Week 10's big questions: Lions best in NFC North? Will injuries continue to hurt Pats?

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  NFL NationNov 15, 2026, 12:48 PM ET

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  NFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.

The Sunday slate for Week 10 of the 2026 NFL season kicked off in Munich between the Patriots and Lions. Detroit advanced to 7-2 with a win after the Patriots lost Drake Maye early with an ankle injury.

Our NFL Nation reporters react to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game. Fantasy football analysts Matt Bowen and Tristan Cockcroft also have fantasy takeaways from each matchup.

Let's get to it with the biggest lessons from Sunday.

Jump to:
NE-DET

Catch up on Thursday's game:
WSH-NYG

Detroit 35, New England 10

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Lions

Are the Lions the best team in the NFC North right now? It's a bold question to ponder, but hear us out: Over the past three weeks, the Lions have beaten both the Packers and Vikings in the division. Then Dan Campbell's troops soundly defeated the Patriots -- albeit without QB Drake Maye, who was injured early. The defense has gone from a liability to a strength, and the offense again looked like one of the NFL's best units. The remaining schedule is tough, with four division games left to play including two versus the Bears (whom Detroit swept last season). Aidan Hutchinson's injury leaves things in the air, but few teams are playing better at the moment.

Key stat to know: Sunday marked Jared Goff's 88th career game with multiple TD passes. That broke a tie with Kirk Cousins for the second-most such games in the NFL since Goff entered the league in 2016. Aaron Rodgers is first with 91. -- ESPN staff

Next game: vs. Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Patriots

How will injuries that knocked Drake Maye and A.J. Brown out of the game affect the Patriots? Maye went down with an ankle injury after being sacked on the final play of the first drive. He was ruled out as early as the second quarter, which was telling. Then Brown left in the second half with a hamstring injury -- after already missing six games this year with ankle and knee injuries -- which added to the concern. The dropoff from Maye to backup Tommy DeVito is significant, as evidenced by what unfolded on the first four drives after Maye departed -- they ran 14 plays and totaled minus-3 yards. It didn't improve much after that. Thankfully for the Patriots, they are on the bye in Week 11.

Trend to watch: The defense, after giving up 45 points against the Packers last week, continues to surrender explosive plays. They gave up five plays of 20 yards or more -- which included a 56-yard catch-and-run touchdown -- and then other plays that went for 17, 14, 12, 13, 19, 14, 16 and 19 yards. Opponents are proving they can ring up big yardage against them in a single play. -- Mike Reiss

Next game: at Chargers (Nov. 29, 8:20 p.m. ET)

Fantasy football takeaway: Patriots QB Drake Maye injured his ankle early in the game and was ruled out shortly after, raising concerns of a multi-week absence. The Patriots' bye arrives in Week 11, but avoid their offense in most fantasy leagues if Tommy DeVito is under center from Week 12 on. DeVito had a 54.3 passer rating and 7.14 fantasy points, and no Patriots player scored as many as 10 fantasy points. -- Cockcroft