Patriots Offense Continues to Struggle, But Defense Prevails During 34-13 Win Over Bengals
The New Englands Patriots' offense continued to struggle in Week 15 despite much creativity and a lackluster opponent. Luckily for New England, their defense was also present in Cincinnati, which created many scoring opportunities for the team in their 34-13 win over the Bengals. The win clinched an 11th consecutive playoff appearance for the Patriots.
Despite a promising start to the game for the Patriots (11-3) offense, which included unique ways to get rookie wideout N'Keal Harry in space and with the ball in his hands, the offensive production began to simmer out immediately following their first drive of the game, which ended in a 23-yard receiving touchdown for James White.
From that point on - six points from a pair of field goals was all New England's offense had to show for on an additional five drives before halftime. Tom Brady did find Harry in the back of the end zone in the 3rd quarter, and running back Rex Burkhead showed some authority en route to a 33-yard score in the 4th quarter. But those scores came in part because of ample opportunities given to them thanks to the four turnovers their defense forced in the second half, one of which was a pick-six by All-Pro Stephon Gilmore.
Brady completed 15-of-29 passes for 128 yards and two scores. New England rushed for a season-high 175 rushing yards against Cincinnati. Having success on the ground is a nice-but-unique occurrence for the Patriots offense this season, and the defense continued to be elite. But the win over the Bengals Sunday afternoon didn't seem to reassure those who were hopeful that New England's offense would right the ship in Week 15 after struggling the past several weeks.
"Ya, but we won," Tom Brady said after the game when asked if he felt is was a frustrating day for the Patriots passing offense. "(I'm) happy we won, I wish we'd always do better. There's always things to improve even when you win."
Brady's reassurance of the victory doesn't make things better, though. Heading into Week 16 against a tough Buffalo Bills team that is still in the race for the division title, the reigning Super Bowl champions seem to have many more questions than they had anticipated after facing the now 1-13 Bengals.
The Patriots defense did their thing against Cincinnati - they put points on the board and continually gave the ball back to their offense in great field position. The special teams unit also helped in the same categories - Matthew Slater forced a turnover late in the first half, but Brady and the offense went four plays for -5 yards in Bengals territory and kicked a FG. It was the offense that, yet again, couldn't move the chains and produce points.
Even with Josh McDaniels finding different ways to get the ball in the hands of his most talented playmakers, Brady and company couldn't move the ball consistently. Julian Edelman seemed to be nothing more than a decoy in Cincinnati, which may have to do with the multiple injuries he is dealing with. Without him contributing consistently, we saw how pedestrian New England's offense can look - even against the worst team in the NFL.
We have once again witnessed the Patriots win against a lowly opponent thanks to their elite play in two phases of the game. But their offense is still something to be desired. With two weeks left in the regular season, it's hard to imagine they improve much going forward.
