Patriots vs. Bengals: Full Report Card Grades for New England
Sorry, Cincinnati.
Make that two wins from Tom Brady this season as he continues his spree to seek revenge on the NFL.
The Bengals put up a strong fight against the New England Patriots, especially in the first half, but ultimately, the Patriots proved they might be the toughest team to beat in the NFL (some Minnesota Vikings fans are about to be angry with me). The first half was a bit of a mess until Brady saved the team with a perfect hurry-up offensive drive to score some points heading into halftime.
The Patriots continued their trend of destroying teams in the second half by depleting the Cincinnati defense of its energy and racking up the yards and points.
Stop No. 2 on the Tom Brady Revenge Tour was a major success as the Patriots defeated the Bengals 35-17.
Read on to see the full grades from the Patriots' win over the Bengals as they move to 5-1 on the season.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Tom Terrific was back at it again.
If it wasn't for a stagnant second quarter where he didn't even get to throw passes until the two-minute drill to close out the half with a touchdown, Brady almost certainly would have surpassed 400 yards once again.
There isn't a better quarterback in the game, and the amazing thing is that Brady is 39 years old. In fact, I'm starting to think that when Brady says he feels better than he felt at age 29...he is actually saying that he is 29 still.
Brady is joy to watch. He was on fire again, as he only had six incompletions on the day. Six! Brady threw the ball 35 times and only threw six incompletions.
With 376 yards through the air, three touchdowns and an exceptional completion percentage, Brady dominated the Bengals.
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
Big Play James White broke out against the Bengals!
The shifty running back also known as Sweet Feet made short work of the Bengals with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Each week, we hope that Dion Lewis returns from injury. Then, we are treated with another strong performance from White, who reminds us that he is nearly as good as Lewis and can do all of the same things other than run effectively between the tackles.
White caught eight passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns thanks to a game plan coaches drew up to feature him in pass-catching scenarios.
White keeps building upon good weeks, and he took advantage of a great matchup against the Bengals.
LeGarrette Blount had a deceiving game. He looked especially good on his 15-yard bulldozing run where he did what he does best—break tackles. Blount finished with 3.8 yards per carry and did find the end zone, but he only racked up 50 yards on the ground. Blount's two catches were a bizarre sight as he is traditionally used strictly as runner.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
The wide receivers' performance can be summed up in three words: lack of separation.
It was difficult to watch the Patriots be completely incapable of getting open in the first half. Sure, the Bengals played excellent defense in the secondary with their coverage on Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan, but this was something else.
The usually impossible-to-cover Edelman was not able to shake defenders. Hogan had trouble getting open other than his one catch for 39 yards.
Danny Amendola made a couple of key grabs on third down, which has become his bread and butter as a more situational receiver.
Edelman had yet another drop.
Grade: D+
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Tight End
4 of 10
LeGarrette Blount said it best after the game in a tweet from CSNNE's Mike Giardi.
Basically, Blount said that opponents can't focus on taking away Rob Gronkowski because Martellus Bennett will destroy them. But opponents also can't key in on Martellus Bennett because Gronk will light them up. Oh, and if you try to cover both Bennett and Gronk, Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman will set their phasers to destroy.
Blount's quote exposes the dilemma opposing teams face in their preparation for the Patriots tight ends and the offense as a whole.
Gronk finished the game with a career-high 162 yards receiving on seven receptions for a ridiculous 23.1 yards per catch. Gronk is also the Patriots' No. 1 receiver in terms of yardage after just two games of true work as a route-runner (he served as a blocker and decoy for the four games prior after missing the first two games of the season due to injury). Gronk also hauled in a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Bennett didn't haul in three touchdowns like he did against the Cleveland Browns, but he did have six catches for 48 yards despite playing on his injured ankle.
Get used to the high grades from the tight ends every week.
Grade: A+
Offensive Line
5 of 10
The Patriots didn't do a whole lot on the ground, but the offensive line appeared to do its job at springing Blount free and helping him get into the end zone. But the offensive line's best work came on setting up some screens and giving Brady tons of time to throw for most of the game.
At one point in the first half, Brady had nearly 12 seconds to throw the football. That's about four times as long as a quarterback typically has to release the football with some good blocking. The Bengals sacked Brady three times, but overall, the offensive line was solid.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
6 of 10
Malcom Brown is the answer that the Patriots needed up front. He is proving to be a leader and a force for the defensive line who can play on all three downs.
Brown was disruptive and led the charge in the second half. He also was adamant about having the defense make a big play to spark some life into the offense. Then the Patriots sacked Andy Dalton for a safety.
Alan Branch, Woodrow Hamilton and the big fellas up front have been fantastic at stopping the run this season, too. Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard didn't have a lot of space to work with as the Patriots held them to a mediocre 3.1 yards per carry.
The Patriots also had a major stop in the red zone on a 4th-and-1 play early in the game.
The pass rush was once again nonexistent in the first half, which frustrated many Patriots fans. But the Bengals are a good team, and sometimes it doesn't all go your way on defense.
The Bottom line is that the defensive line is controlling the line of scrimmage and teams are struggling to score.
Grade: B
Linebacker
7 of 10
Jamie Collins missed the game with a hip injury, which unfortunately led to some ugly defensive play in the first half. The Patriots were unable to be versatile and creative with their pass rush, especially through the middle of the offensive line. This is because the team doesn't have a replacement for the incredible talent of Collins. But the Pats settled in and made adjustments that were led by the stellar play of Dont'a Hightower and rookie Elandon Roberts.
Oh, what a difference a healthy Hightower can make! He is two games removed from his return to action after a knee injury that clearly hobbled his playmaking ability. Hightower looks fresh and even picked up his second safety in as many weeks. He was quick, agile and smart with his tackling, pass-rush attempts and play in coverage. It's a great sight to see when Hightower is at full strength.
Roberts is not a fluke. I repeat: Roberts is not a fluke.
Actually, he is a total beast now. He slipped up on one tackle by not wrapping up, but Roberts always finds the football and is settling in as a true steal of the draft as a sixth-round pick out of Houston.
Grade: A
Secondary
8 of 10
Typically, the secondary is strictly graded on its ability to shut down opposing wide receivers and the passing game. But let's take a minute to deter to an unsung talent of the Patriots secondary—tackling.
Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan are two of the better tackling cornerbacks in the league. Don't forget that Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty are also very strong tacklers. Specifically, Butler and Ryan are excellent on the edges of the defense at getting involved and stepping up in the run game. Butler saved a couple of plays that could have gone for first downs with his love for landing hits.
Shoutout of the week goes to Eric Rowe, the newcomer from the Philadelphia Eagles who was used perfectly against A.J. Green. Rowe's size allowed him to earn a key pass breakup on a pass to the end zone that ultimately stymied the Bengals' chances at a comeback while the game was still in reach. Butler also had a few pass breakups—one on a deep ball and one where he used his head.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
9 of 10
Thank goodness for Stephen Gostkowski's ability to pin a kickoff deep, but not in the end zone for a touchback. Gostkowski and the Patriots are forcing teams to return kickoffs from difficult positions. This is allowing time for the gunners to come full speed down the field and plug up the running lanes. The Patriots' dedication to field position and kick coverage has become a true work of art this season thanks to the NFL's new rules.
Unfortunately, Gostkowski still isn't himself when it comes to kicking field goals and extra points. He pulled an extra point that looked horrible at the time but ultimately didn't hurt the Patriots like his missed extra point in the AFC Championship Game last year.
Gostkowski did hit a tougher 46-yard field goal to salvage his performance.
We just aren't used to seeing Ghost miss, so it's still disheartening to see him struggle.
Grade: B
Coaching
10 of 10
The first half was a total mess for the Patriots, and frankly, they were lucky to be playing the Bengals in Foxborough. This game could have been sprung open by the Bengals if it weren't for the two-minute-drill passing work done by Tom Brady and the offense late in the first half.
Let's give credit to Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels for generating some momentum with the pass plays to James White, Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski as part of the hurry-up offense before the half. That series swung some momentum back toward the Patriots.
The halftime adjustments also helped the Pats prevail, as they are continuing to be one of the best second-half teams in football.
Grade: B+
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