The New England Patriots overcame early miscues on Sunday, not to mention a couple of potentially impactful injuries on their offensive line, to win their ninth straight game, 26-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
New England started slowly, spotting Cincinnati a 10-0 lead after Drake Maye gave up a 32-yard pick six to Geno Stone early in the second quarter.
Maye turned things around from there, passing for 294 yards and a touchdown, a 28-yard toss to tight end Hunter Henry. The Pats were aided by a pick six of their own, a 33-yarder from Marcus Jones against Joe Flacco.
With the win, New England improved to 10-2. The Bengals, who were once again without star quarterback Joe Burrow despite his practicing this week, lost their fourth straight to drop to 3-8.
Injuries stack up on Patriots offensive line
When Will Campbell finally emerged from the medical tent after suffering a serious-looking knee injury, he had a towel over his face and was helped to a cart to be taken off the field. But there was no hiding the significance of the injury, as Campbell was later ruled out of the game.
On an afternoon where the Patriots dealt with a slew of injuries, none mattered more than the one Campbell, the No. 4 pick in April’s draft, suffered on Sunday.
Campbell had been the biggest reason for arguably the biggest turnaround of any NFL offensive line this season, helping the Patriots front five go from the league’s worst last season to an above-average group this year. He’d protected Drake Maye’s blind side admirably in the quarterback’s MVP-caliber season.
But now the Patriots might be left to rebuild their O-line on the fly to keep this magical season going.
In a campaign where little has gone wrong, the Patriots lost both of their rookie offensive linemen on the left side. Campbell suffered his injury in the second half. In the first half, left guard Jared Wilson, a third-round pick in April, suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for the remainder of the contest.
Of course, the Campbell injury looms the largest. Simply put, it’s a lot harder to replace a left tackle than an interior lineman — especially since Campbell had been playing well.
Now, it seems the Pats are facing some real adversity as they manage the left side of their offensive line heading into the home stretch of a season in which they’re a top contender in the AFC. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
Was Maye’s poor outing a one-off?
Maye has had some games this year where his performance was far better than the box score indicated, with data points for an MVP candidacy that went beyond just the stats.
Sunday’s game may have been the opposite.
Even though Maye did complete 22 of 35 passes for 294 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a win, he was uncharacteristically off on Sunday. If it wasn’t his worst game of the season, then it was his worst since the season opener.
Maye began the game by sailing passes that weren’t even close to his receivers, then airmailed a ball up the seam that went for a pick six and might’ve been the worst pass of his still-young career. What’s worse is that it came against a Bengals defense that hadn’t just been bad compared to its 2025 peers this season, but had been one of the NFL’s worst through 11 weeks in decades.
There’s little reason to believe that this will be more than a small blip for Maye — it’s more likely a one-off poor performance — but it certainly left a lot to be desired. — Graff
Reality hits Flacco as Burrow’s return looms
Flacco came back to reality just in time for Burrow to return. The veteran quarterback shined during his first month in Cincinnati. Over that four-game span, the Bengals had the best offense in the NFL. The last two weeks, we’ve seen aspects of Flacco’s game that turned him into a journeyman in recent seasons. He took a bad coverage sack to take the Bengals out of field goal range in the first quarter, then was extremely late on a checkdown, not seeing Jones step right in front for an easy pick six. That was his second straight week throwing an interception for a touchdown. He could easily have been intercepted two other times. The last two weeks, the defense showed glimpses of serviceability, but the interceptions and lack of pop in the passing game from Flacco have cost Cincinnati dearly. — Paul Dehner, Bengals beat writer
Goal-line offense a problem for Pats
Even if it didn’t come back to haunt them, the Patriots have a major problem with their goal-line offense. It didn’t matter against the Bengals, but that could be a big issue as the playoffs near.
The Patriots had seven total snaps from Cincinnati’s 1-yard line — and they didn’t score on any of them. The Patriots simply cannot get a push up the middle or create space for their running backs, and they are frequently left to try to throw in a condensed area.
The play inside the red zone has been an issue for the Patriots offense all season.
They entered Week 12 ranked 26th in success rate inside their opponents’ 20-yard line, 25th in success rate inside the 10 and 30th inside the 2. Those numbers will only get worse after Sunday’s performance. — Graff
Positive signs for the Bengals defense
The Bengals defense showed signs of life against the Patriots, standing up multiple times to force a turnover on downs and a field goal in goal-to-go situations at the 1. They got a pick six from Stone and maybe their best tackling game in months. Yet, one major problem persisted for their young linebackers: covering tight ends. New England didn’t just target the tight ends, but consistently worked them wide open for easy chunks. Henry and Austin Hooper combined for 10 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals have consistently failed to cover tight ends this year, a direct result of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter being unsure of what they are seeing as offensive coordinators target their weakness on repeat. — Dehner
Bengals in tough spot without their stars
The Bengals now fall to 3-8, and eyes turn to Thursday night in Baltimore and the potential return of Burrow. The Bengals were forced to drive for a two-minute drill touchdown to keep the faintest of hopes alive in their season without Burrow (toe), Ja’Marr Chase (suspended) and Tee Higgins (concussion). This wasn’t how the season was supposed to go, with their three stars making more than $100 million combined, not available to help pull off an upset. Instead, Flacco was trying to complete deep passes to Andrei Iosivas and fourth-down throws to Mitchell Tinsley and Mike Gesicki. The Bengals just didn’t have the horses or the execution to compete with a quality Patriots team. — Dehner
