The New England Patriots got flat-out embarrassed a week ago. If they’re still anything like the old Patriots, the Cincinnati Bengals should be a bit worried heading into Week 5. There’s always that off chance that the Pats really are as bad as they look, but it’s also tough to bet against an angry Tom Brady.
The 2-2 Pats head back home to Foxboro to try to pick up the pieces this week, but it won’t be easy against possibly the most balanced team in the entire league in the undefeated Bengals.
Tom Brady and the New England offense simply haven’t been in sync on any level through four weeks, while Cincy’s defense is among the toughest matchups in the league. While this one does seem like a formidable draw for the Pats, it at least offers a ton of value for New England fans. Patriots vs Bengals tickets currently have an average price of $184.06 on the secondary market with a get-in price of $70. That average is 36.7% below the season average for Patriots tickets at home this season, surprising for a primetime game against a legitimate AFC opponent. This one will only truly bring value for Pats fans if New England can avoid a two-game losing streak, though. To do that, New England simply has to execute better on offense. For starters, they could consider adding some size to their passing game. They held Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins out inexplicably last week, and it backfired badly.
On top of that, the Pats need to either compensate for not using tight end Rob Gronkowski, or find ways to get him the ball more. He wasn’t even targeted enough last week and it showed. To help Brady and the passing game, though, the Pats need to get back to their power running game. Stevan Ridley has actually looked solid when given the chance the past three weeks, but the Pats fell behind so quickly last week that he was abandoned, along with the running game, entirely. That needs to change in this tough Week 5 battle. It surely won’t be easy to run on a gritty Cincy run defense, but if the Patriots want to steal this win, that’s exactly what they’ll have to do.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
