The regular season has finally arrived and the very long offseason was totally worth it for this moment. In week one, the New England Patriots will be taking the road to play a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the Cincinnati Bengals, who are under more pressure than they had ever been in the Joe Burrow era. Ja’Marr Chase is impatiently waiting for a new deal, Tee Higgins is playing under the franchise tag and it could be Trey Hendrickson’s final year if he and the organization do not agree to a new contract. The Patriots are given little to no expectations of winning, but this game could be a lot closer than people would expect. Let’s take a look at five of the biggest things to look forward to this week between the Patriots and Bengals, determining what could work for both sides and what could also be the team’s downfall in this particular contest.
Patriots week 1 preview: Cincinnati Bengals
1) Home openers and Joe Burrow
Since Burrow has been drafted in the NFL, he has been 1-3 in week 1, two of those losses came at home. In those four performances, he has a passer rating of just 72.8 with four total touchdowns and five interceptions. The Bengals might have the better team, but the Patriots have the defense that can be frustrating early on and an offense that can do enough to keep them in front. The only way for Cincinnati to overcome these woes is to come out sharper and more mentally disciplined, because while Bill Belichick might no longer be on the other sideline, New England is not going to just simply lie down and give up. It is a relief for their sake that Chase is most likely going to be active for this week, because if this type of hold in continued into the regular season, the Bengals would be in a lot more trouble than they would realize. Even if the Bengals somehow escape with the win, this is by no means going to be an easy cakewalk, so the Patriots could be in a position to play spoiler early on.
2) Jacoby Brissett’s first start of the season
This is the first start for Jacoby Brissett since 2022 and the first in a Patriots uniform since October 2, 2016. He’s never been considered an elite quarterback, but in almost every single start, he always plays in the range of “pretty good” and “not that great.” It is very rare when he finishes a game with three or four interceptions, but super impressive when he has over 300 passing yards and three touchdowns. On paper, the Patriots don’t have the strongest supporting cast while the Bengals have more recognizable names, but that does not mean one is vastly superior over the other.
Last season, Cincinnati’s defense gave up the fifth most passing yards, the seventh most rushing yards and second most total yards in the NFL. Trey Hendrickson might be coming off a 17.5 sack season, but now that the Patriots have essentially overhauled their whole offense, they have a few pieces that can keep Cincinnati’s defense on their heels. Demario Douglas showed plenty of flashes in his rookie season and is ready to take a huge leap, the front office drafted Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker in the draft, they signed KJ Osborn in free agency and Rhamondre Stevenson has always been a rock-solid running back. New England’s offense might not be as talented or as efficient as the one the Bengals have, but if they continue to improve and their opponent does not, then this game could swing either way. However, that is way easier said than done.
3) Jerod Mayo’s first game as the head coach
The Jerod Mayo era will truly begin on September 8 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, and this game will be a great chance to see how far he has come along with this team in the offseason. It’s not going to be surprising at all if they lose this game just because the Bengals are a way better team with bigger aspirations. However, if New England puts up a strong fight and is even in a position to win the game with little time left on the clock, then it will indicate that he is starting to build something. The defensive schematics are not supposed to change since they run the same principles that Belichick has run for decades, but there have been some notable changes. Matt Judon got traded to the Falcons and Christian Barmore is out indefinitely due to blood clots, so there will be a lot of younger players that are going to have to step up in a big way. Obviously, the offense has to play ten times better than whatever the heck everybody witnessed last year, but the whole team has something to prove that includes the coaching staff. Remember, the Patriots were this close to upsetting the Bengals a couple of years ago, so it’s not impossible for a similar type of game to take place if Mayo is really the guy that could put his team back on the map.
4) Ja’Marr Chase vs. Christian Gonzalez
To reiterate, it is really a relief that Ja’Marr Chase is expected to play on Sunday afternoon, because he is the biggest difference maker on the Bengals offense. Ever since he arrived in Cincinnati as a rookie in 2021, he has been Joe Burrow’s favorite target and an absolute game-changer. He has more than done enough to deserve a contract extension, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. There is no doubt that Chase is going to get a decent amount of catches in this game, but the question is how many times he will line up against the Patriots top cornerback, Christian Gonzalez. Coming off a season-shoulder injury, the second year player out of Oregon is on a mission to remind everyone why he was the best cornerback coming out of his draft class, and he is hoping that he can play all seventeen games to make that statement. In the three games he started last year, there was a lot of promise and potential, hardly any plays where he got easily beat or was out of position. This was a guy that sacked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on an unblocked cornerback blitz, tracked Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and jumped up for an incredibly athletic interception and held Garrett Wilson to just forty-eight yards on five catches. There are definitely going to be a few plays where Chase will win his matchup because he is that great of a player, so this is going to be a huge challenge for both the wide receiver and cornerback. Whomever wins this matchup should be a big deciding factor into which team will have the most momentum.
5) Do the Bengals finally have an offensive line?
It feels like every year that Cincinnati tries to improve their offensive line, they still show flaws and signs of weaknesses. Now that their quarterback Joe Burrow is coming off both a lingering calf injury and a season-ending wrist injury in his throwing shoulder, the Bengals need to make sure that these additions to the offensive line are enough to keep their face of the franchise fully healthy and protected. They drafted Amarius Mims with their first round pick that could play both left and right tackle, but he is going to have to take advantage of his opportunities while he sits behind both Orlando Brown Jr. and Trent Brown, two of the best at the position that really want to win and not see their quarterback get pummeled in the pocket. Ted Karras has always been a decent center and has done pretty well in Cincinnati and Alex Cappa is normally a reliable right guard, but their left guard Cordell Volson needs to have a stronger season after giving up five sacks the year before. The Patriots might not have Matt Judon or Christian Barmore for this game, but they still has a few decent pass rushers like Josh Uche, Deatrich Wise, Anfernee Jennings, and Keion White. This is also a defense that allowed just the fourth fewest rushing yards in the league, so without Joe Mixon, the Bengals running game could be shut down if Zack Moss or Chase Brown can’t deliver for the offense. All of the moves that Cincinnati made with this group sound fantastic, but if they cannot gel or establish tight chemistry, then it is never going to work.
Overall, the Bengals should win this game because they are at home and are playing against a team that many are saying will be the worst team in the NFL. That is impossible to believe given where the Patriots were just five years ago, but this is the reality that they have had to face. It would not be shocking at all if this game turns out to be a close defensive struggle, so New England might have the edge in a couple of key aspects, but Cincinnati cannot let their season get off to an 0-1 start for the fourth time in five years. If New England loses this game, then they would drop four straight week 1 matchups, so they need to make sure that this does not become a trend for themselves. One of these two teams will end these narratives on Sunday. If it is the Bengals, then there is hope that they can truly bounce back and get far in the playoffs. If the Patriots pull off the unexpected upset, the media will either say that it was a fluke victory or there could be a few rumblings that they may be a surprise team in the AFC.
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