The Patriots defense started fast and finished strong on Sunday, leading the Pats to a season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals with a takeaway, a fourth-down stop and timely plays that contained quarterback Joe Burrow, holding him to just 164 passing yards.
"They came out on fire," said head coach Jerod Mayo of the D after the game. "We challenged those guys. Everyone was talking about Cincinnati's offense and how explosive they are. And they answered the call... It was a total unit."
Ja'Whaun Bentley (team-leading 12 tackles, .5 sack), Kyle Dugger (forced fumble), Jabrill Peppers and Christian Gonzalez were the team's ironmen, playing every defensive snap, while Keion White (2.5 sacks) was the finisher.
The Patriots defense forced the Bengals to go three-and-out on their first three possessions, setting the tone for the day and allowing their offense to gather an early lead.
"I think we got to the second quarter before they got a first down," said Jacoby Brissett. "If we do that, we're going to be all right. Hats off to our defense. They did a hell of a job. And I know those guys. I know the work that they put in this offseason as well. I'm just super proud of the guys."
"I feel like we put in a lot of work this offseason, and to be able to come out, and get the win for an away game where everybody doubted us, it definitely meant a lot, but there's so much more we can grow with," admitted Gonzalez."
There was a slight lull in the middle quarters, as the Bengals started to find some success on the ground. But that's when the Patriots defense's knack for key plays kicked in.
A 13-play second-quarter drive established a rhythm for Cinci, but just as they were about to hit paydirt Dugger punched the ball out on the goal line and Marcus Jones scooped it up off the bounce. A nine-play drive early in the third quarter was then snuffed out with a fourth down stop, led by the sure tackling of veteran Jonathan Jones.
Finally, the Bengals broke through late in the third quarter with an 80-yard drive started with a 20-yard pass interference penalty by Marco Wilson. The Bengals never faced a third down on the touchdown-scoring drive and appeared to have seized the game's momentum.
But the Patriots defense kicked back into gear, first holding Cinci to a field goal and then forcing a three-and-out with New England clinging to a six-point lead and in need of a game-sealing stop.
With a key turnover and a handful of key stops, this game had a little of everything from a sound Patriots defense that showed a summer of physical padded practices had them ready to go from the outset.
They held Burrow's Bengals to just 4-of-13 (36%) on third down and contained their new-look running attack to just 70 rushing yards, despite a fairly conservative approach by new defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
Covington sent just four rushers 77% of the dropbacks and played 60% zone while having a 60-40 split between split-safety coverage and single-high. Just seven times did the Patriots rush five or more players. It was a similar plan to the one used by the Patriots in 2022 against Burrow.
Burrow completed 40-of-52 passes for 375 yards back then. He had similar efficiency (21-of-29) in 2024 but nowhere near the production. The biggest difference? Big plays. In 2022, the Bengals had five 20-yard-plus plays. This time around they had just one, a 28-yard fourth-quarter throw to Ja'Marr Chase on a drive that was held to just three points.
Despite the strong overall performance, there will be areas to improve, most notably a 17.1% pressure rate. The defense was timely with their pass rush, but they were inconsistent. Covington has plenty of room for a more aggressive approach that could pump up those pressure stats, but ideally the defense will get more pressure than 11.1% when rushing a standard four players.
After losing two big pass rush pieces this summer, the Patriots defense showed against the Bengals that they can still get the job done with the players they have left. It was a team effort that they'll be able to build from.
"We don't really care about the outside noise," said captain Jabrill Peppers. "We only care about what the people believe and think inside our building. We know the work we put in day in and day out, we know the work the coaches put in day in and day out, and we're all here for one common goal, and that's to win. People can say whatever they want to say, but they can't play in this league. You still got to put that football down and line up. That's our mindset — we go about business the right way, put in the work, it means something to us, and I think we did the job in all three phases today."
