Bengals must refocus just like the Pats did

Jermaine Gresham drops what would have been a touchdown pass in the second quarter Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Last week the sky was falling in Foxborough. Many people, including your's truly, were questioning whether Brady's best days were behind him. But Brady and company thankfully proved us wrong and destroyed a team that was undefeated. Now the Bengals find themselves in a similar situation.

Though the Patriots themselves had a great game the Bengals made key errors. The most notable was the touchdown drop by Jermaine Gresham. He beat Jamie Collins in coverage and Dalton dropped the ball exactly where it needed to be. Dalton also missed many deep balls when he was only four men were rushing on the defensive side of the ball.

Then there were the turnovers.

Tate's fumble, Green's fumble, and Sanzenbacher's fumble all hurt their chances of a victory. Something tells me Marvin Lewis will be emphasizing ball security as they prepare to face a tough Panthers team at home.

However, the Bengals have more reason to be hopeful than the Patriots last week.

Dalton statistically had a decent game. He threw over 200 yards, 2 touchdowns, and did not turn the ball over. The Bengals are still on top of their division and already have a division win under their belt. You could also argue that the Bengals were without key players due to injury on a road game.

The biggest issue for Cincinnati moving forward is addressing the criticism that they cannot win big games in prime time. Since 2005 the Bengals were 1-10 in prime time games on the road going into New England. They are now 1-11.

There is doubt in my mind the Bengals will rebound, however their critics will continue to hound them until they win a night game or win a playoff game. Fortunately for the Cincinnati faithful the Bengals don't have any scheduled prime time games on road for the rest of the season.

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