FRANKFURT, Germany – Call it a business trip with a side of schnitzel. 

“I don’t even know what that is,” laughed running back Jonathan Taylor. 

Good thing he has a teammate a few lockers over – Austrian left tackle Bernhard Raimann – who’s particularly fond of the classic regional dish. Which, by the way, traditionally is veal pounded flat, breaded and fried. 

So…similar to a classic Indiana breaded tenderloin?

“Um,” Raimann grinned, diplomatically. “Similar, yeah.”

The Colts, of course, didn’t come to Germany for schnitzel and giggles. The reason why the team is here in Frankfurt is to beat the New England Patriots and head into their bye week with a 5-5 record. Everything else – the pageantry of playing at Frankfurt Stadium, the handful of spare hours of free time to experience German culture, etc. – is secondary. 

The Patriots are here to win, too. Bill Belichick didn’t fly 3,500 miles just to watch his team fall to 2-8 on the season. New England will be prepared, and the Colts have to be, too. 

“Definitely gotta stay focused on what’s the main thing — got a tough opponent,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “We’ve very familiar with them, they’re very familiar with us. For us, it’s just to stay focused on the details and understand why we’re going out there — we’re going out there to win a football game. So all the distractions aside, let’s just focus on keeping the main thing the main thing.”