If everything went wrong for the New England Patriots a week ago in their 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, then the complete opposite was true Sunday night.
The Patriots started out hot and established their running game, which prevented the Cincinnati Bengals from exploiting New England’s greatest weaknesses. The Patriots beat a previously undefeated team 43-17, but that doesn’t mean all their issues suddenly disappeared.
Not to focus on the negatives, but the Patriots lacked a consistent pass rush, were shaky in their run defense, struggled in the red zone offensively, committed too many penalties and allowed three big plays through the air.
Obviously, none of that truly mattered Sunday night when they trounced the Bengals, but head coach Bill Belichick likely will harp on those five weaknesses this week as the Patriots prepare for the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills.
On a more positive note, check out three takeaways from Sunday’s win:
TOM BRADY RETURNS TO FORM
Brady threw just 12 incomplete passes against the Bengals, and after watching the game live from the press box and reviewing the TV film, only three appeared to be inaccurate passes from the Patriots QB.
Brady’s first incompletion was thrown behind wide receiver Julian Edelman, and his 11th and 12th incompletions were low to tight end Rob Gronkowski and wideout Brandon LaFell, respectively. Brady threw away two passes, Gronkowski dropped three targets and Adam Jones broke up an attempt to LaFell.
Brady threw two deep passes in the first quarter, and it appeared to be the receiver’s fault that they weren’t completed. Edelman had trouble tracking one pass, and LaFell looked to give up on a target down the sideline. The final receiver error was a pass thrown in front of Gronkowski, but watching it live, the big tight end slipped in his route. His hiccup doesn’t appear on the TV tape, but it will in the All-22 that comes out Tuesday morning.
Brady improved his deep passing, completing 5 of 8 attempts that traveled over 15 yards.
DARRELLE REVIS LIMITS A.J. GREEN
I won’t go as far as to say that Revis shut down Green, because it’s untrue, but the Patriots cornerback was impressive while covering one of the NFL’s best wideouts.
Check out this week’s charting stats:
Darrelle Revis: Three completions on five targets for 64 yards
Alfonzo Dennard: 3-6, 51 yards, touchdown
Logan Ryan: 2-3, 21 yards, touchdown
Rob Ninkovich: 1-1, 15 yards
Kyle Arrington: 1-2, 12 yards
Jerod Mayo: 1-1, 12 yards
Jamie Collins: 1-3, 3 yards
Patrick Chung: 1-1, 3 yards
Check out the Patriots’ pass-coverage charting stats for the season:
Revis: 13-24, 193 yards, TD, INT, two pass breakups
Ryan: 11-17, 146 yards, TD, INT, three pass breakups
Mayo: 12-15, 127 yards, TD
Dennard: 5-9, 77 yards, TD
Malcolm Butler: 3-5, 53 yards, pass breakup
Deontae Skinner: 3-3, 50 yards
Tavon Wilson: 2-3, 49 yards, pass breakup
Dont’a Hightower: 11-14, 47 yards, pass breakup
Collins: 5-14, 46 yards, pass breakup
Arrington: 4-9, 46 yards, pass breakup
Ninkovich: 4-5, 35 yards
Dominique Easley: 1-1, 8 yards, interception
Devin McCourty: 2-7, 7 yards, 2 TDs, INT, 2 pass breakups
Nate Ebner: 1-3, 3 yards
Chung: 1-4, 3 yards, pass breakup
Duron Harmon: 0-1
Chandler Jones: two pass breakups
Vince Wilfork: interception
PATRIOTS MISS CHANDLER JONES, DONT’A HIGHTOWER
Jones was limited to third downs against the Bengals after injuring his shoulder last week, and Hightower was deactivated after hurting his knee against the Chiefs. The Patriots missed both players in the pass-rush department Sunday night. The Patriots generated just nine pressures against Bengals QB Andy Dalton all game and recorded only one sack.
Check out this week’s charting stats:
Chris Jones: sack, hurry (two pressures)
Collins: QB hit
Ninkovich: hurry
Chung: hurry
Dennard: hurry
Mayo: hurry
Vince Wilfork: hurry
Chandler Jones: hurry
Check out the Patriots’ season-long pass-rush charting stats:
Chandler Jones: 2.5 sacks, five QB hits, nine hurries, 17 pressures
Hightower: two sacks, five QB hits, eight hurries, 15 pressures
Ninkovich: sack, three QB hits, 10 hurries, 14 pressures
Mayo: sack, QB hit, four hurries, six pressures
Wilfork: two QB hit, three hurries, five pressures
Chris Jones: 1.5 sacks, one hury, three pressures
Joe Vellano: one sack, two hurries, three pressures
Arrington: one sack, one pressure
Ryan: one QB hit, one pressure
Sealver Siliga: one QB hit, one pressure
Collins: one QB hit, one pressure
Tavon Wilson: one hurry, one pressure
Dominique Easley: one hurry, one pressure
Chung: one hurry, one pressure
Dennard: one hurry, one pressure
