New England Patriots
New England will look to maintain this streak alive as they journey to Cincinnati on Sunday.
Welcome to Season 14, Episode 12 of the Unconventional Preview, a severe but lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted have a look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup …
These skeptical of the 9-2 Patriots, winners of eight in a row, fall again on citing their delicate schedule, as if their opponents didn’t understand them to be a soft-spot on their schedule when the season started.
It’s a cliché and an adage, but it surely’s true: You’ll be able to solely play who’s lined up in entrance of you each week. Since Week 4, the Patriots haven’t solely stood as much as each opponent, however crushed them, usually handily, whereas quarterback Drake Maye (the league chief in completion proportion and passing yards) has emerged, a lot to the chagrin of the remainder of the league, as a franchise quarterback.
Even when some are hesitant to vary their perceptions, the Patriots are for actual, and one piece of proof — one the skeptics by some means miss — is that they’re but to lose on the highway this season.
That’s a tell-tale signal of a mentally and bodily powerful staff, they usually’ll intention to make it six wins in a row away from Gillette Stadium this season after they tackle the Cincinnati Bengals at, uh, Paycor Stadium (it’s nonetheless Paul Brown Stadium to me).
It guarantees to be a enjoyable quarterback matchup, with Maye — who gained’t must take care of Bengals star cross rusher Trey Hendrickson, out with a hip harm — dueling with both 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, or Joe Burrow, who has been sidelined since Week 3 with a toe harm and returned to apply in full this week.
Kick it off, Andy Borregales, and let’s get this factor began …
Three gamers value watching apart from the quarterbacks
Christian Barmore: The fifth-year defensive sort out’s return to well being and good type after lacking all however 4 video games final season whereas being handled for a daunting blood-clot situation has been one of many least-discussed vital developments of the season for the Patriots.
However with fellow defensive sort out Milton Williams — value each dime of the four-year, $104 million contract he signed within the offseason — out for the following 4 video games with a excessive ankle sprain, Barmore should tackle an even bigger position.
The Patriots protection ranks first within the league towards the run (84.7 yards per game), and Barmore can be important in sustaining that. Bengals working again Chase Brown began sluggish, however has averaged at the very least 5.5 yards per carry in three of the final 4 video games, choosing up 99 yards on 18 carries final Sunday in a 34-12 loss to the Steelers.
Barmore could also be much more vital when the Bengals cross, significantly if Flacco begins. There are monuments at Stonehenge with extra mobility. Flacco struggles mightily below strain, however can nonetheless sling it Bledsoe-style when he has time. Barmore, who picked up his first sack of the season towards the Jets, must get after the passer this week, too.
Tee Higgins: For the previous couple of seasons, Patriots followers had the affordable daydream that Higgins would find yourself in New England. The Patriots desperately wanted official weapons on offense, Higgins was a No. 1 receiver forged as a No. 2 behind Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati, and the notoriously low-cost Bengals absolutely wouldn’t pay two excellent receivers.
And but they did, with Burrow utilizing his clout to verify each big-time targets remained in his huddle. Higgins signed a four-year, $115 million contract to stay with the Bengals in March.
Higgins, who has 35 catches for 544 yards and seven touchdowns this season, has been at his greatest in latest weeks, with 5 touchdowns over the past 4 video games. That features two within the Bengals’ 49-47 loss to the Bears in Week 9, when he had a season-high 121 receiving yards.
He’ll must be at his greatest this week, with Chase, arguably the best receiver in the entire league, suspended for spitting on the Steelers’ Jalen Ramsey final Sunday. Higgins, at 6 ft, 4 inches and 220 kilos, is the kind of large, however athletic receiver that can provide the Patriots bother. However Chase’s absence offers them a few methods to attempt to defend him, whether or not it’s a Christian Gonzalez lockdown project, or Carlton Davis and a few security assist.
Kayshon Boutte: The Patriots offense navigated the third-year receiver’s two-game absence with a hamstring harm with none apparent turbulence.
Maye expertly unfold the ball round — Mack Hollins (vs. the Buccaneers) and Stefon Diggs (vs. the Jets) every had 100-yard video games in his absence, and one other receiver, DeMario Douglas, reached triple digits within the recreation Boutte acquired harm (vs. the Falcons).
However Boutte, a deep menace (18.7 yards per catch) who may be counted on to be the place Maye expects him, was missed in refined methods. Most of his reps went to rookie third-round decide Kyle Williams, who had a 72-yard catch-and-run for a landing towards the Buccaneers on an ideal Maye throw, but additionally ran some cross routes over the previous two video games that gave distinct Tony Simmons flashbacks. (Or Bethel Johnson, should you choose a speedster with a typically defective GPS from this century.)
Williams has an opportunity to be a tremendous participant, however reliability isn’t his sturdy go well with but. Three of Maye’s 9 incompletions towards the Jets went in his course, and he didn’t have a catch. He has simply three catches on 11 targets this season.
Boutte is a giant play menace — solely TreVeyon Henderson (six) has extra touchdowns than his 5 this season. He’s caught 23 of his 31 targets, with 20 going for first downs. That’s a harmful and environment friendly receiver, and he ought to have a cheerful return Sunday towards the Bengals’ abysmal protection (thirty second general, 418.2 yards allowed per recreation; thirty first in cross protection, 257.3 yards allowed per recreation).
The flashback
Considerably surprisingly, the Patriots and Bengals have by no means met within the playoffs. Blame that on the Bengals, clearly. From 1991 by 2020, they missed the playoffs 23 instances and misplaced within the wild-card spherical the opposite seven seasons, together with 5 straight years from 2011-15.
The Bengals even have made three Tremendous Bowls of their historical past, in 1981, ’88, and 2021. They collided with the Patriots in simply a kind of seasons, ’88, a Week 7 matchup in Foxborough.
Expectations have been low for the Patriots getting into the sport. The Bengals got here in 6-0, whereas the Patriots have been 2-4 and coming off a 45-3 loss to the beforehand winless Packers. However the Patriots pulled off the upset, intercepting Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason 5 instances and holding on for a 27-21 win in Doug Flutie’s first start at Sullivan Stadium.
Flutie accomplished 10 of 14 passes for 165 yards, an environment friendly if not precisely explosive effort. The Patriots have been spurred by a plea to run the ball from second-year left sort out Bruce Armstrong to go coach Raymond Berry within the days earlier than the sport. Berry agreed with the method. The Patriots picked up 158 dashing yards on 43 makes an attempt, with former first-round decide Reggie Dupard scoring a pair of touchdowns, his solely two of the season.
The win was a aid for the Patriots, who would win seven of their closing 10 video games to complete 9-7.
“I feel if it had been towards Foxborough Excessive, it might have been an inspiration and motivation,” stated Patriots receiver Cedric Jones afterward. “We would have liked to beat anyone.”
Grievance of the week
It’s not like we requested for extra proof that we’re residing within the stupidest sports activities tv timeline potential. Sentient Monster Truck Pat McAfee’s oversaturated prominence on ESPN is sufficient for me.
But we have been force-fed extra proof anyway on Thursday, when ESPN’s different designated blowhard, Stephen A. Smith, predictably accomplished the lifecycle of a scorching take.
The cycle goes like this: somebody on a hot-take present says one thing dumb, controversial, or normally each — it might be what the take-maker truly believes, but it surely’s nearly fully designed to get a response. The athlete who’s the topic of the take is requested about it by the native media or a sports-radio host, and both has no concept what it’s about, or pretends to be with out a clue. Then the hot-taker, or a co-host hot-taker, will get wind of what the athlete stated, and regardless of how innocuous the athlete’s response could also be, acts like it’s the most offensive string of phrases ever to be spoken. Growth, three days of content material, screeching, and debate, at a minimal.
Maye, by no fault of his personal, acquired trapped in that cycle of caterwaulers this week, thanks largely to his boyhood hero, Cam Newton. You in all probability heard that Newton, whose 2020 season with the Patriots was the most effective in franchise historical past by a quarterback who threw the ball like a defensive finish, stated on “First Take” final Friday that the Patriots’ 9-2 begin was “idiot’s gold.”
Newton’s feedback caught their supposed consideration on social media, and so Maye was requested about it by co-host Andy Hart throughout the quarterback’s weekly look on WEEI’s afternoon drive program Monday. Maye stated he didn’t even know which present Newton was on.
I imagine him. Newton has been on the present solely since final October, and Maye has a job that tends to maintain him pretty busy throughout the week. However Maye’s response gave Smith the opening to proceed the cycle, and did he ever on Wednesday’s present.
Smith, pathetically, referred to as Maye a liar, touting the present’s rankings success earlier than claiming, “Don’t inform me that you simply’re an athlete and also you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this present.”
If Maye is requested about this newest silly twist, I’m certain he’ll shrug it off and finish the entire ridiculous cycle. And Stephen A. and associates should discover one thing else to be fake-offended about.
Prediction, or James Brooks is likely one of the most ignored nice working backs of all time …
Contemplating that Maye has emerged as a Most Precious Participant favourite throughout the Patriots’ ascent from their 1-2 begin, it’s considerably stunning that he doesn’t have a 300-yard passing recreation but in his profession. His profession excessive, a lot to my shock anyway, was his 287-yard effort in the season-opening loss to the Raiders.
In his twenty fifth profession recreation Sunday, and his twenty fourth begin, he’ll get there. The streak reaches 9 in a row, with the Payments looming. Patriots 31, Bengals 23.
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