Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are “on to Buffalo” at this point, but we’re taking one last look at the team’s impressive 43-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Everything clicked for the Patriots on Sunday night, and they undoubtedly hope they can carry that success through the rest of the season. The Bengals challenged only once, when they cut the Patriots’ lead to 20-10 in the third quarter, but New England quickly responded with two touchdowns in six seconds, ending any hope of a Cincinnati comeback.
NFL Game Rewind failed to upload the Bengals-Patriots coaches film in time, so this week’s film review is based on TV tape.
QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady had his best game of the season, and it’s not even close. The Patriots quarterback completed 23 of 35 passes, and of his 12 incompletions, just three were errant throws.
One key to Brady’s improvement was that he was able to trust his offensive line enough to go through his reads. On his second throw of the game, Brady looked to wide receiver Julian Edelman, who was covered, then moved on to tight end Tim Wright, whom hauled in a 30-yard pass.
RUNNING BACK
Third-down back Shane Vereen also enjoyed his best game of the season, with nine carries for 90 yards and three receptions for 18 yards. Vereen showed good patience, vision and burst in the third quarter when he picked up a first down on third-and-16 in the only part of the game when the Bengals were threatening. Vereen picked up 19 yards, and the Patriots scored a touchdown two plays later.
Stevan Ridley had his second 100-yard game of the season, with 113 yards on 27 carries. The majority of his carries came between the tackles, but Ridley did his biggest damage when he was able to cut outside. On Ridley’s 43-yard run (the longest of his career) at the end of the third quarter, the big back made Bengals cornerback Adam Jones look foolish with a well-timed juke.
WIDE RECEIVER
Brady did a much better job showcasing his tight ends than his receivers against the Bengals, but without coaches film, it’s unclear if the Bengals just did a nice job on Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola, or if those three receivers couldn’t get open.
Brady threw two of his best deep balls of the season, but Edelman seemed to lose his in the air, and LaFell appeared to give up on his route with Jones in close coverage.
TIGHT END
Rob Gronkowski hit the century mark for the first time this season, picking up 100 yards on six catches, and he appeared to regain some of the mobility he lost at the beginning of the season as he was recovering from a torn ACL. Gronk dropped three passes, however, and gave up a sack when he whiffed on Robert Geathers in pass protection.
Wright played just 19 snaps, but he caught five passes for 85 yards and made Patriots fans forget about Logan Mankins for 60 minutes. The Patriots picked up Wright and a fourth-round draft pick when they traded Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just before the season.
Wright did a nice job finding holes in zone coverage and was thrown to on two plays designed to get yards after the catch — much like Aaron Hernandez was used from 2010 to 2012.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Patriots’ front gave Brady plenty of time, and the sack Gronkowski allowed was the only time the QB was hit all game. Right guard Ryan Wendell seemed to pull the unit together, and he showed what makes him so valuable on a 9-yard Ridley run.
Wendell knows the Patriots’ offense, understands his assignments and executed them perfectly on that play.
Rookie center Bryan Stork continues to impress, but he needs to limit his mistakes. He was flagged once for a false start and another time for holding.
DEFENSIVE LINE
With Chandler Jones limited by a shoulder injury, rookie Dominique Easley started at right defensive end. The first-round pick hasn’t made much of an impact this season and left the game with a shoulder injury.
The Patriots had just nine total pressures on 30 drop-backs by Bengals QB Andy Dalton. Defensive tackle Chris Jones led New England with two pressures, including one sack.
Defensive end Rob Ninkovich recorded only one hurry, but he was solid setting the edge against the run. Newly signed rookie defensive tackle Casey Walker played just 14 snaps and held his ground against the run. Oh, he also did this:
LINEBACKERS
With Dont’a Hightower out with a knee injury, Jamie Collins had to take on a bigger role. He recorded a QB hit as a pass rusher and was solid in coverage. Collins got lucky on two plays, when he lagged in coverage, but Dalton overthrew Giovani Bernard in the first quarter and tight end Jermaine Gresham dropped a pass in the second quarter.
Linebacker Jerod Mayo was his usual technically sound self, filling his gaps in run defense. Rookie Deontae Skinner looked far less lost compared to his first start in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.
CORNERBACKS
Darrelle Revis didn’t shut down A.J. Green, but he allowed just three catches on five targets for 64 yards against one of the NFL’s best wideouts. Revis was matched up one-on-one against Green and finally was allowed to play press-man coverage. Revis picked off a Dalton pass, but it was called back on a ticky-tack illegal contact penalty.
Kyle Arrington continues to dominate the slot and allowed only one catch on two targets for 12 yards. He and Revis both forced fumbles and looked comfortable in press coverage.
Alfonzo Dennard was his typically pesky self at the line of scrimmage and was targeted often, but he allowed just three receptions for 51 yards.
Logan Ryan was forced to step in against Green when Revis went out with a minor hamstring injury and immediately gave up a touchdown. It appeared that Ryan jarred the ball loose before Green was able to get two feet down, but the officials reviewed the play and didn’t overturn it.
SAFETIES
Free safety Devin McCourty left the game with a rib injury after breaking up a pass, but second-year pro Duron Harmon stepped in and the defense didn’t skip a beat. Harmon made a very impressive play, recovering a fumble poked out by Arrington before the ball bounced out of bounds. He also put a big hit on Green in the second quarter on a deep incompletion in the end zone.
Veteran Patrick Chung allowed one catch for 3 yards and played well in the box against the run.
Photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images