Cincinnati, Ohio – As the biggest underdog in the NFL's opening-week slate, the Patriots stunned the Bengals in a 16-10 victory over Cincinnati at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
Jerod Mayo's first win as Patriots head coach might surprise the oddsmakers, but several things favored New England as a pesky underdog. Under head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals are now 1-5 in Week 1 games since Taylor took over as coach in 2019. The Bengals notoriously start slow, and after resting their starters throughout the preseason and a prolonged "hold in" by star receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati's high-powered offense was rusty.
Furthermore, the Bengals played Sunday's game without the other half of their two-headed receiving monster, Tee Higgins, who was inactive due to a hamstring injury. When you factor in Cincinnati's early-season struggles with Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's familiarity with the Bengals defense from his time in Cleveland, you start talking yourself into an upset.
For Coach Mayo, New England starting well is a testament to the camp the former Patriots linebacker-turned-head coach ran in Foxborough this summer. Unlike the Bengals, who had mixed vibes with unhappy star players while playing their starters limited reps in the preseason, the Patriots got better at football by playing football in August.
Now, the defense and run-game formula was good enough for a win on Sunday. However, the passing game still wouldn't win most weeks. Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett finished 15-of-24 for 121 yards, posting a QBR of 51.3. Brissett helped his efficiency by picking up three first downs via scrambles, but to build on this win, New England needs to be more dangerous in the passing game, especially with play-action sequenced off their run-game success.
Although it's fair to wonder how sustainable the Patriots winning formula from Sunday is, it's a day for kudos to Mayo and his staff. New England spoke about winning with a great defense (10 points allowed), a strong rushing attack (170 yards), and by limiting mistakes (2-0 in turnover battle) since the day Mayo was promoted to head coach in January. On Sunday, they walked the walk.
"It was great. You always come in with a plan. But they say God laughs at plans, or as Mike Tyson says, everyone has a plan until you get hit in the mouth," Mayo told Patriots.com after the win. "In the first half, we were averaging 6.1 yards per carry and were able to control the front. Defensively, we did a good job against their run game. It started up there."
Here are eight takeaways from the Patriots upset victory over the Bengals to kick off the season 1-0:
1. SERVPRO Spotlight: Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson Runs Over the Bengals
The player of the game for either team offensively was Patriots lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson, who ran for a game-high 120 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts.
Stevenson had four rushes over 10-plus yards and iced the game with 26 rushing yards on four carries on the Patriots final drive, where he gained most of it after contact. Stevenson's slithering rushing style was on full display, where he slaloms around to either find open gaps to get through the line of scrimmage or elude defenders in the backfield.
The run that stood out the most from this perspective came right before the two-minute warning with the Patriots facing a 2nd-and-5. New England was blocking duo, but the Bengals run blitzed to get two defenders in the backfield. Stevenson made an excellent jump cut to elude both defenders in the backfield and then bounced out the right side to gain nine yards. Three players later, the Patriots were in victory formation.
Speaking after the game, multiple players confirmed that Stevenson advocated to AVP for the Patriots to run more downhill. The Pats got downhill with power and duo blocking schemes. Obviously, it worked, with Stevenson attacking the Bengals DBs on the edge.
After giving him a four-year contract extension in June, Stevenson showed why the Patriots invested in his future as their lead running back on Sunday.
2. Patriots Defense Shuts Down Bengals QB Joe Burrow in Upset Win
During the 2022 season, the Patriots were a late fourth-quarter fumble from upsetting these same Bengals in a Week 16 game at Gillette Stadium.
Unfortunately, that game didn't go the Patriots way. However, the defensive formula was roughly the same this time around. The Patriots forced Bengals star QB Joe Burrow to take the long road by playing a mix of different coverages but leaned more into their zone structures to limit big plays. The Pats defense limited Burrow to 167 passing yards on 29 attempts. Burrow didn't hit his first explosive pass until the second half and averaged a subpar 5.6 air yards per attempt. Heck, Cincy didn't have a first down until midway through the second quarter.
For the first time out under new DC DeMarcus Covington, the Patriots defense was in mid-season form— they were lights out on Sunday.
3. Second-Year CB Christian Gonzalez Shadows Star WR Ja'Marr Chase in Impressive Fashion
During training camp, one storyline that grew louder throughout the summer was Gonzalez's inconsistencies. Although it was never time to panic, Gonzalez gave up more completions in practice than you'd expect for a talented corner. That led to some outside noise about Gonzalez, who won Rookie of the Month before a season-ending injury, potentially taking a step back in year two.
"They were worried, huh," Gonzalez told Patriots.com following the game. "You hear it but don't pay attention to it."
On Sunday, Gonzalez helped limit Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase to six catches for 62 yards. Chase's longest reception came against a zone structure where Gonzalez wasn't the primary defender in coverage. According to Gonzalez, the plan was for him to shadow Chase, with the 2023 first-round pick following Chase all over the formation.
After all the summer rumblings that Gonzalez wasn't at top form, the second-year cornerback certainly held his own against Chase in the Patriots win. If the Patriots can get that level of performance from Gonzalez, the defense will be in great shape with a legit No. 1 corner.
4. Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett Does His Job to Lead the Patriots to Victory
As mentioned, the Patriots need more from their passing attack to continue stacking wins. However, Brissett deserves credit for managing the game on Sunday.
Although the passing stats won't jump out at you, Brissett added 0.05 expected points per drop-back, didn't turn the ball over, and managed pressure in the pocket nicely. Brissett's ability to beat the blitz with decisive decisions when "hot" helped the Pats offense numerous times, while the veteran QB1 also scrambled for three first downs with 32 rushing yards.
Brissett made the Bengals pay several times when they failed to close the pocket while in man coverage. With the coverage defenders' backs to the quarterback trying to track the Pats receivers downfield, Brissett escaped the pocket with his legs to convert third downs. His ability to keep those plays alive was huge, as was his ability to avoid catastrophic plays under pressure.
The Patriots quarterback recorded one turnover-worthy play, with an interceptable pass in the end zone attended for TE Hunter Henry. There are times when Brissett's timing seems a tick slow, which can show up in the red zone, where the near-INT happened to Henry. With a quicker decision and a better ball there, Henry would've had more of a chance.
Overall, the Patriots can be competitive with Brissett's performance. Again, the veteran took care of the ball and made some key third-down conversions. On Sunday, that was enough.
5. The O-Line Wasn't Perfect, But it Was Better Than Expected for the Patriots
As always, we'll have to watch the tape to evaluate the offensive line, and we'll have pressure and blown block rates in After Further Review on Monday.
That said, the Patriots offensive line was far from a disaster in Sunday's win. New England started the game with veteran Chuks Okorafor at left tackle. However, Vederian Lowe, who was at left tackle with the top unit for most of camp, replaced Okorafor early and played the rest of the way. Rookie right guard Layden Robinson went the distance, while third-rounder Caedan Wallace was used as a sixth offensive lineman 11 times.
When you rush for 170 yards, the boys up front are doing their job in the run game. Plus, Brissett was only sacked once. Based on my live charting, there were quite a few hurries allowed by the O-Line. There was also a key assignment breakdown on third down with a free runner causing an incompletion, wiping out what could've been a huge play to Pop Douglas.
Overall, the offensive line wasn't the disaster many anticipated, which is good. But my guess is the game tape will show quite a few one-on-one losses in pass protection.
6. Two Key Takeaways Spark Six Patriots Points Off Bengals Turnovers
As a team with a limited passing offense, the turnovers forced by the Patriots in Sunday's win need to be part of their winning formula moving forward.
New England won the turnover battle with two takeaways to zero giveaways, which was a huge reason they upset the Bengals. On special teams, long snapper Joe Cardona made a nice stick on the ball to force a fumble on a punt return by Bengals wideout Charlie Jones, which S Jaylinn Hawkins recovered. Cardona's forced fumble led directly to three points.
Earlier, the Bengals were driving down by seven points in the second quarter. Burrow completed a pass to tight end Tanner Hudson, and it looked like Hudson was headed into the end zone for six. However, safety Kyle Dugger stayed with the play as the primary defender in coverage and punched the ball out as Hudson extended for the goal line. Patriots CB Marcus Jones was also on the scene, scooping up Hudson's fumble and returning it to the 18-yard line.
Dugger's forced fumble recovered by Jones was a 10-point swing in the game. Along with wiping out a touchdown for the Bengals, the Patriots offense went on a 12-play field goal drive to take a 10-0 lead into halftime. From this perspective, it was the turning point in the game.
7. Second-Year DE Keion White's Breakout Season is Out in Full Force
During the lead-up to the opener, we wrote about White being the most likely breakout candidate for the Patriots heading into year two, and the 2023 second-rounder didn't disappoint.
White was credited with 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in Sunday's win. The second-year hybrid edge rusher's average separation to the quarterback was a team-best 1.8 yards, as White gave the Bengals interior defensive line fits all afternoon.
White was lined up inside over Bengals right guard Alex Cappa on one of his sacks. White used his go-to power rush to walk Cappa back into the quarterback's lap, and White swallowed Burrow. White also sacked the quarterback when pass-rusher Joshua Uche forced Burrow to step up in the pocket with a good edge rush, and White was there waiting for Burrow.
Sometimes, the training camp hype is overblown when young players are standouts during the summer. When it comes to White, we were all justified in hyping up his success.
8. K Joey Slye Delivers in First Game as Patriots and the Not So Dynamic Kickoff
Lastly, the Patriots made a difficult decision when they cut former fourth-round pick Chad Ryland in favor of veteran kicker Joey Slye on cutdown day. Slye down the kicking job due to his big leg, but his short game impressed on Sunday. Sly hit all three field goals, including a 38-yarder to put the Patriots back up by nine points in the fourth quarter.
As for the league's dynamic kickoff, the new rule has been a dud so far. Bengals-Patriots only produced one return, with most teams opting for touchbacks rather than putting the ball in play.
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
