BENGALS BRING TOUGH MATCHUPS INTO TOUGH BUILDING: The 7-7 Patriots may be coming off the most high-profile turnover in New England since the populace turned over King George III with the Raiders’ Chandler Jones picking off a lateral on the last play of the game and taking it 48 yards to beat the Pats. Losing a game on the last play to a fumble recovery TD hasn’t happened in 44 years.
But Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is 7-0 against the Bengals when coming off a loss, 4-0 with New England and 3-0 with Cleveland. He’s also 13-0 with the Pats facing a team that is on a six-game winning streak or better in Week 14 or later and that includes playoffs.
Plus, the Pats have the third most sacks in the NFL with six games of least four sacks and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is 0-3 when sacked more than three times, which hasn’t happened since Halloween
And, the Pats’ sixth-ranked defense is coming off holding Las Vegas wide receiver Davante Adams to 28 yards on four catches when they used a Cover 1 Double defense five times. Belichick used it well against Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson years ago and according to Next Gen Stats, it’s the first time the Pats did it this year on multiple snaps.
But the Bengals are coming in with the most varied offense in the league. They’re the only team with five players who have at least 600 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns (running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins Tyler Boyd) and the only team with three wide receivers all with at least 600 yards.
Belichick is famous for taking away what the offense does best, but these Bengals seem to be able to play left-handed as well as right-handed. Yet Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan knows they’ll need all ten fingers.
“It feels very much like all the New England teams I’ve ever played against,” said Callahan, who has been in the league more than a decade. “They have a bunch of guys that do their jobs very well. I know that’s what…
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