10 insights from the Patriots’ tough win over the Bengals

CINCINNATI – The Patriots punched the Bengals in the nose on Sunday afternoon, winning a stunning season opener in Cincinnati.

Despite being the NFL’s biggest underdog in Week 1, New England managed to pull off a 16-10 victory over Joe Burrow and Co. The Patriots were simply the better – and tougher – team on Sunday, dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball. It was a hard-fought victory.

Here are 10 takeaways from a surprising start to the Jerod Mayo era:

1. Statement with physicality

The Patriots set the tone from the start by flying around on defense and establishing the run on the offensive side of the ball. It was one of those games where everyone was in the mix, perhaps best exemplified by Jonathan Jones taking down Bengals wideout Andrei Iosivas on a 4th-and-2, forcing a turnover. The 183-pound Jones has always been a willing tackler, but the blast he unleashed was bone-crushing. New England played with grit.

On the other side of the ball, Rhamondre Stevenson had the best seat in the house for the offensive line’s performance as the Patriots averaged over 6 yards per carry in the first half.

“I thought we were very, very physical,” Stevenson said. “I feel like our offensive line pushed guys off the ball and gave me and (Antonio Gibson) running lanes.”

2. Rhamondre rages

After the win, Mayo revealed an offseason conversation he had with Stevenson.

“I challenged Rhamondre in the spring,” Mayo said. “I said, ‘Look, you don’t get a lot of love, a lot of hype.’ But I’ve always believed he’s one of the best running backs in the league.”

Stevenson certainly looked good on Sunday, rushing for 120 yards on 25 carries and scoring New England’s only touchdown. Most impressively, the 26-year-old running back kept the chains moving in obvious running situations; the Bengals knew Stevenson was getting the ball and couldn’t stop him.

3. Mayo takes first win

With the Patriots lined up in victory formation, Davon Godchaux and Daniel Ekuale doused Mayo with a Gatorade bath to celebrate his first win as Patriots head coach. Like his predecessor Bill Belichick, Mayo then praised all the players.

“Very proud,” Mayo said. “My message to the players — they gave me a Gatorade shower and stuff like that — but without them, I’m nothing. I made sure they knew that. They crossed the white lines. I always talk about encouraging the players to go out there and play. I always talk about awareness being the most important thing and these guys taking responsibility. So all the credit goes to those guys. They did a great job.”

4. Dugger with game-deciding swing

It looked like the Bengals had scored their first touchdown of the game in the second quarter when old friend Mike Gesicki caught a pass in the corner of the end zone, but as he went down, Kyle Dugger continued to struggle in coverage and the ball came loose. After a review, the ball was ruled incomplete. On the next play, Burrow hit fellow tight end Tanner Hudson, and as Hudson was about to cross the goal line, Dugger leapt up with a superman dive and knocked the football free. Marcus Jones caught the ball again and the Patriots were in business.

“It was a last-ditch effort to get the ball out at the goal line,” Dugger said. “I basically gave it everything I had to get the ball out and try to get it out and luckily I was able to get an assist.”

5. Gonzalez is back

After a week of talks about his contract, Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was mostly quiet Sunday afternoon. The superstar caught six passes for 62 yards but was held out of the end zone and never really made a game-winning play. That was because Christian Gonzalez was covering him closely for most of the afternoon. After a slow summer, the second-year cornerback started real games on the right foot.

“There was a plan – they wanted me to go with (Chase),” Gonzalez said. “I talked about it earlier in the week – that’s what you want. Being a cornerback is your dream. Being able to do that is fun.”

6. White delivers

Keion White built on his productive summer, recording 2.5 sacks in his 2024 debut. He seems poised for a true breakout season and took the first step in Week 1. The Patriots will need that kind of performance when Matthew Judon wears an Atlanta Falcons jersey.

7. Good start with turnover battle

To win football games this season, the Patriots have to win the battle for possession, like they did on Sunday. Jacoby Brissett and the offense didn’t lose the ball at all, while the defense and special teams forced three fumbles and recovered two of them. That +2 advantage was huge in helping Cincinnati pull off the upset.

8. Special teams participate

The Patriots performed almost perfectly in the kicking game on Sunday.

New kicker Joey Slye made three of three field goal attempts, long snapper Joe Cardona forced a fumble that led to three points, and special teams ace Brenden Schooler recorded three solo tackles. It was a truly encouraging performance.

9. Peppers gives it his all

Jabrill Peppers was only introduced shortly before the game, played despite a hip injury and delivered an impressive performance, recording six tackles. After the game, he explained how he was placed on the injured list at short notice on Saturday.

“At practice on Friday, I landed funny and kind of felt it,” Peppers said. “Later that night, I really couldn’t sleep. I was up all night. I probably only slept two hours on Friday, then came in and couldn’t walk properly Saturday morning…I started treatment. They had a good plan for me. I had to go to the hotel across the street to use the pool, get my legs moving and everything. I definitely didn’t want to miss the first game of the season. My leg would have had to fall off for me to miss that.”

The pool used by Peppers was located in a Holiday Inn.

The safety also wore a protective cap on his helmet and was happy with the fit. He plans to continue wearing one in the future.

“I didn’t really notice a difference,” Peppers said. “The deciding factor was how hot it would get, because it covers all the holes in the helmet, so it gets hot in there. But I didn’t feel anything out there, so I guess I like it.”

10. End it emphatically

Facing a fourth-and-five attempt deep in his own territory with 2:26 left, Bengals coach Zac Taylor decided to punt the ball away, betting that his defense would give him the ball back on all three timeouts. It turned out to be a bad bet.

Instead, Stevenson managed a pair of first downs that decided the game; the Bengals were simply inferior to the Patriots’ offense.

“There comes a point where they know we’re running it, we know we’re running it, all the fans know we’re running it, and we’ve got to gain four yards,” Mayo said. “In those cases, it’s really man-to-man. It’s nothing to do with Xs and Os. It’s about dominating the player opposite – and that’s what these guys did.”