From the day Jerod Mayo was officially announced as the Patriots next head coach, the talk in and around the football offices at Gillette Stadium was about change. A fresh approach was underway in Foxborough with a bevy of new coaches on staff and a pair of new quarterbacks running the show.
But for all of that talk of different ideologies and concepts, the Patriots impressive opening day win had a very familiar feel. In fact, it was strikingly reminiscent of the early days of the Belichick-Brady dynasty.
Patriots fans watching their team limit Cincinnati to just 10 points while managing to do just enough on offense to squeak out a 16-10 win had to have a feeling of déjà vu. It was a pattern that Bill Belichick's 2001 team used countless times – play sound football, capitalize on your opponent's mistakes and execute in the moments that matter most.
Mayo's first game at the helm showed the former Pro Bowl linebacker was indeed a student of the game during his playing days. The Patriots brought an effective game plan to Cincinnati on both sides of the ball and made sure they would not do anything to help the opposition. You could almost hear the words "you can't win games until you learn how not to lose them" echoing throughout the Patriots sideline as New England inched closer and closer to victory, ultimately kicking off the Mayo era in fine fashion with a rock-solid upset win.
In what ways was it a throwback win for the Patriots?
We'll start with the sound game plan from both DeMarcus Covington and Alex Van Pelt. Forced to go without his two best pass rushers in Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon, Covington found ways to get in Joe Burrow's face early on and prevented the Bengals quarterback from getting comfortable. Covington knew with Tee Higgins out he had the luxury of using a variety of zone looks (roughly 60 percent according to Next Gen Stats) to prevent All-Pro Ja'Marr Chase from doing too much damage.
That forced Burrow to stick with short throws that allowed the Patriots defense to swarm to the ball and make sound tackles. While Burrow completed 21 of 29 throws, they resulted in only 164 yards, a far cry from the 375 he torched New England's secondary for the last time the teams met in 2022.
That led to forcing three straight three-and-outs to start the game, which allowed the Patriots to use their tried-and-true formula of playing with the lead.
Which brings us to the second element that evoked memories of the past: leaning on the running game and protecting the ball. Rhamondre Stevenson was the best player on the field and Van Pelt went to him early and often. He was able to run through some tackles but more impressively he consistently made defenders miss in the backfield. Many of the 120 yards he gained came after contact and were more or less the result of his ability to grind his way through the defense.
While the Patriots were playing conservative, mistake-free offense, the Bengals were sloppy and cost themselves points. This is another staple of Patriots wins of the past – take advantage of opportunities. First, Mike Gesicki failed to maintain possession of a touchdown pass in the end zone, then fellow tight end Tanner Hudson was incredibly careless with the ball as he was about to cross the goal line on the next snap. Kyle Dugger made a terrific play to cause the fumble and Marcus Jones was right there to scoop it up and prevent the touchdown.
The strip resulted in a 10-point swing as the Patriots closed the half with a field goal drive off the turnover, allowing them to head to the locker room with a 10-0 lead rather than potentially tied at 7. Long snapper Joe Cardona then caused a fumble on a punt return off the first series of the second half, setting up another field goal. That allowed the Patriots to hold a 6-0 edge in points off turnovers – with that 6-point edge representing the final margin.
The final homage to the glory days came in the last two series. Cincinnati trailed 16-10 and took over with just over three minutes remaining. The defense, which had shown some signs of breaking over the previous handful of Cincinnati possessions, forced a three-and-out and allowed the offense to take over just before the two-minute warning with a chance to kill the clock. Doing his best Corey Dillon impersonation, that's exactly what Stevenson did while carrying on the final four plays to record a pair of first downs. In all, Stevenson ran it on seven of the Patriots final eight offensive snaps (excluding kneel downs) as Van Pelt was content to lean on his best player.
It wasn't always pretty with just 290 yards of offense and only 120 passing yards, but the old-school mindset on display made the win possible and brought back memories of some of the glory of the Patriots past.
First impressions
While it would likely make more sense to choose the field over Kansas City in the Chiefs quest for an unprecedented three-peat, it was hard not to be impressed on opening night. Patrick Mahomes showed he could win with less last season when he overcame a bevy of obstacles among his own receiving corps and still came away with his third Super Bowl title.
Based on one night, the Chiefs are better. Rookie Xavier Worthy provided some explosiveness to the attack, scoring a pair of touchdowns on three touches in his debut. Second-year receiver Rashee Rice looks primed to enjoy a monster season after slowly emerging as a key contributor as a rookie. Even as Travis Kelce appears to be nearing the back nine of his stellar career, Mahomes looks like he has more options at his disposal than in the recent past.
The Chiefs traded key cornerback L'Jarius Sneed in the offseason but didn't appear to lose a beat on that side of the ball, either. Given the apparent improvement Kansas City has made on offense, the Chiefs will once again be very tough to beat once January rolls around.
Underrated division
As the season gets underway each year a lot of NFL prognosticators like to evaluate the strength of each division. This year, almost all of them feel the AFC South ranks among the worst of the eight groups. Again, it's just one week but even before the games kicked off, I felt the division was better than it's given credit for it.
The Texans won a playoff game in 2023 before dropping their divisional round matchup in Baltimore and then improved. Houston acquired Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon and Danielle Hunter among others in the offseason and have been a trendy Super Bowl pick with young C.J. Stroud at the helm.
Meanwhile the Colts got their young quarterback Anthony Richardson back in the lineup and went toe-to-toe with the Texans in the opener. Indy is coming off a 9-8 finish with backup Gardner Minshew, and yet somehow many have dismissed the Colts chances heading into 2024. The 29-27 loss notwithstanding, Indy looks more than competitive.
Then come the Jaguars, who most forget were 8-3 atop the AFC last season before Trevor Lawrence injured his ankle and derailed Jacksonville's chances. The collapse aside, Jacksonville is still a talented team and probably should have gotten out of Miami with a win if not for a Travis Etienne fumble near the goal line that changed the game's momentum. The Jags will be heard from.
All three have legitimate claims to the division crown – with the Texans probably the favorite. Only Tennessee, which blew a 17-point lead in Chicago, figures to be out of the playoff picture.
Power 5
1. Kansas City (1-0) – The Chiefs look more potent than a year ago, which is bad news for everyone.
2. Baltimore (0-1) – The Ravens fell a blade of grass short of extending the game opening night. Baltimore has some issues up front but will be just fine.
3. San Francisco (1-0) – The Niners look every bit as dangerous as ever.
4. Detroit (1-0) – The Lions showed plenty of toughness in grinding their way to an overtime win over the Rams.
5. Buffalo (1-0) – After a slow start the Bills controlled the final three quarters as Josh Allen was dominant once again.
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
