For those of us that believed the Patriots weren’t nearly as bad as most fans think they are, Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Bengals wasn’t a complete shock.
However, the fashion in which the team got Jerod Mayo his first NFL head coaching victory was pretty surprising.
New England’s offensive line was a force in the run game, helping Rhamondre Stevenson to rush for 120 yards on 25 carries. The big guys up front also protected Jacoby Brissett pretty well. Speaking of Brissett, his numbers won’t wow anyone (15-24, 121), but his toughness and willingness to take off and run while also getting physical stood out. More importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.
The Patriots also held the ball for 34:03, held Cincinnati to 4-11 on third down and forced two fumbles. The defense also held Joe Burrow and the Bengals to 224 yards of total offense. Even the special teams unit was impressive, physically imposing their will and coming up with one of those forced fumbles.
Mayo’s team was disciplined too, committing just five penalties for a total of 40 yards. Perhaps the most encouraging sign defensively was the way New England tackled in the open field, flying to the football the entire game.
With the franchise taking the field for an opener without Bill Belichick for the first time since 1999, things really couldn’t have gone much better for Mayo, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington or offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Mayo even got a blue Gatorade bath for his first win as his players were ecstatic for him on the sideline. Once the team went to the locker room, Mayo revealed that Robert Kraft presented him with a ball for the historic occasion, and Mayo said he presented one to Eliot Wolf as well.
“It was special. It was special,” said Mayo. “I just want to thank the Kraft family, Robert, Jonathan, Daniel…all those guys, Josh…just for the opportunity and for not really getting in the middle of anything that we do football wise. They’ve pretty much turned the keys over to Eliot and myself and the rest of my staff. I’m just appreciative of the opportunity and I’m glad we came in here today and represented the Krafts in a good light.”
Cincinnati went three-and-out on its first two drives – thanks in large part to the disruptiveness of Keion White – and the Pats punted on their first possession. With 7:18 left in the opening frame, Brissett and the offense took over at their own 20. 14 plays and 7:20 later, Stevenson cruised in from three yards out in the opening minute of the second for a 7-0 lead.
After trading punts, the Bengals put a nice drive together and appeared to tie the game when Burrow hit Hudson with a pass over the middle at the 15 and he was waltzing into the end zone. But, he oddly held the ball out and high instead of high and tight and Kyle Dugger stripped him and Marcus Jones recovered at the one.
For the next 5:09 the Pats marched downfield in 12 plays before ultimately settling for a Joey Slye 22 yard field goal as time expired to give New England a 10-point lead at the half.
“He made plays with his legs, he made plays with his arm…he’s a tough guy,” Mayo said of Brissett’s performance. “He took some hits in the game where I’m just like, ‘man, get up,’ but he did everything we asked him to do in the week and we came out of here with a victory.”
The Patriots were forced to punt on the first possession of the third quarter, but Joe Cardona flew downfield and forced a fumble on the return and Jaylinn Hawkins recovered at the Bengals’ 24. Cincy’s defense did a good job holding the Pats to another Slye field goal to make it 13-0. The defense continued to dominate and forced a turnover on downs on the Bengals’ next possession, but the offense couldn’t capitalize.Eventually, Cincinnati finally got on the board with 1:10 left in the third on a Moss touchdown run from five yards out.
With 8:46 remaining in the game, Slye booted another field goal – this time from 37 yards out – to cap a huge 12 play drive that chewed up 7:24 of clock. The Bengals got a field goal to cut it to 16-10 with 6:14 to go. New England ended up having to punt one more time, but Cincy did as well.
The Bengals never saw the ball again as Stevenson put the team on his back with some grown man runs late, killing the final two-plus minutes before a few kneel downs for Brissett.
It’s only one game, but given how much negativity has surrounded this team in terms of expectations for the 2024 season, in just three hours on Sunday, the Mayo-led Patriots have given us all a little more hope that this could actually be a very fun and surprising season.
“For the fans, you know, hopefully they see what we’re trying to build,” Mayo added ahead of the home opener next Sunday. “I talk about…it takes time. We’re still not where we want to be, but we’re heading in the right direction.”