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.
N’Keal Harry, WR
N’Keal Harry played in just two snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14 but made plenty of noise with the one catch he did have in the game.
After taking a short pass from Tom Brady and breaking tackles on way to the end zone, the 2019 first-round pick gained some confidence with the 12-yard reception, but also showed just kind of athlete he is by breaking those tackles and toeing him way along the sideline before leaping over the pylon on for an obviously touchdown.
The referees in the game did mark the New England Patriots young wide receiver out of bounds, which caused some controversy, but overall it was a play that should give the team some confidence in N’Keal Harry and also get him going moving forward.
Quite frankly, this New England Patriots offense really need it and there’s no better team to get it going against than a Cincinnati Bengals defense that has been horrid.
With Julian Edelman’s status for the game questionable, look for Brady and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to try to get N’Keal Harry involved in the offense in different ways.
After a few games under his felt, the rookie seems ready and due to break out as another target Tom Brady can get the ball to.
Rex Burkhead, RB
New England Patriots running back Rex Burkhead is still due for a big game.
Heck, the entire Patriots running attack is due to make something happen. What better time for Burkhead to have that big game than against his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals.
In this game, look for Burkhead to make a few plays, both in the offense and on special teams.
The versatile running back will not only get an opportunity to take it to his former team on the ground, but he’ll get a few passes thrown his way from Tom Brady.
But, with the Bengals defense giving up 156.7 yards a game on the ground, the New England Patriots offense will attempt to get their running attack going with Sony Michel still getting the majority of touches. Both Burkhead and Brandon Bolden will get in the mix.
Expect the Patriots to stick with the running game if they can get out ahead fast, which should be a focus coming into this week against a really bad Bengals team.
In all, you can bet on a big play or two offensively from Rex Burkhead in his return to Cincinnati.
Mohomed Sanu, WR
Let’s stick with the trend of former Cincinnati Bengals having big games in this matchup.
Another player the New England Patriots have to get going is Mohamed Sanu.
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The big receiver is entering the game questionable, but you better believe he will suit up and play against his former team who he still have a lot of respect for.
When speaking about his former quarterback Andy Dalton, Sanu was filled with praise about Dalton as both a player and friend off the field.
"“Andy is a really, really good quarterback. He has all the intangibles,’ Sanu said, via Masslive.com. “He came back with a vengeance and got a W for the team after whatever happened over there. He’s a great human. Great friend too.”"
With that respect, comes a mission to get his own game going and forming that same camaraderie on and off the field with his current quarterback, Tom Brady. After that one 10-catch performance against the Baltimore Ravens, Mohamed Sanu hasn’t done much on the field.
While much of that is due to a high ankle sprain he has been dealing with, some of it has been not creating the separation the team needs for Brady to get the ball out as quick as he wants to. That should improve against a Bengals defense that is giving up nearly 400 total yards of offense a game.
If Julian Edelman is unable to go in this game, there will be a heavy dose of Mohamed Sanu who will get back in the flow of the offense.
The defensive line
The one offensive player the New England Patriots defense has to worry about with A.J. Green sidelined is Cincinnati Bengals featured back Joe Mixon.
As a big back who is hard to tackle, the Patriots better be ready to limit Mixon or else he’ll have a big game and keep the Bengals in the game.
Coming off a game in which is rushed for 146 yards on 23 carries against the Cleveland Browns, the Bengals big running back is definitely a focus for a defense that has been better against the run lately but has obviously struggled against hard-running backs like Joe Mixon.
Defensive line coach Brett Bielma highlighted those concerns earlier in the week.
"“It’s very easy to see on film preparation that he has one of the – we face a lot of great backs in this league, but I would say he stands out because he has the ability to break tackles,” Bielma said, via Patriots.com. “He’s powerful, but he also has a very quick burst – that things that they do with him to free him up at the line of scrimmage in between the tackles, but then he has the ability to get the edge.”"
While the Bengals don’t have much to work with through the air, the New England Patriots will stack the box in this game to try to contain Mixon. That means the combination of Lawrence Guy and Danny Shelton really has to have big game in this one.
They must stay in their gaps and win the line of scrimmage which will force Mixon to the outside. Once that happens, linebackers like Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins should be there to prevent Mixon from setting the edge.
Josh McDaniels, OC
While Tom Brady, the offensive line and the wide receivers have taken much of the blame for the way the offense has performed over the last several weeks, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has pretty much slid on the radar.
As the season is winding down, it’s time to shift some of that spotlight on McDaniels and the coaching staff in general.
Despite what most NFL pundits will tell you about the Patriots having no talent on offense, the talent is there. It is more about execution and taking advantage of matchups.
When you have players like Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu and a group of versatile running backs, McDaniels should be doing more to mix up the plays and get those players in position to win matchups and make plays.
There are times Josh McDaniels gets too cute. Often those times result in a loss of yards that puts more pressure on Tom Brady and the offensive line. Defenses then tee off on the 42-year-old quarterback rushing him into a mistake or results in even more yardage loss.
Yes, the playmakers have to execute and be better, but Josh McDaniels is too good a coach not to get this Patriots offense into manageable third down situations. Whether it’s getting the ball more to N’Keal Harry or quicker slant passes to Sanu and Jakobi Meyers, it’s time to simplify things a bit and let the talent make some plays.