The New England Patriots dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night 43-17.
After four weeks of fairly inconsistent play, the Patriots put together their best overall performance in week five. While the victory was just what the doctor ordered, it's important the team continues to do many of the things that made them so successful last week.
Here are a few elements of last week's contest the team should implement, not only in Buffalo, but as the season goes on. --
More Ridley, Less Vereen: The Patriots were committed to running the ball Sunday, handing the ball off 39 times in Sunday's victory. Even when the team struggled to gain chunk yardage in the middle of the game, they continued to feed the ball to Ridley and ultimately wore down the opposing defense to find success.
Ridley has been solid this season, rushing for 317 yards at 3.8 yards-per-attempt. His ability to run between the tackles and keep defenses honest, helps Tom Brady orchestrate the passing game. Shane Vereen was much more effective in week five than previous weeks, despite seeing far less action. Relying on Ridley and using Vereen as more of a change-of-pace back, plays to the strength of the players and if Sunday is any indication, Vereen will find more success in this role.
The Wright Thing to Do: Tim Wright only played 19 snaps Sunday, but you wouldn't have thought that during Sunday's contest. He caught all five targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. He may not be the elusive athlete, Aaron Hernandez was in his time with the team, but Wright gives the Patriots another dimension to the offense.
Pairing Wright with Rob Gronkowski creates mismatches for opposing defenses. New England should continue to incorporate Wright down the seam, similar to last week, even if he isn't on the field for every offensive snap. It's clear he needs to be involved given his skill set and the team's need for playmakers.
Attack: Through four week's the team played too tentatively and reactionary, but that all changed last Sunday. We saw the Patriots attack on offense, play more aggressive on defense and this needs to continue moving forward. The offense would seem to benefit from imposing their will on defenders, allowing the line to push forward and not fend off defenders. This comes with running the ball, which can open up receivers in the passing game.
The defense also played more aggressively, having the secondary jam Bengals receivers at the line and disrupting their routes. While the plan was not to flush Dalton out of the pocket, it would have been interesting to see the linebackers used in more exotic blitz schemes. Perhaps we'll see that versus a less mobile player like Buffalo's Kyle Orton in week six.
Let Revis be Revis: When the Patriots signed cornerback Darrelle Revis in the offseason, paying him $12 million for the 2014 season, it was expected he would help take New England's defense to the next level. While Revis has played primarily man in the past, he acknowledge that the Patriots play zone in their defensive scheme as well.
While the Patriots didn't lock him on one receiver through the first four weeks quite like they did Sunday, the results speak for itself. Revis had his best game as a Patriot, blanketing Bengals receiver A.J. Green for the majority of the contest and minimizing his impact. This should be the game plan moving forward.
Whatever player the coaching staff deems is the biggest receiving threat for the week, put Revis on that player and let him do his thing. His ability to use his hands at line of scrimmage and play aggressively maximizes his talents. While Revis is on the opponent's number one priority, New England can roll their defensive coverage to help the unit get off the field.
Revis will be key in the next few weeks. With Sammy Watkins (Bills), Eric Decker (Jets), Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery (Bears) and Demaryius Thomas (Broncos) all on New England's schedule before the week 10 bye.
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