An Ugly, Pyrrhic Victory in Cincinnati Put the Patriots at 10-2 on the Year

Wins are wins in the NFL, but for a variety of reasons, it wouldn't be a stretch to say this was the "worst win" of the 2025 New England Patriots season. 26-20 the final, in a game that Drake Maye looked brutal in the opening set of drives with ball placement, capped off by a pick-six, which put them in an early 0-10 hole. Additionally, the red zone offense and, simply, the timely defense were not there at all, which gave Joe Flacco and company a genuine chance to win in a two-minute drill without either Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins, the latter of whom went out with a brutal-looking concussion.

Worse than any of that was the injury bug, which hit the Patriots all at once on Sunday. Both Jared Wilson and Will Campbell were carted off. Brendan Schooler was spotted postgame in a walking boot, Khyiris Tonga didn't finish the game, and Morgan Moses also missed time due to what the Patriots called an illness. Even the fact that the Patriots now hold sole possession of the AFC's top seed, or the knowledge that Hunter Henry had one of the best games of his career, doesn't hit as hard as it should. Here's how I break things down.

Goalline Disasterclass

This Patriots squad ranked just outside of the top half of the league when it comes to punching in red zone trips for six or more, but based on the nine plays they had to get in on the same drive from inside the 11, you'd never know it. Only one of those plays involved getting TreVeyon Henderson the ball, and even worse, the three times they did run it netted the Patriots a grand total of one (1) yard.

I'm not as upset with the call to go for it on fourth down twice in this stretch, especially given that the design and thought process on the first play (getting Boutte a 1-on-1 working a zig route) were good. However, I refuse to believe that a run up the gut out of the shotgun to Rhamondre Stevenson, who ended yesterday at 0.8 yards per carry, was the way to go for Josh McDaniels. That's the kind of play calling that's gotten me infuriated with him repeatedly over the years, and the Patriots lucked out huge, seeing as the Bengals' ensuing drive fizzled out pretty quickly.

In a perfect world, that Mack Hollins pick play happens in legal territory or gets let go as a bang-bang play, but McDaniels is going to have to find some different stuff to do down by the goalline in the passing game. He and this team clearly don't feel comfortable enough to use Henderson consistently in this area as a runner, and you're not getting anything serious from any other running option as of now.

Drake Maye's Shakey First Quarter (And Change)

While he ended up settling in for what was just ok game, we saw another very shaky set of throws out of Drake Maye to kick off a road start after the rain had hampered him in Tampa. No such weather to talk about in Cincinnati, however, and even still, Maye was definitely sailing balls a ton up until he threw what can only be described as a horrendous pick-six to Geno Stone.

Counting his first eight throws, Maye was 3-of-8 for 16 yards with a pick-six mixed in, and while everything mechanical looked fine at a first glance, something was definitely off with how Maye was releasing the ball. Even on a big gainer to Hunter Henry once he settled in, he put that pass up high, notably so, instead of in the bread basket. You'll take the 294 yards, but this was definitely one of the weaker Drake Maye outings of this year, and he did this team no favors in the early goings. This throw in the third quarter, however, was nothing short of art.

Run Defense Suffers Without Williams or Tonga

After going 11 games allowing just three (3) players to go over 50 yards rushing this season, Chase Brown became the first to crack 100 yards, and this was a game where you definitely felt the loss of Milton Williams, and later on, Khyiris Tonga, who only logged a dozen snaps. Speciffically, the Bengals felt good running to their left, which meant running right at/around K'Lavon Chaisson, and they were able to get a few chunk runs off doing just that, none more consequential than Brown's 22-yard run at the end of the first half that gave Cincy an extra three points. If Tonga's chest injury is anything serious or long-term, it wouldn't be unreasonable to be worried about the Patriots' run defense moving forward. This wasn't exactly an inspiring "next man up" performance.

Carlton Davis' Huge Final Stand

Despite what he may tell you, Carlton Davis' DPI penalty on Tee Higgins, which set up the Bengals' final scoring drive, was indeed a good call, and you hope Higgins ends up alright after that kind of concussion. As for Davis, he was crucial to the Patriots' standing firm on their final defensive series with a slew of pass breakups.

Not what I'd call a perfect game for him by any means, and he's had his lowlights this year, but by far and large, Davis has been a pretty good addition to this Patriots defense (he's heavily favored on the EPA metrics), and these crunch-time plays really encapsulate that. It definitely shouldn't have come to that last drive, but you don't win this game without Davis for better or worse.

Final Score: New England Patriots 26, Cincinnati Bengals 20

Gaffney's Three Stars from Patriots-Bengals:

1st Star: Hunter Henry (7 Receptions on 10 Targets for 115 Yards and a TD)

2nd Star: Carlton Davis (4 Receptions Allowed on 9 Targets for 36 Yards, 4 PBUs)

3rd Star: Andrés "Aurora" Borregales (4-for-4 on Field Goals, 3-for-3 on 40-plus yard Field Goals, 2-for-2 on Extra Points)

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