The Patriots began the 2024 season in the victory column, stunning the heavily favored Cincinnati Bengals on the road 16-10 Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium.
Cincinnati was the most heavily favored team in Week 1. And if I’m Zac Taylor, I’d be rethinking my philosophy of sitting his starting players for the vast majority of the preseason. It was apparent which team rested their players this summer and which didn’t.
Taylor’s teams have begun Weeks 1-2, 1-10 for the past five years. It is a trend that shouldn’t be happening for a team this talented.
The Patriots were the better team on Sunday, they were physical, played outstanding, aggressive defense and ran the ball extremely well. Rhamondre Stevenson had a big day rushing 25 times for 120 yards and the Patriots only touchdown.
This was a great win for Jerod Mayo and his new staff to start off his coaching career with a win. And it was a big win for the players starting off the season against a Super Bowl contender on the road with a victory.
But despite the many new changes in Foxboro, one thing hasn’t. If you listened to “the usual suspects,” this wasn’t a Patriots’ victory but a Cincinnati loss. Just like the past 24 years under Belichick. That is selling the team and the coaching staff far short. You could see the work that they all put in, and it showed on the field.
Just to be clear, we are booking tickets for the Super Bowl. And we’re not getting ahead of ourselves here at all. It’s Week 1, and there is a long, long way to go before the team is back. But this was a hard-earned victory and deserved.
Some Quick Observations:
Great Gameplan and Adjustments By the Coaches:
Jerod Mayo and his staff were all being looked at with little optimism about doing their jobs because of inexperience. That was not the case, at least for one week. DeMarcus Covington did an excellent job of mixing his coverages and pressures on Joe Burrow.
The defense kept Burrow off-balance all game long. They mixed their coverages, playing mostly zone, and forced Burrow to work slowly down the field. You wouldn’t expect to see this defensive performance until midway through the season, not in Week 1.
To hold Cincinnati to just 10 points at home is a testament to just how good the defense was on Sunday. Burrow threw for just 169 yards and 5.6 yards per passing attempt. That is outstanding.
Jerod Mayo had this to say about the way the defense played. “They came out on fire. We challenged those guys. Everyone was talking about Cincinnati’s offense and how explosive they are. And they answered the call. Started up front, those defensive linemen, they did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.
“The second level players, the LBs, they did a good job coming down here in a couple of plays in the pass game. The safeties and corners, they did a good job of covering. It was a total unit.”
Rhamondre Stevenson and the Running Game Came Up Big:
Stevenson was running downhill all game long, and with power on Sunday. He rushed 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. He had four runs of 10 yards or more. What’s more impressive is that the Bengals were expecting the Patriots to run and tried to do everything in their power to stop it.
The Patriots ran for 170 yards as a team, running right at Cincinnati’s front seven. This was one of the keys we wrote about last week. It was a problem for the Bengals a year ago. And it was again.
Most impressive was how Stevenson finished the day on the final drive. It was nearly all yards after contact. This is the formula that the Patriots needed. Play solid defense, run the ball and control the clock and tempo.
“I challenged Rhamondre in the spring,” Mayo said. I said, ‘Look, you don’t get a lot of love,’ and I have always believed he’s one of the best running backs in the league. When we signed him to the extension, there was no one more happy than me because I know what he’s capable of, and he showed that today. He can catch the ball, he can run, he can do all those things. He’s a great player.”
Passing Game Still Needs Work, Brissett Shows Toughness:
Its obvious that this team right now is not suited to playing from behind. Jacoby Brissett was only sacked once but was hit on several occasions and was hurried often. Other than the LT situation where Chuks Okorafor and Vederian Lowe were given fits by Trey Hendrickson, the play of the offensive line was far the disaster it was thought it was going to be.
As stated above, running for 170 is a darned good day at the office. Was it perfect? Hardly. But it was a building block that they can continue to work on. They need to be able to protect the QB long enough to take some shots down the field.
Brissett’s toughness was on full display on Sunday. He hung in the pocket, knowing he would get hit, but standing tall. That is the difference between Brissett and either Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe of last year. He didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t make horrible decisions under pressure.
Keion White Delivers Big:
We’ve been harping on the big jump White would produce in Year 2. And all through training camp and preseason, he had delivered. But once the regular season starts, sometimes players don’t produce. Not so for White.
White generated 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and a forced fumble. He gave the Bengals’ OL a headache all game long. If he can play consistently like this all season, it will definitely soften the blow of losing Matthew Judon.
Patriots Special Teams Show Some Life:
For years, the Patriots prided themselves on having one of the very best STs units in the NFL. But the past few years have been rough, as they play of the STs has been terrible. But on Sunday, the STs were a position of strength.
Kicker Joey Slye, who beat out incumbent Chad Ryland in training camp, made all three of his field goal attempts and converted the only extra point attempted. Punter Bryce Barringer averaged 50 yards per punt for his five punts, while putting three inside the 20-yard line.
JaMychal Hasty had a 27-yard kickoff return and Marcus Jones had a 10-yard punt return. The coverage units were solid, and Brendan Schooler had a couple of nice plays on the coverage teams. Long snapper Joe Cardona made a solid tackle, forcing a fumble which the Patriots recovered. It was a good encouraging start for the special teams.
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Be sure to check out our first report card of the season coming out soon.
“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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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)
Nice Article. The media decided the team was 2-4 wins and spent their time chasing Aiyuk; deeming the team a holistic mess; and tried to make a Maye/Brissett “nontroversy” for reader eyeballs. They didn’t even look at Cincys injuries this summer on their D front 7, or that Chase was a non player in summer…. or…. was Burrow 100% post surgery? Why cover a football game analysis. To busy asking Wolf if they should just tank the whole year (Andrew Callahan actually did that this past week). And really, the media isn’t stuck in a negativity vat…. that deep vat… Read more »