{"id":8562,"date":"2016-10-14T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T10:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=8562"},"modified":"2016-10-15T07:11:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-15T11:11:15","slug":"patriots-bengals-key-matchups-razors-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/14\/patriots-bengals-key-matchups-razors-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots – Bengals Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Patriots<\/strong>\u00a0(4-1) routed the Cleveland Browns 33-13 on Tom Brady\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Bengals<\/strong>\u00a0(2-3) were embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys 28-14 on Sunday in Dallas. The score wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d\u00a0column in 2016 to give some quick\u00a0analysis on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots and Bengals will meet for the 25th<\/sup> time on Sunday. The Patriots hold an all-time 15-9 edge including a big 9-2 advantage at home.<\/p>\n

The Patriots beat Cincinnati 43-17 in the famous, \u201cWe\u2019re on to Cincinnati\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense: <\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Bengals Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge Cincinnati
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots running game with LeGarrette Blount has been a strength this season so far but they struggled to run the ball with any continuity last week. The running game averaged just 2.8 yards per carry against Cleveland, which was a surprise going into the game. James White and rookie D.J. Foster also got some work in, but the ground game mostly was stifled.<\/p>\n

The Bengals front seven is very stout against the run; what happened in Dallas last week was an anomaly, not necessarily a trend. Their front seven is big and physical with DL Domata Peko on the nose with Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap flanking him. LBs Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga are downhill run-stuffing types who are very tough against the run.<\/p>\n

Unlike the first month of the season where they were a run-first team, look for the Patriots to pass to open up some running room against the Bengals. They\u2019ll look to soften them up in the air to get some gaps for Blount and James White to try to exploit this week. I\u2019m not expecting this to be a big statistical week for the running game. What they’d like to do is stay balanced and patient with the running game again.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Bengals Secondary –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots passing game transformed in the blink of an eye once Brady stepped back on the field. They finally resemble the unit we waited to see all summer long. With a double dose of tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, the mismatches created are impressive. Brady still has Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, and Malcolm Mitchell on the outside as well as White and D.J. Foster out of the backfield.<\/p>\n

The Bengals have the aforementioned front four with Dunlap, Atkins, Michael Johnson as well as Michael Clarke who has chipped in three sacks in a sub role. But their pass defense has been inconsistent this year. The communication in the back end has broken down on occasion, resulting in big plays. Adam \u201cPac-Man\u201d Jones hasn\u2019t been the player he has been in the past and that is part of the issue.<\/p>\n

It is the tight ends here that can make the big difference for New England. With Gronkowski and Bennett stressing the secondary, they can open things both underneath and on the perimeter. Although it is crazy to look so far back, in the 2014 contest with much the same personnel as today, the Patriots tight ends, both Gronkowski and Tim Wright had big days with a combined 185 yards receiving.<\/p>\n

Look for Brady to use both of the big guys to jump start the offense this week. That will loosen things up for Edelman\/Amendola and the chance to hit a deep pass or two again with Hogan.<\/p>\n

Next up the Cincinnati offense:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Bengals RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Bengals running game has surprisingly been mired near the bottom of the league this year. That is surprising with both Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard in the backfield behind what\u2019s always been a solid offense line. But they\u2019re averaging only 83.6 yards per game in 2015 and only 3.4 yards per carry as a team. That is nearly 30 yards per game less than a year ago. They\u2019ve been patient with the running game and have been trying to make it go.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have done a good job all season of stopping the run. They were outstanding a week ago limiting the then #1 rushing attack in the league of Cleveland to just 27 yards on 22 carries. Alan Branch and Malcom Brown were outstanding at the point of attack, stopping the blockers in their tracks allowing no push.<\/p>\n

That allowed the linebackers, Jamie Collins, Dont\u2019a Hightower to fly up and make plays, at or behind the line of scrimmage. Rookie Elandon Roberts, with the Pats way ahead\u00a0got to spell Hightower and played a very physical downhill style, which suits him best at stopping the run.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see the Bengals being successful at running early. They\u2019re best suited to do what the Pats will try and they’ll\u00a0pass on early downs to open up the running lanes. This doesn\u2019t seem like a Hill type of game; I would expect to see more of Bernard this week.<\/p>\n

Bengals WRs vs NE Secondary-\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>Andy Dalton has thrown the ball really well this year, passing for 1503 yards thru the first five games. His deep passing especially has been spot on, especially to WR A.J. Green who is well on his way to his sixth straight 1000-yard season. What has hurt Cincinnati is the lack of red zone production. A year ago the Bengals cruised along at a 66 percent TD rate in the RZ, this year they\u2019re scuffling along at just 40 percent.<\/p>\n

While they certainly miss TE Tyler Eifert who scored 11 red zone TDs a year ago, the loss in free agency of Marvin Jones and Muhammad Sanu has hurt too. They\u2019ve added former Patriot Brandon LaFell who scored two late TDs last week in Dallas. Dalton\u2019s protection hasn\u2019t been good; he\u2019s been sacked 17 times this year.<\/p>\n

The Patriots pass defense has been inconsistent this year. \u00a0They\u2019ll certainly give Green the star treatment with a cornerback with over the top safety help this week. What they\u2019ll need to do is stress Dalton with the pass rush this week. Chris Long will be going against second-year RT Cedric Ogbuehi on Sunday and it\u2019s a matchup he should win.<\/p>\n

The keys to watch obviously begin with Green who has had 350 yards in the two Bengals wins and just 150 yards combined in their three losses. If the Patriots can slow down his production, then Dalton will be forced to look to LaFell and talented slot WR Tyler Boyd as well as Bernard out of the backfield. They\u2019ll have to produce for the Bengals to push the Patriots this week.<\/p>\n

Special Teams-<\/strong>\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em>The Patriots and Bengals special teams have had their inconsistent moments this year. Cincy kicker Mike Nugent has hit all 12 FGs from less than 50 yards but missed both attempts from 50+. Stephen Gostkowski has missed three FGs this season after missing just three all of last year.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber has done a good job at pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line and has a 44.7-yard average. Ryan Allen has been excellent this season with his hang time and the ability to pin opponents inside the 20.<\/p>\n

The Patriots coverage units have been solid, especially the kickoff coverage and that\u2019s why they get the slight edge here. That and they\u2019re at home. Look for Julian Edelman or Amendola to make some noise in the return game this week.<\/p>\n

Next up, who wins and why\u2026 <\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>This one has the script flipped from 2 years ago when the Patriots came limping in at 2-2 and the Bengals were undefeated. Now it is Cincinnati who is struggling and they\u2019re putting all hands on deck for this one as a 2-4 start would give them as many losses as they\u2019ve had all of 2015.<\/p>\n

The key for the Patriots is to start quickly. With Brady returning from suspension, the crowd will be very amped up for this game. A quick start for the Patriots will put an even greater onus on Dalton and the Bengals offense that will have to go to the silent snap count on the road.<\/p>\n

Bill Belichick says that October is when you start finding out who your team is and what your team is all about. The defense for the Patriots is still trying to find itself, but this Patriots offense is just scratching the surface with Brady back and the two tight ends with Gronk and Bennett. While the big physical linebackers of the Bengals are tough in the running game, they may be at a big disadvantage here with the pass catching duo that New England will throw at them.<\/p>\n

I think they\u2019ll lean on the big men to get up ahead and stay that way. The Bengals will probably still be without Eifert and that will hurt their offense until he returns. Look for the special teams to make a big play this week in the return game. Patriots 31-20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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