The Patriots began the head coach Jerod Mayo era with a stunning 16-10 victory over a Bengals team that many expect to contend for a Super Bowl this season.

As the biggest upset winners in Week 1, New England is understandably feeling good about themselves. It was Mayo's first win as head coach, nobody, and for real this time, nobody picked the Patriots to win on Sunday, and yet here we are with the Patriots sitting pretty at 1-0 with a home game against the cross-country traveling Seahawks next week.

Before we turn the page to Seattle, we always take a deep dive into the coach's film because the tape never lies. For the offense, the number one question on everyone's minds is, can the Patriots build on the success they had offensively to start stacking some wins together here?

On the surface, winning many games where you score 16 points and throw for just 121 passing yards seems unrealistic, and there are numbers to back that up. Last season, there were 27 instances where a team's quarterback threw for 121 yards or less on 20-plus attempts like Jacoby Brissett did on Sunday, and those teams' record was 6-21. Not good.

There's also an increasingly loud narrative that lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson was primarily responsible for the 136 designed rushing yards the Patriots accumulated on Sunday (removing scrambles). Stevenson was outstanding, rushing for 118 yards after contact while forcing 10 missed tackles by Bengals defenders. By no means are we trying to discredit a phenomenal performance by Stevenson.

That said, New England's offensive line and tight ends also deserve credit for the run-game success. From a replicability standpoint, Stevenson going beast mode every week is unlikely. What's more likely is that with stable blocking, Stevenson will be productive because he's a good back. The good news is the line was opening holes. Furthermore, yards after/before contact numbers need added context, so let's explain.

For example, the Patriots had the most success blocking duo/gap plays where they used interior double-teams to reset the line of scrimmage and get Stevenson downhill. Above, Stevenson gets good blocking off the left side by LT Vederian Lowe, OT-eligible Caedan Wallace, and tight end Austin Hooper – they do the initial work of moving the line of scrimmage.

In duo, the blockers block the big dudes and leave the DBs for the back. With the corner to the nub side unblocked, it's on Stevenson to avoid being tackled by a 190-pound corner. Stevenson does his job well by running through Dax Hill's tackle attempt and gains 16 yards on the play. Due to Hill making contact with Stevenson near the line of scrimmage, the Pats RB1 gained 15 yards after contact on that play. However, that's a well-blocked run that Stevenson maximizes.

Here's another example on a pin-pull concept. In the zone family, pin-pull is a counter to outside zone, where pullers get to similar spots as typical zone-blockers but are aided by down blocks to get a head of steam. C David Andrews pulls around a good down block by Lowe to kick out the filling safety, which gets Stevenson rolling, while rookie RG Layden Robinson makes a standout block at the second level.

According to NextGen Stats, Stevenson was contacted at the line by No. 92 B.J. Hill, so the run registers as 12 yards after contact for Stevenson. But, again, Hill tries to tackle the 227-pound back with one arm while he's moving nearly 12 MPH. Is that meaningful contact? Will an arm tackle on a big back with great contact balance stop Stevenson? Nope.

Stevenson certainly did things that added value to the blocking by the line and tight ends. According to his teammates, he also urged offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to ditch outside zone for more downhill runs, which the Patriots had more success with on Sunday. Still, this was a good effort in the run game by the blockers to get Stevenson going and by Rhamondre to maximize the yards available with excellent vision and contact balance.

The Patriots can build on their run-game success. However, they'll need a more dangerous passing attack to win moving forward. The three elements that weren't a good mix were shaky protection (48.3% pressure rate, highest in NFL in Week 1), a lack of explosives off play-action, and conservative decisions by starter Jacoby Brissett. Despite having 170 rushing yards, Brissett only threw for 26 yards on five play-action pass attempts. Some of that was on the blocking, while some of it was on Brissett passing up chances to take shots downfield (see above).

Brissett deserves credit for managing pressure, mostly keeping the ball out of harm's way (one TO-worthy play), and picking up three first downs with his legs. But he passed on too many chances to push the ball downfield. Brissett only threw 33.3% of his passes past the sticks and wasn't overly eager to test NFL-sized passing windows downfield. It's not a shot at Brissett, who graded out as league-average in Week 1, that he was content managing the team to a win. Still, as we project forward, winning consistently in the NFL without an explosive passing attack is hard, so the Patriots will need more in that regard next week vs. the Seahawks.

Here is an in-depth breakdown of a stellar performance by the Patriots defense and quick-hit film notes from Sunday's win over the Bengals After Further Review.

A Three-Play Sequence That Encapsulates the Patriots Dominant Day on Defense

The number one question for the Patriots defense in its first game without Bill Belichick at the helm in 20-plus years is what would Mayo and DC DeMarcus Covington change schematically?

New England's defense was highly successful under former HC Bill Belichick, even in last season's four-win campaign when they ranked ninth in DVOA. With two Belichick disciples now in charge, one would expect the foundation to be roughly the same. But there was chatter about more aggressive front mechanics (four-down/one-gapping) and blitzing. That might come in certain game plans, but Sunday's plan to shut down Bengals QB Joe Burrow looked familiar.

After having some success against this Bengals offense in a matchup during the 2022 season, Covington and Mayo had most of the same buttons this week. The Patriots played more man coverage, increasing that rate from 21.6% in 2022 to 37.1% on Sunday. However, the Pats most-used coverage was still Cover-2 (12 drop-backs) like it was two years ago.

With more faith in No. 1 CB Christian Gonzalez taking Bengals star WR Ja'Marr Chase in man coverage, the Patriots replaced their cover-three/quarters shells with more Cover-1 (11 drop-backs in 2024 compared to six in 2022). Still, this was a "coverage" plan, where New England used a four-man rush on 27 plays (77.1%) and only blitzed Burrow on 25.7% of his 35 drop-backs. Plus, the Pats played blocks the same in the run game with two gaping principles.

Now, the Patriots coaches clearly had the defense playing with its hair on fire. Although they stuck to their Belichick roots from an Xs and Os perspective, defensive football is all about structure and extra efforts by individual players. On Sunday, New England set a tone defensively by flying to the ball to limit the Bengals offense to 10 points on -0.12 expected points added per play (25th percentile). Out of all the Week 1 quarterbacks, Burrow produced the sixth-lowest total EPA at -13.8.

Rather than creating open space for the fast-eyed Burrow by blitzing, the Patriots flustered the Bengals star QB with post-snap coverage rotations. For example, the Bengals were just 3-of-9 on passing third downs. Although he completed six third-down passes, Burrow's average air yards per attempt was only five yards, with only 28.6% of his third-down attempts traveling past the sticks.

On the Bengals first third-down attempt, New England puts seven blitz-threats on the line of scrimmage in a pre-snap cover zero structure. At the snap, the Pats drop out into an inverted cover-two defense with only a four-man rush. They get to cover two by having boundary corner Christian Gonzalez (bottom) drop into a safety alignment, splitting the deep part of the field in half with S Jabrill Peppers, along with a standard five-man short zone distribution. Burrow is expecting pressure, so he gets the ball out quickly over the middle, where LB Ja'Whaun Bentley is waiting to make the stop short of the line to gain.

Although all NFL defenses are highly sophisticated, going from a cover zero structure to a two-high safety shell is definitely spinning the dial. As the game wore on, the Patriots mind games eventually rattled Burrow. New England continued to rotate the coverage shell in the backend after the snap and disguised man/zone by having its defensive backs shadow receivers, leading to this three-play sequence.

With the Patriots holding a 16-10 lead, the Bengals were backed up on their own 10-yard line with 3:04 left in the game, and Cincinnati went three-and-out and never got the ball back.

On first down, New England shows a middle-of-the-field open (two-high safety) shell. Burrow sees the space over the ball, so he starts with his eyes on the tight end's route breaking over the middle. However, the Pats rotate their safeties into a cover-one robber scheme, where S Kyle Dugger closes the middle of the field by helping S Jaylinn Hawkins in man coverage. With his initial read covered, Burrow spikes the ball into the ground.

The best option here for Burrow was to throw the deep out to Chase at the bottom of the screen vs. off coverage. Honestly, it was surprising that he didn't see the safety rotation and set up to make that throw to Chase. Burrow didn't look interested in driving the ball outside the numbers, maybe due to some lingering effects from his season-ending right wrist injury in 2023.

Moving to second down, the Patriots get back to playing cover two. This time, Hawkins waits till the last second to rotate back into the split-safety zone structure, disguising that the Pats are in man. Burrow opens to his left, looking for Chase, but CB Marcus Jones passes off the inside slant to Bentley so that he can help to Chase (Gonzo had good coverage, too). Once again, Burrow flings an off-balance check-down that's incomplete.

Lastly, New England forced a punt by playing a three-buzz coverage on third-and-10. Again, this looks like a split-safety coverage before the snap. After the snap, Peppers "buzzes" into the short zone distribution to take away the route over the ball, and Burrow checks it down, leading to a punt that essentially put the Patriots in the winner's circle.

When you watch those plays, you can see the disguises and all the different coverages the Patriots threw at Burrow on Sunday. You also see an indecisive quarterback who looks shaky in the pocket: it's not normal for Burrow to start getting happy feet and look down at the rush when his initial read is covered, but the Pats defense had him doing that this week.

The Patriots defense was assignment sound, played with an edge, and had Burrow's head spinning by the end of Sunday's win – more of that, please.

Quick-Hit Film Notes From Patriots-Bengals After Further Review

Offense

- One more big-picture takeaway for the operation overall was that route spacing remains on the radar. There are too many plays where receivers are too close together and/or guys look unsure what route they're running. It's Week 1 in a new system, so they get a pass for now, but it needs to be cleaned up here soon.

- The pass protection from the left tackle position was shaky, especially by Chuks Okorafor, who was pulled 12 snaps into the game. Okorafor and Vederian Lowe combined to allow six total pressures and two QB hits. They played with a short corner on the left side all day, with Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson tallying all six pressures on the Pats LTs. In all, 46.2% of the total pressure on the QB came from the left tackle spot – they need to be better.

- RB Rhamondre Stevenson was absolutely outstanding. Stevenson forced 10 missed tackles with 118 rushing yards after contact. Those numbers are inflated a bit by missed arm tackles and whiffs by DBs, but Stevenson's contact balance, vision, and decisive jump cuts were sublime. This might've been Stevenson's best game as a pro. He was terrific.

- RG Layden Robinson's debut went as expected for a rookie. It's a positive sign that Robinson's play strength and anchor in pass protection are translating. For any offensive lineman, that's the biggest hurdle they need to clear. However, Robinson allowed a team-high five pressures with two quarterback hits and three hurries. His two QB hits allowed came on schemed rushes, which isn't surprising given his inexperience, one on a T/E stunt that he didn't pass off and another on a creeper blitz. Robinson also couldn't reach the three-technique on outside zone, leading to a run stuff. There was a lot to like for his first game as a pro but plenty to clean up – again, not surprising.

- RT Mike Onwenu was rock-solid with a clean sheet in pass protection and was his usual self in the run game. Onwenu had the easier matchup against Sam Hubbard, and it was odd that the Pats seemed to help to his side more than the left side, but Onwenu did his thing with a rookie next to him. The same can be said for C David Andrews, who was also clean in pass pro and made a terrific kick-out block on a pin-pull scheme for a +12 run.

- There were a few times when LG Michael Jordan had a tardy anchor, leading to two hurries. His more linear build won't lend itself to being a big-time people mover, but Jordan did his best to keep his head above water. It certainly could've been a lot worse from a backup guard.

- The most frustrated player on this tape was rookie WR Ja'Lynn Polk. By my count, Polk had four decisive wins on his routes that could've led to downfield targets. Most notably, he dusted the corner off the line on the third-down play right before the half from the 20-yard line. Polk was open on the fade route down the right sideline, but Brissett ate it for a sack. The good news is the rookie was getting open.

- TEs Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper did their jobs in this one in the run game. Nothing outstanding, but they stalemated their blocks and gave plays a chance. Hooper made a nice diving catch on a crosser, and Henry was open twice in the red zone, but they couldn't get him the ball. You'd like to see more from this duo off play-action, but some of that was on the QB not wanting to push the ball into tighter downfield windows.

- WR Pop Douglas had a few potential explosives that didn't hit, with a free runner disrupting a third-down uncatchable target. He was also open on a crosser, and the ball didn't find him. Nothing on this tape suggested that Douglas's lack of production was on him.

- WR Tyquan Thornton ran a good "sit" route off a vertical stem for 17 yards and a slant for another 10-yard gain. You can see the improved crispness in his movements on those plays. He also burnt a defender for a potential explosive on a vertical route in the second half, but pressure caused Brissett to pull the ball down—steady progress from Tyquan.

- RB Antonio Gibson had a nice run for eight yards on a power play where he hid behind his blocks with a peek-a-boo technique to create an open gap. Overall, more patience would do Gibson some good, but he broke two tackles, and this wasn't a game plan made for him.

- Rookie OT Caedan Wallace can definitely run block in the pros. You can tell why the coaches trust him to be the eligible tackle (18 snaps) while he continues to develop in pass protection. Wallace did a nice job on duo blocks and some backside reaches on outside zone.

- QB pressures allowed: Robinson (two QB hits, three hurries), Okorafor (QB hit, two hurries), Lowe (QB hit, two hurries), Jordan (two hurries), Andrews/Onwenu/Wallace (zero).

Defense

- CB Christian Gonzalez lined up over Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase on 20 routes, allowing three catches on three targets for 15 yards vs. the star wideout. Out of those 20 routes, Gonzalez was in press coverage 45 percent of the time, with seven reps in man-to-man. This was great film for Gonzo, who stayed glued to Chase on some outstanding reps and even played some split-safety zone in certain rotations. Chase's 28-yard catch came from the inside slot (No. 3) into a cover-two zone where Gonzalez wasn't in coverage. After some ups and downs in camp, Gonzalez looked like a lockdown No. 1 corner on Sunday.

- EDGE Keion White finished with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a strong showing. We all know he can win with power rushing over the interior, so it was encouraging to see White beat RT Trent Brown with a double-swipe move on his strip sack. White told Patriots.com last week that rushing outside over the tackle with more finesse was something he was working on this summer, and it showed up there when he dusted Brown.

- The plan for the three-safety package was intriguing. Rather than playing the deep-middle, veteran S Jaylinn Hawkins logged 14 of his 24 snaps playing near the line of scrimmage, with some free safety reps in split-safety zones. Hawkins covered Bengals TE Tanner Hudson on two man coverage reps, allowing Dugger and Peppers to play with eyes on the QB. After some concern about the puzzle pieces fitting together, the safeties played off each other well this week. I like keeping Dugger and Peppers out of man coverage situations on tight ends. It's not their strong suit.

- Great effort by Dugger on his forced fumble, which was a 10-point swing in the game. The Bengals used a late motion into a two-receiver stack to get TE Tanner Hudson separation vs. man coverage, but Dugger didn't give up on the play and punched the ball out as Hudon was about to cross the goal line. Those were the extra efforts the Pats defense was making all day.

- Pass-rusher Joshua Uche tied for the team lead with three quarterback hurries. Uche's pressure off the right side forced Burrow to step up in the pocket, leading to the split-second for White and Bentley. Uche lost the edge, allowing Burrow to extend the play outside the pocket when Cincy finally registered a first down (Q2 10:34) by using an inside move that got walled off by Trent Brown. However, that might've been a "best rush" situation on third-and-6 with zone coverage behind a four-man rush. You may have to live with those sometimes to get pressure.

- Solid performance for CB Marcus Jones taking over the Myles Bryant role. Jones played 23 of his 41 snaps in the slot while also rotating 10 times to free safety in certain zone structures and traveling outside with Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas on eight reps. Jones was competitive in man coverage and showed good awareness in short zones to read the quarterback's eyes to take away passing windows. Plus, he was Johnny-on-the-spot on Kyle Dugger's forced fumble to make the recovery.

- Some "Do Your Job" guys who are just really solid football players for this defense who fly under the radar at times: Jonathan Jones (excellent stick on fourth-and-2), Jahlani Tavai (TFL, PBU on third down, run stuff), and Daniel Ekuale (run stuff, hurry).

- If there was one "down" on the defense, it was probably LB Ja'Whaun Bentley. Burrow was 7-for-7 for a team-high 66 yards allowed in coverage on the Pats linebacker. Some of that was Bentley playing short zones in cover-two, which you'll live with, but he got high-lowed by the Bengals on the 28-yarder to Chase, where you would've liked him to stay with the deep threat to force a check down. Bentley also got blocked at the point of attack on Zack Moss's 16-yard run by the climbing right guard, which created the hole for Moss. I'm still a big Bentley fan, but it's notable when you're on the scene for the opposition's two biggest plays.

- QB pressures: White (three sacks), Uche (three hurries), Bentley (sack, hurry), Wise (two hurries), Pharms (hurry), Ekuale (hurry).

- Coverage: Bentley (7/7/66 yards), Dugger (2/4/18 yards), Gonzalez (3/3/15 yards), MJones (1/1/14 yards), Hawkins (1/1/12 yards), Tavai (3/2/12 yards/PBU), Jennings (1/1/12 yards), Peppers (3/2/11 yards), Wilson (1/1/4 yards/DPI), JJones (2/0/0 yards).

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer