5 takeaways from the Patriots’ 34-13 win over the Bengals
Jonathan Jones is getting picked on, and four other observations from the win.
COMMENTARY
Five takeaways from the Patriots’ playoff-clinching 34-13 win over the Bengals, which improved Bill Belichick’s team to 11-3 on the season and sets up New England for a chance to clinch another AFC East title next Saturday against Buffalo…
GIVE IT TO GILMORE
A number of the gambling venues giving odds on who would be the NFL’s defensive player of the year had installed Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore as the favorite for the award entering Week 15 — and that was before he almost single-handedly turned New England’s game at Cincinnati from concerning to comfortable.
Gilmore made a pair of spectacular picks in the span of seven minutes, the first coming with the Pats leading by just three, and the second expanding the margin to 27-10. The initial interception was a higher degree of difficulty, requiring that he squeeze the ball with his right arm as his left jostled for position with Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, but the second was impressive, too. On that one he anticipated Andy Dalton’s throw, jumped the route, and snagged the ball with his fingertips before taking it 64 yards to paydirt.
Defensive player of the year honors are typically doled out based on the dominance of an individual, and not necessarily dependent upon a team’s collective circumstances. But the statement Gilmore made Sunday was fitting, because it illustrated what Gilmore has meant this season not only to the Patriots’ defense, but the Patriots’ success as a whole.
Sunday’s win, the Pats’ 11-3 record, and their 11th straight playoff berth are all a credit primarily to the playmaking ability of their defense — and that starts with Gilmore above everybody else. Not only does his coverage ability predicated so much of their defensive strategy, but he’s now up to a league-best six interceptions, and if officials hadn’t prematurely blown dead his fumble recovery against the Chiefs he might now have three touchdowns.
The Patriots are in a position where if they win their final two contests, they’ll claim the AFC East plus a bye on the opening weekend of the conference playoffs. And 14 games in, it’s impossible to envision them being in that spot without the greatness of Gilmore. Give him the honor he deserves.
APPROACHING AN HISTORIC TURNOVER MARGIN
With Gilmore’s two picks matched by two more from JC Jackson, and Matt Slater’s savvy swipe to force a fumble in punt coverage, the Patriots forced five turnovers Sunday. It’s the fifth time in 14 games they’ve managed at least four takeaways, and now have a turnover margin of plus-24 on the season.
With two games to go, they’re in range to reset the team record book, which currently shows the 2010 club with the top turnover margin of the Belichick era. That club finished plus-28, while 2012 wound up the year plus-25.
Maybe even more impressive is that only seven teams this decade have finished a season at plus-20 or better, with the 2010 Patriots and 2011 49ers sharing the top spot. So if the Patriots can manage to post a plus-5 against the Bills and Dolphins over the next couple weeks, they’ll end up as the first NFL team to finish a season at plus-29 or better since the 1983 Redskins ended the year at plus-43.
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD FOR HARRY
The box score may not get people too excited, showing two catches on four targets totaling 15 yards. Yet Sunday certainly looked like another big step forward for N’Keal Harry — and among its most encouraging aspects is the way it looks as though the Patriots have begun finding different ways they can enable him to make an impact on the game by getting him involved.
Early Sunday, Harry was moved around the formation and asked to block inside as the Pats looked to establish the run. He got a couple chances to run himself, and picked up 12 and 10 yards on a pair of reverses.
On the first play of the second quarter, with New England facing third and three, Harry made a beautiful diving grab up the right sideline. Unfortunately it was negated by a false-start penalty — but the Pats went back to him when the scenario was reset to third and eight, and Harry fought to get to the sticks and make sure the series continued.
His other catch might’ve been the Patriots’ biggest offensive play of the game. As Brady stepped up in the pocket, Harry worked his way back toward the middle across the end line and got lateral to beautifully haul in a touchdown toss on third and goal from the seven. Not only did it boost New England’s lead to 20-10, but it further solidified Harry’s emerging status as a legitimate red zone threat. Had he not been incorrectly ruled out of bounds three yards short against Kansas City, he’d already have three touchdowns in five games. Julian Edelman James White are the only Patriots with more red-zone touchdown catches this season.
And Edelman and White may be the only two targets ahead of him at this point, in the minds of Brady and Josh McDaniels. Phillip Dorsett has disappeared. Sanu has been a disappointment. But in flashes it’s evident what told the Patriots Harry was worth a first-round pick — and quickly he’s becoming a player in whose hands the Pats want to see the ball. They’re slowly starting to trust him as a difference maker. And they’re being rewarded for it.
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE
New England eclipsed 30 points for the first time since October 21, and ran for a season-high 175 yards. Don’t be fooled, though. Sunday didn’t signal a significant step forward for the Patriots’ offense.
It wasn’t a bad day, per se. But averaging 5.5 yards per carry can’t be viewed without the context of recognizing that the Bengals own the league’s worst run defense, or acknowledging that Rex Burkhead’s 33-yard clincher and Harry’s two reverses accounted for 55 of the 175 total.
And even with those 175 yards on the ground, the Pats still failed to reach 300 yards of offense for the fourth time in five games since a Week 9 bye. Brady’s passing game netted just 116 yards as the quarterback completed 15 of 29 throws and uncharacteristically missed several throws that are usually sure things.
He and Edelman looked out of sync all afternoon, perhaps a byproduct of the injuries both are playing through. He badly missed Mohamed Sanu twice, the second time costing his club what should’ve been a touchdown. Brady also missed low on a throw to Sony Michel that would’ve gone for a score, but recouped those points by connecting with Harry a couple of plays later.
The quarterback continued to spend most of the game under pressure, and the Pats also benefited from some good fortune in avoiding turnovers. Both Michel and Sanu put the ball on the ground, but Michel fell on his own fumble, while Sanu’s was canceled by a penalty that had nothing to do with him coughing it up.
The Patriots deserve credit for turning two takeaways into 10 points in what had been a tied game before that. And their opening drive march of 75 yards on eight plays, capped by White’s 23-yard touchdown catch, was a good start. But that was the only of the Pats’ five scoring possessions that traveled more than 50 yards.
They’re likely to be tested against the Bills next Saturday like they haven’t been in a while — and even after scoring 34 points, that’s not a trial that projects to go particularly well for the Patriots’ offense.
JONES IS GETTING PICKED ON
A groin injury rendered Jason McCourty inactive Sunday, and he’s now played just four defensive snaps in the Patriots’ past four games. When he’s out, roles shift in the secondary — and when they do, it looks like Jonathan Jones is the cornerback opponents feel most comfortable about taking their shots against.
It was true against the Texans a few times, including the back-breaking touchdown scored on a long pass to Kenny Stills. It was true again against the Chiefs, most evident on a second-and-25 play when Jones was in solo coverage on Mecole Hardman, and Patrick Mahomes fearlessly floated a high lob that wound up going for another lengthy TD.
Then, Sunday, Jones was beat for a score for a third consecutive contest, this time when matched up with Cethan Carter deep in the red zone. Carter is a third-year pro, but had never caught a pass until Andy Dalton fired it to him from the eight yard line. Jones didn’t react quickly to the throw, seeming a bit surprised that the blocking tight end was getting the ball. Then he remained stuck somewhere between frozen and indecisive as Carter made a simple move to avoid a half-hearted tackle attempt and traipsed into the end zone.
Jones is a good player whose excellent coverage in last year’s playoffs was a major reason why the Patriots put together a Super Bowl run. He was rewarded with a sizable contract extension, and rightfully so. He’s fast, smart, and physical, all of which are positive traits that help him in the slot. If what looked like it might be a groin injury late in the fourth quarter Sunday proves to be something significant, it would be a loss for New England.
But it’s becoming clearer that opponents feel as though if they’re going to take a shot against the Pats’ talented defense, they’re going to take that shot against Jones. Given that he’s a core part of what the defense does, it’s unlikely his coaches will start taking special precautions against putting him in such positions — so it’ll be up to him moving forward to better stand up to such challenges.
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