The New England Patriots hung on to win a sloppy game against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday. It wasn’t always pretty, and some of the injuries they sustained might come back to hurt them later in the season, but they still managed to keep their win streak alive, and, at least until next week, are the only team in the NFL with 10 wins.
Let’s get into our lessons learned from the 26-20 victory on Sunday.
The Patriots’ depth is under pressure
The Patriots won the game on Sunday, but they lost several players to injury. Two in particular could end up being very troubling: both rookies on the left side of the offensive line, Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, ended up being carted off with leg injuries. Wilson left with an ankle injury on the first series and was quickly declared out, while a visible emotional Campbell left with a knee injury in the third quarter. He wasn’t declared out for a while, but it certainly didn’t look good.
Morgan Moses left as well, but the reason for his brief departure was “only” an illness, so it looks like he should be fine in the long-term. In addition, Khyiris Tonga left with a chest injury that also didn’t look serious, while special teams ace Brenden Schooler was unable to finish because of an ankle issue.
Campbell and Wilson, however, are the most concerning out of the group.
The Patriots will already be without standout defensive tackle Milton Williams for at least the next three games, and now could be in some serious trouble on the offensive line as well. The depth of this team might get tested in the coming weeks, and the likes of Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown better be up to the task if their numbers end up getting called.
More lessons learned from Patriots vs. Bengals
Marcus Jones is a baller: It wasn’t always perfect — think: Cincinnati’s fourth-down conversion on the game’s — final drive, but Marcus Jones continues to show he is a true playmaker for the Patriots. He has been just that since getting into the league in 2022, and keeps proving it every week. Against the Bengals, jones read a check-down from Joe Flacco perfectly, and took it back for a score as well as his second career pick-six against Cincinnati. He also had a pass breakup on the final play of the game on defense to win the game. Jones has turned into more than just a playmaker, he’s a Pro Bowl slot corner, and I think you can argue that he should be an All-Pro slot corner. The Patriots extended him this year, and it was money well spent.
Carlton Davis comes up big: Patriots fans have not always been loving what they have been getting from Carlton Davis this year — he’s been called for a bunch of penalties, and has been picked on at times. At the end of Sunday’s game, however, he locked down the Bengals receivers, and had three big pass breakups on the final drive alone. The Patriots have gotten a lot of contributions from their free agent signings, and Davis stepped up when it mattered most to help put the game away.
Drake Maye overcomes his early struggles: The Patriots’ quarterback started the game just about as bad as you possibly could on Sunday. He was missing players, and threw a downright terrible pick-six. It was no surprise that the Patriots were struggling, but Maye ended up turning things around. His throw down the middle to DeMario Douglas on third down was a thing of beauty; to throw with that kind of anticipation that far down the field is special, there’s no other way to say it. His connection with Hunter Henry is obvious as well, and he was able to get him the ball consistently on Sunday. He didn’t target Stefon Diggs much, but still hit him in a huge moment on the final offensive drive to pick up a big third down. Maye finished just a few yards short of his first 300-yard passing game, and, even though he had some struggles early, it was encouraging to see him bounce back and play well after the first quarter.
The red zone offense is offensive: The Bengals defense is bad at everything, and yet it had its way with the Patriots at the goal line. Following a pass interference call against Cincinnati cornerback Dax Hill in the third quarter, New England snapped the ball nine times inside the 10-yard line and couldn’t (legally) enter the end zone once. A bad offensive pass interference took away an easy touchdown to Hunter Henry, and a run out of shotgun where it looked like Maye read the RPO wrong were some of the lowlights of a series that ended with a turnover on downs. Not only that, but they had to burn two timeouts as well. Then, later in the game, the Patriots had to settle for a field goal from the 1-yard line. They have to be better in the red zone if they expect to make any noise in the playoffs, something that is true on both sides of the ball but was clearly visible on offense on Sunday.
Hunter Henry is Ol’ Reliable: The Patriots passing attack took a while to get going, but the guy to lead the charge when it did was team captain Hunter Henry. He was open consistently, and was a security blanket for Drake Maye all day. Henry finished the game with seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, and he would’ve had another one if not for the Mack Hollins OPI in the end zone. Henry is a key part of this offense, and when the defense tries to take away the receivers on the outside, he can crush them in the middle of the field. He and Austin Hooper provide Maye with reliable targets, and are hugely important to the operation.
The rush defense has lost its mojo: It wasn’t long ago that the Patriots hadn’t allowed a 50-yard rusher. They have now done that three games in a row, and on Sunday allowed their first 100-yard back of the season. There is no other way around it: Chase Brown carved them up, averaging 5.6 yards per rush and finishing with 107 yards. With Milton Williams sidelined and Khyiris Tonga in and out of the lineup, the Patriots simply couldn’t stop the run all day; it was a big reason why the Bengals had so much success on offense in the first place, and why they were able to keep the game close down the stretch.
The kick return unit looks better: Kyle Williams wasn’t able to break any kickoff returns on Sunday, but he did have a solid 36-yard runback in his first extended action at the position and had the entire unit looking more explosive overall. Having someone back there that is a threat to take the ball to the house is important, and can change the way the kickoff team defends New England’s return game. Williams isn’t the most shifty guy, but if the Patriots can create a bit of a lane for him, he might be able to take the ball all the way, and that makes the unit significantly more dangerous than it has been since Antonio Gibson went down with an injury against Buffalo.
Andy Borregales comes up big: Andy Borregales has been solid for the Patriots, missing just one kick since Week 2. He went 4-for-4 on field goals on Sunday, including a 52-yarder to stretch the lead to six, which made the Bengals have to try to score a touchdown at the end of the game instead of being able to tie it with a field goal. He also had a perfect kickoff that landed inside the 5-yard line and went into the end zone, which allowed him to pin the Bengals to their own 20 on the touchback (instead of the 35 for a normal touchback or the 40 for a kick that goes out of bounds or lands outside the landing zone). Borregales hasn’t had to kick in truly cold weather yet, but he’s been about as reliable as the team could possibly have hoped for. It should be optimistic that the youngster will be good for them in the playoffs when they get there.
Much-needed extra rest awaits: For the second time in three weeks and for the second consecutive home game, the Patriots will be playing a prime time game against a New York team: the Patriots will host the Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 13, giving them a much-needed extra day off. Big Blue played a great offensive game on Sunday with Jameis Winston at QB, but were unable to stop the Detroit Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs all day. When healthy, Jaxson Dart is the starter for the Giants but you almost have to be more afraid of Winston at this point. Regardless of who is under center, though, it is another winnable game for the Patriots that could send them to their bye on an 11-game winning streak, with the AFC East crown up for grabs when they come back.
