Patriots - Bengals Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor's Edge?

The New England Patriots will play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The game will mark the first home game for Tom Brady, fresh off of his suspension and the crowd should be fired up for the start of this one.

The game will be televised by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. The game will also be aired on the Patriots flagship radio station 98.5 The SportsHub with Bob Socci and Scott Zolak on the call, produced by Marc Cappello.

The Patriots (4-1) routed the Cleveland Browns 33-13 on Tom Brady’s return to the field on the road Sunday. Brady threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns, all of them to tight end Martellus Bennett as he and Rob Gronkowski were more than the overmatched Browns defense could handle.

The Bengals (2-3) were embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys 28-14 on Sunday in Dallas. The score wasn’t indicative of the game as the Bengals were essentially blown out and down 28-0 in the second half. The Cowboys ground game churned out 180 yards rushing and rookie QB Dak Prescott was impressive both running and throwing against the Cincy defense. Brandon LaFell scored two late touchdowns for the Bengals making the score respectable.

We here at PatsFans.com are continuing our “Razor’s Edge” column in 2016 to give some quick analysis on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.

Series History:
The Patriots and Bengals will meet for the 25^th time on Sunday. The Patriots hold an all-time 15-9 edge including a big 9-2 advantage at home.

The Patriots beat Cincinnati 43-17 in the famous, “We’re on to Cincinnati” game from two years ago. After being embarrassed in KC and questioned openly by the national press, the Patriots blew out a previously undefeated Bengals team and rode that momentum all the way to a Super Bowl victory. They had tremendous balance in that one with Brady having 285 yards net yards passing and the backs rushing for 220 more.

Now Cincinnati is the one struggling at 2-3 and after a bad loss on the road to Dallas, they may be the ones at a crossroad. Since Bill Belichick took over in 2000, the Patriots are 6-2 against Cincinnati with both losses coming on the road.

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor’s Edge.

First up is the Patriots offense:

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

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