Predicting Patriots vs Bengals Week 5 - PatriotsLife roundtable
It's pretty obvious that when you poll a couple Patriots bloggers, they are probably going to pick their team to win. So, instead we look at where we do differ- the final score.
Here's a roundup of some of our writers predictions for the home opener - Cincinnatti vs New England.
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Mike Saver (@MikeASaver)
Patriots by 3
In the past, the Patriots have been able to respond well to adversity. Last year they were coming off of a loss to Cincinnatti and everyone had them picked to fall to a superior on paper looking Saints team the following week. They responded with the now famous comeback win.
If this team is truly going to turn things around this year, it's probably going to have to start this week with a bounceback win over Cincy. I expect the offense to struggle, but the defense will hopefully round into form again after some questionable coaching and non-aggressive play had them getting crushed last week in Kansas City.
Patriots 16 Bengals 13
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Michael Weathers (@michaeljames24)
Patriots by 3
I am still a believer in the Patriots this year. Never thought I'd say this but this is a trap game for the Cincinnati Bengals. If you think about it, the Pats are vulnerable after the spanking they took last week against the Chiefs, they are playing in Foxboro, and you aren't sure which Pats team is going to show up! This game won't be easy for the undefeated Bengals.
Here are my quick thoughts as to why the Pats will pull out with a victory:
- Defense gets Browner back and allows Revis to take away the Bengals main weapon in AJ Green
- Patriots get pressure on Dalton causing poor decisions and turnovers
- The offensive line will give Brady a few more seconds against a stingy defense
- Expect the Pats offense to go no huddle to try and tire out the Bengals D
- Running game will take a back seat to the passing game
- Gostkowski will get a ton of action on Sunday
Final Score 30-27
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Paul Murphy (@_prmurphy)
Patriots by 10
It is never as bad as it appears. Patriots offense returns to life with 3 long touchdown drives. QB Tom Brady throws 3 TD passes in first half.
Strong running by Stevan Ridley results in 108 yards on 17 carries. 3 2nd half field goals keep Cinci at bay.
New England 30 Cincinnati 20
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Conor Frederick (@C_Frederick1016)
Bengals by 7
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Patriots fans, but I don't see the Patriots lot improving much. Despite being back at home, I think the combination of A.J. Green and Giovanni Bernard will be too much for the Pats D. The offense will benefit from being home, but the defense will not be able to make enough stops.
Bengals 34-27 Patriots
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Sully (@hookingfoul)
Bengals by 14
Its week 5 Pats fans and wow are we nowhere near where I thought we would be. Pats wouldn’t even be in the playoffs in the season ended today. The Bengals come to town for a Sunday Night Showdown on NBC. So where are we now?
What I said in my season preview…
“The Bengals are a solid group and if Darrelle Revis weren't around to deal with A.J. Green I'd have more apprehension in picking the Pats so casually. But he is around so Pats win 24-16.”
Well there is nothing casual about the Patriots season anymore. In fact the Bengals look to be the team on cruise control as I imagined the Patriots would be at this point. The offensive line woes have totally deflated the offense and in doing so made the defense work so hard they are losing effectiveness. The way Revis has been used so far, I’m not even sure he will be on Green all game, but he should be.
The question becomes, ‘where is rock bottom?’ Was it on Monday night in Kansas City or can it get worse?
I don’t think it can get worse because how could it? For all the talk about how ‘the Patriots don’t lose back to back games’ and ‘don’t lose at home’ the Bengals, coming off their bye week, are too good to be beat by any of the four Pats teams that have played so far this year.
So barring a totally new Pats team showing up Sunday night, Bengals win.
Bengals 31 Patriots 17
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Benjamin Dawes (@Patriotsfan1057)
Bengals by 14
There is not a single matchup I think the Patriots have an advantage in this game. The only big play maker from the Kansas City game (Slater) is out. The Bengals have a dominant defense, they have playmakers in Dalton, Green, and Bernard on the offense. I'm honestly being conservative by only giving them 14.
Many may say how the Patriots almost never lose back to back games, but we also almost never saw them lose in a blowout.
Yes, Brady has been pressured by defenders because of a poor offensive line but even when Brady did have time last Monday he was still inaccurate. There is a real possibility we see yet another benching of Brady and Garoppolo comes in and performs well. I say there is a 30% chance that the story of the game will be whether the Patriots will consider trading Brady.
Unless McDaniels changes the game plan and starts running the ball more we will see yet another inept performance by the offense. They need the talented Mr. Ridley to step up his game.
Bengals 24 Patriots 10
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Jesse Gaunce (@JesseGaunce)
Patriots by 4
I really want to pick against the Patriots this week, solely because of the effort they put forth on Monday night. But it really can't get any worse than what we saw earlier this week. They're at home and I can't imagine them not being embarrassed with how the Monday night game went.
The Patriots need to come out on fire on Sunday night and keep that going for as long as they can, or they could find themselves in a similar situation like they did on Monday. I would expect to see an improvement on defense at least, the offense is another story.
The Patriots are No. 1 against the pass the season, but still expect A.J. Green to get some looks. If they can contain him and limit Giovani Bernard's effectiveness, the defense should be able to keep the Pats in this.
No one needs to come out with more fire than Tom Brady, and I would expect to see that from him tomorrow night. He needs to be better and we know he can be.
Patriots 20, Bengals 16
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Andrew Ludwig (@aludwig25)
Patriots by 1
The Patriots loss against the Chiefs was devastating and it has a lot of fans wondering what kind of team this really is. Well tomorrow night we will find out that this Patriots team is for real, and they needed to work out a few things in order to get back to their ways.
The offense will establish the run game early and often, which will make Tom Brady's day a lot easier and cleaner. The offensive line will find the one group that works best and roll with that the rest of the season. They will start to show the ability to work together and keep Tom Brady on his feet. Josh McDaniels will finally figure out how to call plays for this team and the 2007 Patriots.
The defense will rise to the challenge as a lot of Patriots teams have done in the past. They will allow Revis to focus primarily on taking AJ Green out of the game, and he will do that as he done to so many star receivers in years past. They will manage to contain Giovanni Bernard just enough to pull out this victory at home, and get Patriots fans believing again.
So if your going to the game, get there early, stay late and be as loud as possible.
Patriots 21 Bengals 20
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Brian Thibodeau (@b_thibs34)
Patriots by 10
I posted earlier this week about how that punch in the face last Monday night was exactly what the Patriots needed to get going. All signs point to the Patriots losing, but after that post it'd be hypocritical not to take New England.
I think we'll see a pretty inspired Patriots team, on both sides of the ball. Not only do they want to show the league that they're still the New England Patriots, but also themselves. They want to shut everyone up.
I expect to see a lot of runs so that the offensive line can get some mojo and beat up on guys instead of the other way around. This should set up play-action and ultimately aid the passing attack.
Look for the defense to be more aggressive and allow Farrell Revis to do what he does best, which is lock down and take away the number one receiver. Bill Belichick hasn't used Revis like that very often, but when he did against Minnesota it was wildly successful.
Scoring 27 against this Bengals defense given how the offense has performed would be a statement, and a statement they will make.
Patriots 27-Bengals 17
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Anthony Aidonidis (@aidonidis18)
Patriots by 4
Any member of the Patriots organization will tell you that they don't pay attention to the media's take on their play, regardless of whether they are doing well or doing bad. That's simply impossible this week. The media has absolutely RIPPED the Patriots from top to bottom; Tom Brady is on the down-swing and the Pats should consider trading him, the defense is soft, the offensive line is brutal, Revis is a bust, Belichick is overrated and blah blah blah...
Look, every team is going to get criticized sooner or later, but for the Patriots to take this kind of beating (from both the Chiefs and the media) is something we haven't seen in a long time. They were embarrassed on Monday night, there's no doubt about that. My only response though is that even professional athletes have bad games. Tom Brady looked lost, the offensive line played bad, the secondary was exposed, and hey, even the coaching was shaky. The thing is, all of these players and coaches happened to have a bad game on the same night.
What I am basically getting down to is this; they are still the Patriots, and the Patriots simply do not lose two games in a row. That has only happened 4 times since 2003.
Here's what to watch for:
- Brandon Browner's debut
- Chandler Jones' pass rush
- Revis vs AJ Green
- Will the Pats come out pass-heavy or run-heavy?
- Tom Brady and the offensive line attempt to redeem themselves
Final Score: 24-20