The New England Patriots will be back in Cincinnati this week, trying to repeat last year’s upset win over the Bengals. The biggest difference this time around is that the club is anything but an underdog:
at 9-2, they have enjoyed a significantly better season than their 3-7 opponent.
So, what has been going on with the Bengals? To find out more about the Patriots’ Week 12 opponent, we spoke with Anthony Cosenza of Pats Pulpit’s sister site Cincy Jungle, the SB Nation community for all things Bengals.
Here is what he told us about the upcoming game and opponent.
1.) How did the Bengals’ offense evolve without Joe Burrow? What are your expectations if he returns?
If we’re talking about the few games with Jake Browning, not much, and Browning didn’t step up to the challenge the same way he did at the end of 2024. When it comes to the handful of games wherein Joe Flacco was the starter, balance has been the key. With Flacco’s arm strength and more traditional pocket passer presence, Cincinnati has run more plays directly under center and the run game has improved, overall.
Are we talking about a return this week? If so, it’s possible, but I’d assume rust (even for a guy as great as Burrow) has to be prevalent–especially with Ja’Marr Chase out of the lineup. Burrow likes to run a bit of a different offense than that of Flacco, with spread and shotgun formations being much more prevalent. Scheme changes aside, we’re also talking about a guy who will have an apparatus in his shoe to protect that toe and game speed with that is not something that can be immediately emulated in practice.
Even if Burrow is playing catch-up, it’s all about the Bengals’ defense going forward. They’re on a historically-bad pace, but they need to simply prove competence going forward. They took baby steps last week, but nothing that was truly notable.
2.) How do the Bengals adjust to losing Ja’Marr Chase? How would you handle Tee Higgins?
They’ll adjust by looking at Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas and others, but it’s a major challenge. We don’t truly know who’s starting at quarterback this week, but if it is Flacco, he has heavily-relied on Chase in his starts thus far. Burrow, on the other hand, is a master at spreading the ball around and exploiting defensive mismatches, but then we’re going back to missed time on his end.
For Higgins, big, physical corners, particularly when he’s on the boundary give him trouble. He’s exploited mismatches across the middle and still wins many jump balls anywhere on the field, but his facing of bracketed coverage with physical play could give him fits.
3.) What’s behind the Bengals’ defensive struggles? Is there an area where they’ve been underrated?
I could write a whole story on this. In short though, they relied on defensive coaching changes, as well as rookies starting for a refresh and it hasn’t worked. Cincinnati used three of its first four 202 draft picks on defense, and it has yielded three of the worst-ranked Pro Football Focus-ranked players in a number of metrics to this point.
I also think the once-strong locker room Zac Taylor built has eroded with the allowance of free agency/trade deals. In the past two to three offseasons, the Bengals have seen Jessie Bates II, D.J. Reader, Mike Hilton, Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt — all former locker room leaders — leave the team. While injuries, age and decline in play factored into those decisions, leadership has been lost, a supposed increase in performance after both personnel and coaching changes hasn’t happened, likely breeding distrust in the future vision.
4.) Who is the Bengals’ biggest defensive threat with Trey Hendrickson out?
That’s hard to say. Despite the Bengals’ defensive issues, cornerback DJ Turner is playing at a Pro Bowl level. Many would readily point to Joseph Ossai on the defensive line, but forgotten former first-round pick, Myles Murphy, had a solid game last week against the Steelers in extended action. I expect Murphy to continue to be disruptive down the stretch.
5.) What happened if the Bengals pull off the upset? What happened if the Patriots come out on top?
If the Bengals pull off the upset, they’ll need to play complementary football. If the defense gets the rare stop, take advantage. On offense, they’ll need to need to maintain balance, regardless of the quarterback, On defense, they’ll need to make 1-2 turnovers (something they haven’t mustered since the Thursday Night win against Pittsburgh in Week 7) turn the tide. Essentially, with so many stars being out this week (Chase, Burrow?, Trey Hendrickson, Cam Taylor-Britt), Cincinnati will need reserves to pick up the slack.
If New England comes up with the predictable win, that is because they continue to play solid, three-phase football. From the outside looking in, the Patriots are a bit of a no-name 9-2 team, and that often plays well into the “chip-on-their-shoulder” mentality for teams. Really, it’s just about the Patriots keeping their heads down to avoid a “trap game”, do what they’ve done most of the year and continue their march towards a division title.
