0
0
The score, 34-13, might indicate at quick glance that the Patriots put the lowly Bengals in their place, that the Pats finally played a dominating game. But it just ain’t so.
Question: Can you beat a team by three touchdowns and walk off the field knowing that you were terrible?
Answer: Yes.
So what gives? First, we have the defense, the part of the team that didn’t quite suck. Each week it seems as if the opponent readies something for which the Pats have no answer. For a quarter or sometimes most of a half, the other guys look pretty unstoppable. This week Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor, who was born when Bill Belichick was in his eighth season as an NFL coach, decided to run it on the ground, and the Pats had absolutely no answer for Joe Nixon.
The Bengals offensive line consistently opened up big holes and when the holes weren’t there Nixon was trickier than his namesake, dashing and darting and leaving behind a slew of would-be Patriots tacklers as he amassed some pretty impressive stats.
In the second half, of course, Cincy quarterback Any Dalton undid everything that Mixon had done in the first. Being in the Christmas spirit of giving, he tossed up four interception, two to all-world Stephon Gilmore and two to JC Jackson, who has begun to look like another all pro shut-down corner. So credit defensive adjustments, smart defensive players, and Santa Claus Dalton for this win.
But what of the offense? To begin, I don’t know when I’ve seen Tom Brady so inaccurate. No frigid temperatures. No bad winds. Not even that much of a pass rush. But the guy was just off. It’s one thing not to be able to anticipate where Jakobi Meyers or Matt Lacosse will be and appear to be inaccurate when the receivers are running sloppy routes.
But when Tom cannot find Julian Edelman, sometimes in tight spots, other times wide open, we’ve got trouble. Edelman had two receptions on five targets for a total of nine yards. People will attribute it to poor Jules being injured and beat up, but I attribute to a QB who just couldn’t put where it needed to be. And while I’m piling on poor Mr. Brady, he missed a wide open Mohamed Sanu in the end zone and threw it behind an open Sony Michel in the flat on the Bengals five. Against a better team, your all-world QB just can’t leave 14 points on the board.
Yes, the Pats covered the spread, easily. Yes, Sony Michel and his line looked better on the ground—against the league’s weakest run defense. Yes, the defense found a way to recover and play great for the second half.
But, to paraphrase Shakespeare, there is something rotten in the state of Denmark, and it’s the offense. When–or should I say if–Tom and Company ever figure it out, this team could go far. But right now only an optimist would expect that the New England defense can shut down Lamar Jackson and Company for a full 48 minutes. And only a Pollyanna would believe that a not-always-accurate Tom Brady at age 43 with a leaky offensive line and a set of targets he doesn’t trust can lead these Patriots to the Promised Land.
I’m running awfully low on positive thoughts these days, but, what the heck, stay tuned, you never know with these guys.
