MORSE: Clearing the Patriots Notebook on Cincinnati
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The Patriots’ weaknesses have been exposed. Many in the national media will not give the Patriots credit because of their historically weak schedule. That is a fact. They have been able to get away with many of their flaws because of bad football by their opponents. When they play against playoff-level competition, they will not be able to make those mistakes and get away with it. Those teams will make them pay.
Up until week 12, the Patriots enjoyed relatively good health. That went out the window with Milton Williams going on IR and then suffering injuries to 4 starters: Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, Brenden Schooler, and Khyiris Tonga. Campbell has not been put on IR yet. He has a MCL Strain and he is expected to come back before the season ends. This all depends upon his rehab. Good news is that he doesn’t need knee surgery. Wilson is day-to-day with a high ankle sprain. Tonga’s injury is a chest injury, and Schooler’s is an ankle injury. It appears that Vederian Lowe or Marcus Bryant will fill in for Will Campbell and Ben Brown at LG for Jared Wilson. Williams’ injury prevented Tonga from playing fullback because of his increased role on the DL, filling in for Williams. Jake Westover was ineffective as the lead blocker in the run game.
They are ranked 20th in the league, running the ball for 112.9 Yards Per Game. However, that includes the 75 carries for 301 yards (4.1 YPC) that Drake Maye has accounted for. Maye is actually the 2nd leading rusher to TreVeyon Henderson. The weather is getting worse, and running the ball will be at a premium. If the Patriots cannot establish the run, they will become one-dimensional, and the defense will be able to tee off on the backup Offensive Linemen. It will also eliminate play-action passes, which have the highest completion percentage.
They actually did better this week as the Defense only gave up a Field Goal. The Patriots were down 10-0 before they awoke from their slumber and scored 17 points in the 2nd Quarter. They cannot keep doing this with good teams and expect to come back.
It looked like he was hung over from having extra days off! His accuracy was way off, and he was missing easy throws, like the one he overthrew Hunter Henry and ended up with a pick 6. Another pass was a no-look pass intended for TreVeyon Henderson. Maye never looked and threw the ball halfway between Hunter Henry (who was open) and Henderson. This is a bad trend with Maye, coming out for the start of the game over-hyped and too jacked up and excited.
With Williams and then Tonga out, the Patriots gave up a 100-yard rusher to Chase Brown for the 1st time this year. This is a trend that has been going in the wrong direction for more than a month now. The Defensive Edges were collapsing, and the Bengals were able to run big chunk runs around the edges.
The Patriots generated only one any sacks of the QB. Joe Flacco is a statue and doesn’t move well. The loss of Williams also affected the ability to put pressure in the QB. Harold Landry got his 1st sack in over a month but is now dealing with a knee issue. K’Lavon Chaisson was invisible, and he was the Edge player they ran around.
This is a credit to the Patriots defense that has held teams after the initial drive, while the offense has gotten in gear. However, they have never had to come back late in games. Maye has not been tested with a 4th Quarter comeback.
| Season | New York Jets | Season Stats | ||||||
| Overall | Offense | Pass Blck | Run Blck | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Pressure | |
| Campbell | 71.4 | 66.5 | 81.4 | 51.5 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 25 |
| Wilson | 49.6 | 74.4* | 84.5 | 67.1* | 4 | 6 | 12 | 22 |
| Bradbury | 58.7 | 55.7 | 56.9 | 54.2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 17 |
| Onwenu | 70.1 | 83 | 80.3 | 78.2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 18 |
| Moses | 69.4 | 78* | 75.4 | 77.3* | 1 | 2 | 17 | 20 |
| Season | Cincinnati Bay Game | Season Stats | ||||||
| Overall | Offense | Pass Blck | Run Blck | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Pressure | |
| Campbell | 71.4 28th | 63.4 | 86.5 | 48.9 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 25 |
| Wilson | 49.8 68th | 59 | 70.6 | 58.9 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 22 |
| Bradbury | 58.7 31th | 58.8 | 62.1 | 55.1 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 18 |
| Onwenu | 70.1 18th | 78 | 73.8 | 75.3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 18 |
| Moses | 69.4 31th | 72.5 | 80.8 | 64.6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 21 |
| Lowe | 35.9 | 55.5 | 62.7 | 49.8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Brown | 62 | 53.6 | 59.5 | 51.7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryant | 49 | 49.7 | 23.7 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
I have included the 3-backup lineman since at least two of them are likely to be seeing playing time. There were mixed reviews on the play of Michael Onwenu. His PFF grades weren’t bad, but Greg Bedard had him down as his #1 Down player of the week for the Pats. Bedard noted that Onwenu cannot get down lower than the Defensive lineman and loses every short yardage battle. Campbell and Wilson’s Pass Blocking grades were excellent. Bradbury is showing a slow but steady decline as the year wears on. He is down to the #31 OC out of 32 starters. However, he still hasn’t given up a sack, which is miles ahead of where he was last year.
K’Lavon Chaisson’s offside penalty on 4th and 5 was a brutal and dumb play. As a veteran he should know better than that. Look down the line and watch the ball. You know they are trying to draw you offside. When the Patriots play elite teams, a play like that could cost them the game. They have to be better and more disciplined than that. Additionally, he is not creating any sacks either. It was an interesting stat that the Patriots had pressure on 40% of the Bengals dropbacks, while only blitzing a league low 10% of the time.
Carlton Davis’ best game as a Patriot. That’s what the Patriots paid for. He seemed to get ticked off by the pass interference call and he then had 3 Pass Breakups down the stretch to help the Defense seal the game away.
Short yardage Maye can’t run the QB sneak. For a guy his size he does not get the push he should. Perhaps he doesn’t like contact, and if that is the case perhaps they substitute another player to take that short yardage snap. To me I think he is soft and doesn’t want to be hit.
Goal Line Offense was abysmal. The Offensive line does not get low enough to push the pile. Drake Maye was also at fault on a run option, when he gave it to Stevenson, when he should have kept it and walked into the end zone. He didn’t read the end crashing down.
Dominoe Effect of Injuries – Milton Williams injury means more snaps for Khyiris Tonga at DT – Tonga doesn’t play a single play at FB because of the increased role on Defense. Then he gets hurt and they can’t use him at all. Jack Westover just can’t play FB at this level. I’d rather see Dippre in there with a little more heft to him.
One of the worst games of Christian Gonzalez career. He allowed 3 for 3 in targets and a TD to a player named Tingsley!
The players dedicated the game to teammate Jahlani Tavai who stayed at home and took care of personal matters. I think the Patriots Defense really missed Tavai, especially tackling around the edge.
The Patriots announced a series of moves on Tuesday. They plucked OT Thayer Munford from the Cleveland Practice Squad and added him to the 53-man roster. To make room for him they put CB Alex Austin on IR. Additionally, they made another move on the Practice Squad when they added G Bill Murray and waived RB Jonathan Ward. Interesting that the Patriots did not put Will Campbell on IR. It may be too soon to determine the extent of his injury.
Munford Jr., 26, originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. The 6-foot-6, 331-pounder, was released by Las Vegas on Aug. 27, 2025. He was released by Cleveland from the 53-man roster on Oct. 13, 2025, and signed to the practice squad on Oct. 15, 2025. Munford has played in 46 NFL games with 18 starts with 11 at right tackle, five at left tackle and two as a tackle-eligible tight end. Munford played for Josh McDaniels at Las Vegas, and he used him as the 6th OL often.
Murray, 28, was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent out of William & Mary as a defensive lineman in 2020. The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder, spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on the New England practice squad as a defensive lineman and then spent the 2022 season on the practice squad after converting to the offensive line. Murray was elevated to the active roster for three games during the 2022 season and made his NFL debut on an extra point play vs. Buffalo on Dec. 1. Murray spent the 2023 season on the Chicago Bears practice squad and made the Chicago 53-man roster in 2024, seeing action in three games before finishing the year on injured reserve. He was released by Chicago on Sept. 2, 2025, with an Injury Settlement.
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Trying to fire up the Peanut Gallery Bob?
Mark
All teams have numerous flaws. Even the better teams in the league. It’s per lack of college talent to ‘fuel’ 32 NFL teams. All the flaws Mark denoted are real, but they won the recent months games despite any . All of em. As well, if the Pats get Milton, Cambell, Wilson, Tonga back, they will be down to only Gibson/RB that’s lost till next season. That is remarkable. Interesting to see how they look vs NYG, BUFF, BAL. The Pats certainly looked fatigued the last few weeks, but hey, we billed CIN as a bottom feeder and see how… Read more »