FRANKFURT, Germany – Guten Tag!
This week, the Patriots traveled to Frankfurt, Germany in preparation to play the Indianapolis Colts at Deutsche Bank Park. This marks the third international trip for the Patriots under Bill Belichick. The team played in London in 2009 where they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-7. In 2017, the Patriots traveled to Mexico City where they beat the Oakland Raiders, 33-8.
Sunday’s game will be played Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, which will be 3:30 p.m. in Germany.
In 2022, the Patriots were granted Germany as a “home market” through the NFL’s International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) initiative. The goal is for teams to grow their fan bases abroad. This year, the Patriots were also awarded home markets in Austria and Switzerland as well.
The NFL had the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins play in Frankfurt last weekend.
To prepare for this trip, the Patriots flew to Frankfurt on Thursday and landed in Germany on Friday morning. On Friday, the Patriots practiced at the DFB Campus Schwarzwaldstraße, which is a sports facility near Frankfurt’s city forest. It was built at the site of a former racecourse.
The 2-7 Patriots hope to leave Germany with a much-needed win over the 4-5 Colts. Here are five things to watch:
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Mac Jones vs. Gardner Minshew
The Colts are playing with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew after rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending injury. The Colts are 2-3 in Minshew starts this season. The veteran quarterback has thrown for 1,527 yards to go with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
Minshew is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason. Would he be someone the Patriots would consider bringing in?
It’ll be interesting to watch how Minshew performs compared to Mac Jones on Sunday. Jones enters this game with 1,861 yards to go with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The veteran is looking more and more like he isn’t the future in Foxborough. We’ll see how he looks going up against a veteran free agent.
Bill Belichick
Things have not gone as planned for Bill Belichick this season. The Patriots coach, who is chasing Don Shula’s NFL coaching wins record, thought he had an improved roster and improved coaching staff lined up for 2023. Instead, the Patriots are now 2-7 for the first time since Belichick’s first season as the Patriots head coach in 2000.
What happens if the Patriots drop to 2-8?
As a six-time Super Bowl winner here in Foxborough, owner Robert Kraft could give Belichick the rest of the season to sort this out. After all, Belichick has meant a lot to the franchise. However, another loss would put Kraft in the driver’s seat where we can’t rule out a mid-season firing. It’ll be a huge thing to watch if the Patriots lose this game – especially since they’re entering their bye week.
Jonathan Taylor vs. Patriots defense
The Colts offense runs off Jonathan Taylor. The All-Pro running back started this season on the physically unable to perform list and was activated last month. The Patriots have seen firsthand how this back can hurt an opposing defense.
In 2021, the Patriots trailed 20-17 with 2:01 remaining. That’s when Taylor ripped off a 67-yard game-securing touchdown. In that game, the running back ran for 170 yards against the Patriots defense. Last year, the Patriots beat the Colts 26-3. A big difference was that Taylor was injured. The Colts ran behind backup running back Deon Jackson, who ran for 23 yards.
The Patriots defense needs to stop Taylor on Sunday.
Patriots offensive line
Times are strange for the Patriots offensive line. This week, Bill Belichick said that offensive line coach Adrian Klemm would be out “for a little while” due to “health reasons.” That pushes assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates up to the main job and his group has their work cut out for them this weekend.
The Colts head into this matchup with the tenth most sacks in the NFL with 25. They’ve had 12 different players sack quarterbacks in 2023. They’re led by DeForest Buckner (5), Samson Ebukam (4), Kwity Paye (3.5), and Dayo Odeyingbo (3). A key to the Patriots offense runs through their offensive line, which is one reason why the unit has struggled so much this season.
Jet lag
The trip to Germany is unlike any away game the Patriots have taken in recent years.
Before their game in Mexico City in 2017, the Patriots stayed out in Denver to practice in a high-altitude setting to prepare for the elevation in that game. Their opponent, the Raiders, did not. That led to the Patriots playing a no-huddle offense that had Raiders defenders needing oxygen on the sideline.
It’ll be interesting to see how Patriots players adjust to the time zone in Germany this weekend. By the time they landed in Frankfurt, it was around midnight on Thursday but 6 a.m. on Friday. The team then practiced that afternoon.
Last week, the Dolphins spent the week in Germany to acclimate to the time zone. The Chiefs had the same travel schedule as the Patriots – and won.
Prediction: Patriots 23, Colts 20
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