The New England Patriots’ blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs caused plenty of controversy, but a 43-17 beatdown on the Cincinnati Bengals quickly silenced the critics.
The Patriots fired on all cylinders against the Bengals, dominating both through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Tom Brady threw for 292 yards — eclipsing 50,000 passing yards for his career — along with two touchdowns. Running back Stevan Ridley scored a touchdown of his own to go along with 113 yards rushing.
Perhaps the most notable part of the Patriots’ offensive showing was the tandem of tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Tim Wright. While by no means should Wright be compared to ex-Patriot tight end Aaron Hernandez, he and Gronkowski seemed to jell together when playing on the same snaps. Both had touchdowns on the night as Gronkowski picked up 100 yards and Wright tacked on 85 more.
The Pats will take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether the offense will continue to play like it did against Cincinnati, or if it will return to the struggling version we saw in Kansas City.
NESN.com Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed and MassLive’s Kevin Duffy discuss the state of the offense at this point in the season in this edition of the Patriots Podcast.
Listen to or download the podcast in the player below.
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Photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
