seen the Lions defensive line want to do that, especially behind Ali McNeil. Yeah, Tyreek Williams has taken a real jump in year two. Obviously, Ali McNeil has been a force all season. Even guys like Gil Howard, who look like pass rushers, and they are first. Have been stout against the run. So that's where it starts for this defense. All right. We have to throw in a quick break here. But when we come back, we'll hear from the players on the task at hand, which is beating the New England Patriots. And you are looking at the Lions fans infiltrating the pubs in Munich. What a huge turnout we saw this week. We'll hear from Detroit owner Sheila Hamp a little bit. Plus, more from Germany. You're in touch with Lions Game Day Live, the international edition, right here on Fox 2.