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Thoughts & Reactions: Patriots Torch Bengals Behind Brady & Gronkowski

By Tarringo Basile-vaughan

Oct 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) congratulates tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) on a touchdown during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) congratulates tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) on a touchdown during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New England Patriots turned a first-half struggle into a second-half rump as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 35-17 at Gillette Stadium.

It wasn’t quite the homecoming Tom Brady expected in the first half, but the New England Patriots regrouped in the second half to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 35-17 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

The Bengals brought their best effort in the first half.  Brady and company scored just 3 points until deep into the 2nd quarter.  With the Bengals leading 10-7 and holding the Patriots’ offense in check, Brady led the team down the field in a two-minute drill featuring Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett and running back James White, who scored the team’s first touch down right before the half.

The Patriots fell behind once again early in the third quarter when Andy Dalton connected with former Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell.  With momentum clearly on the side of the Bengals, Dont’a Hightower sacked Dalton in the end zone to pick up his second safety in as many games.  The safety cut the lead to 14-12 before the offensive flood gates opened for the Patriots.

Brady connected on touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and another one to James White to put the Patriots up 25-12, which eventually ended in a 35-17 victory.  In his return to Gillette Stadium, Brady went 29 of 35 for 376 yards with three touchdown passes.  Gronkowski ended the game with a career-high 162 yards with a touchdown.

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My Thoughts

The New England Patriots offense struggled in the first half.  The two-headed monster of Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett didn’t start off the game as dominant as predicted.  Bennett seemed to be slowed by a legged injury and pressure from the Bengals’ defense disrupted what the Patriots wanted to do offensively.

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However, once Brady started connecting with his tight ends, the Bengals really had no answer.  It was good to see Gronkowski spreading the field.  He really seems to be back at full strength.  Running back James White was also great in the passing game.  He caught eight passes for 47 yards and was monumental in the team’s first touchdown drive.

Defensively, the Patriots still struggled getting off the field on third down.  They also struggled creating a pass rush in the first half.  Ironically, once they started getting pressure on Dalton, the complexion of the game changed and momentum flowed back to the side of the Patriots.  Without Collins, Hightower stepped up leading the team with 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks.  His safety really changed the direction of the game.

Player reactions

Martellus Bennett on the late game chippiness between the two teams via NESN:

"“Just playing football, man.  It gets like this some times. You know, we have guys that don’t back down from anyone and play hard throughout the whole game. And that just is what it is. We don’t back down. We’re not looking for trouble, but we don’t walk away from trouble either.”"

Tom Brady on the team’s play in the second half via WEEI:

"“We played a lot better during the second half.  I thought our execution was a lot better. It took us a little bit of time to figure out how to kind of get our guys open, and once we did that it was good. We got the ball to a bunch of different guys in space and made a bunch of guys miss. The running game was effective when we did it, so it was a good team win.”"

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Dont’a Hightower /

Malcolm Butler on Donta’ Hightower’s safety in the 3rd quarter via Patriots.com:

"“Oh, yeah, a momentum changer.  The offense capitalized off it, so, it gave us more confidence. Turned out pretty well.”"

Next: Patriots Communications Systems Failed During Game

The New England Patriots will look to continue their winning ways against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7.

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