FOXBORO, Mass — Whatever happened in the New England Patriots’ locker room at halftime Sunday worked, because the team certainly woke up in the second half.
The Patriots were leading by three points after the first 30 minutes, but that only was after a late touchdown in the second quarter. Otherwise, the first half pretty much went everything but according to plan.
And it appeared that would continue in the second half after quarterback Andy Dalton led the Bengals on another touchdown drive to take back the lead.
However, the Patriots scored 25 of the game’s final 28 points en route to a 35-17 win at Gillette Stadium.
“Most movies are slow to start, so we probably lost some viewers in the movie theater,” tight end Martellus Bennett said. “But you have to stay for the end of the movie to know how good it really gets. It’s one of those movies like ‘The Butterfly Effect.’ ”
It was a classic case of a tale of two halves, and the second act turned out much better for the home squad.
“I don’t think it was sluggish,” Bennett added. “I thought they made some plays, and we were trying to figure it out. (Our) coaches did a great job coming in and making some adjustments at halftime, and we came back out and executed a little bit better. We had some penalties earlier in the game that could have put us behind the eight ball, but guys just kept chipping away.”
Let’s be honest, though: If they make a movie out of this game, it will be because of Tom Brady’s homecoming and the chippiness that happened after Vontaze Burfict’s dirty hit on Bennett.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
