The Patriots held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-20, but it was far from their best effort, especially offensively. And the victory, while pushing the Patriots to 10-2 and the best record in the NFL for now, was something of a Pyrrhic triumph for them.
Will Campbell and Jared Wilson were both carted off the field and didn’t return. Brendan Schooler left the game and didn’t return. Khyris Tonga and Morgan Moses left the field but did return.
Winning is tough in the NFL, and during a nine-game winning streak, the team is going to have an occasional stinker. Today was one of those days.
The offense never looked thoroughly in sync, despite playing the league’s worst defense. The Patriots ran for 107 yards on 31 carries, a 3.5-yard average. However, only 71 yards of that came courtesy of the running backs. The Bengals entered the game allowing 5.2 yards per rush and 160.9 yards per game. But today, they looked nothing like that team.
Maye Not Himself Against Woeful Bengals Defense:
Drake Maye did not resemble an MVP candidate today. He was slightly off target all day, as many of his throws were behind his receivers. Although he finished with a career high 294 yards passing, this was arguably the worst game he’s played during the winning streak.
Maye threw an ugly pick-six, and it put the Patriots down 10-0, after they gave up a field goal on Cincinnati’s first possession, which has become a weekly trend of allowing an opening drive score.
Maye 22-35 for 294 yards with one touchdown and one interception (pick six) for a passer rating of 87.1. The 28-yard touchdown to Hunter Henry was a wide-open play where the Bengals resembled…well, the Bengals’ defense. There was confusion and blown coverage, leaving Henry all alone.
The Bengals suffered their own ugly pick-six on the next possession. Joe Flacco was looking downfield for Tee Higgins, but then he hesitated briefly before dumping it off on the sideline. That was all, Marcus Jones needed to jump the route and return it for a Patriots touchdown, making the score 14-10 New England. It was a lead they would not relinquish.
With 28 seconds left in the half, Andy Borregales drilled a 41-yard field goal to make the score 17-10.
Bad Situational Football At the End of the Half:
But the team played soft, and it burned them. On first down, Chase Brown scampered for a 21-yard run. Then they allowed Higgins a far too easy 16-yard pass play. Evan McPherson then blasted a 63-yard field goal as time expired that probably would have been good from 73. That made it 17-13 at the break.
But the offense in the third quarter had one of the ugliest sequences they’ve run this season. With a first and goal at the Cincinnati five-yard line after a pass interference call on Kayshon Boutte, the Patriots ran nine (9) plays and failed to score.
Boutte drew another pass interference penalty on the drive, and yet they looked completely inept on the sequence, failing to get any traction running the ball against the Bengals’ defense. How ugly was it? The Patriots ran six (6) plays from the one-yard line and failed to score.
Borregales Was Rock Steady In Cincinnati:
The offense upped the score to 20-13 late in the third quarter. Borregales knocked a 49-yard field goal right down the middle with 1:04 left.
With 5:55 left in the game, Borregales hit a 19-yard chip shot field goal to make the score 23-13. Maye led them right down the field, hitting Kyle Williams for 18-yards, Henry for a 23-yard pass play, and scrambling for a 12-yard gain. But like before, the Bengals stuffed the Patriots at the one-yard line.
Flacco then (for the first time all game) carved up the Patriots’ secondary. With JaMarr Chase suspended, Andrei Iosivas went out with an injury, and then Tee Higgins did, but Flacco and Mitch Tinsley smoked Christian Gonzalez for a 17-yard touchdown to make the score 23-20.
The Patriots would add another field goal, this one with 1:51 left in the game. The Bengals had one timeout remaining, but the Patriots opted to go for the jugular, but Maye was pressured on a blitz up the middle, and his pass was incomplete.
However, Borregales was straight down the middle for a 52-yard field goal that gave the Patriots a six-point lead, 26-20. That clutch kick also saved the game from going to overtime.
Flacco drove the Bengals to the Patriots’ 26-yard line, but he missed on his final four throws, as the Patriots held on for the win. That puts them at 10-2, and 6-0 on the road.
Vrabel Has No Injury Answers Yet:
Mike Vrabel was testy with the media after the game, knowing how close they had come to faltering at the end.
“It was [a battle]. That’s what happens in this league. You need everybody,” Vrabel said. “You go through the season, you go on the road. You know it’s tough. Everybody wants to talk about numbers and records. That doesn’t mean s**t.”
He seemed peeved at the talk about how fortunate the Patriots have been with injuries…until today. “I don’t have an update on anybody right now, unfortunately,” Vrabel said. “I appreciate you guys all talking about the injuries this week, so thanks.”
Other observations include:
-Hunter Henry had his best game as a pro today, catching seven passes for a career-high 115 yards and a touchdown. He saved the team’s bacon.
-Andy Borregales was money today, going 4-4 on his field goal attempts with a long of 52 and making his only two extra point attempts.
-Marcus Jones had the pick-six and four tackles, and two passes defensed, including the final fourth-down attempt. Carlton Davis was outstanding as well, making three really clutch pass breakups.
-The run defense was leaky again. Chase Brown had 19 carries for 107 yards (5.6-yard average). Overall, the Bengals ran for 120 yards and averaged 5.2 yards a carry.
-Tee Higgins was held in check today, with just five catches for 31 yards. After the game Joe Flacco was asked about it and said, “For sure. They do a good job of playing (from the) top down, and taking away some of the quick stuff by coming up and pressing, and you’re not able to get the ball out of your hands to him quick.
“There’s time they played man, but they were able to drop some other guys underneath. I think with Tee specifically, you’re always shading his way, and then just trying to throw off his rhythm, whether that’s at the line of scrimmage or holding your ground 10 yards down the field with your eyes back on the quarterback and making it tough to break leverage.”
-Short Yardage/Red Zone Offense was horrific today and against the Bengals defense, nine plays after a first and goal (twice on the same sequence), and zero points. That is not winning football.
-Maye’s best throw of the day came on a third and 11 at the Patriots’ nine-yard line. He fired a beauty down the field for Demario Douglas, who made a tremendous catch. That play saved them from punting from deep in their own end. Douglas followed that up with a 14-yard run.
-The pass rush, which was something we highlighted as a show-stopper for Flacco, pressured him, but the defense only came away with one sack.
They now have to lick their wounds, assess their injuries, and regroup before facing the Giants next weekend at Gillette Stadium. The Giants gave the Lions all they could handle before losing in OT. But for now, they are the #1 seed in the AFC.
Check back with us as we’ll have our positional report cards as soon as possible.
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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)
The Pats are not superbowl material (this year) and never were. Right now they do seem to be “shrinking” back a bit. Or were they just playing ahead of themselves a ibt? Their D front is softer even before the Milton injury. O-line run blocking hasn’t been great but of late it’s worse. Maye yesterday was a head scratcher. NBC Boston Hurley wrote a good article of keeping a prospective. That prospective being that you don’t go from 4 wins for multi-years in a row and win a super bowl. The Pats have made a huge jump this year. However,… Read more »
I agree with your observation. They are definitely playing with house money this season. It would be wonderful if they could win one or two playoff games, but if they do not, it has still been an excellent season. Next year the schedule will be harder so there may be a less spectacular win-loss record. We will see.