New England Patriots GameDay: Five X-factors vs. Cincinnati Bengals

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New England Patriots offense (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The New England Patriots (10-3) look back to get on the winning track against the (1-12) Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium Sunday afternoon.

After a close loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are under fire again.

Despite still having to the top defense in the league and a quarterback that still scares many teams when the game is on the line, the defending Super Bowl champions are suddenly not good enough to beat the top teams in the league.

Much of that is wishful thinking for those who are tired of this Patriots dynasty rocking on. But, much of it is attributed to how Tom Brady and the offense has looked over the past several weeks.

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Add to that another videotaping scandal and the Belichick and Brady duo once again are being fueled to show the rest of the NFL that they are not done yet. Like last season, the coaches and the team will use the final three games of the season to get things right and they will. There is too much talent and experience on this Patriots roster not to.

So, if you think they are overlooking this 1-12 Bengals team, think again. Bill Belichick still sees a very explosive squad despite the record, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Here is what the coach had to say during his conference call earlier in the week, via Patriots.com.

"“Defensively with Coach [Lou] Anarumo, there’s a very aggressive front mentality. These guys are very good up front – [Sam] Hubbard, [Geno] Atkins, [Carlos] Dunlap. They have some very explosive and disruptive players up there that they cause a lot of problems, and they do a good job of creating negative plays and just generally being disruptive. So, we’re going to have to first of all, number one – I mean, there’s a lot of players that we’ve got to deal with there, but number one, we’re going to have to deal with the front and be able to handle that.”"

How to watch New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

Kickoff: Sunday, December 15, 2019 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: CBS (Check local listings)

Streaming: fuboTV

That front can be a problem for Tom Brady and getting this offense going, but if there is ever a game set up for them to start rolling, it is this game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Here are five x-factors in this Week 15 matchup.

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