New England Patriots: Staff Predictions Week Five vs Cincinnati Bengals
By Hal Bent
Chris Simoneau:
Sep 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (12) runs the ball after a catch as Cleveland Browns cornerback Buster Skrine (22) defends during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots head into Cincinnati with some question marks, especially with Thompkins, Dobson, Ridley and Gronkowski all questionable. I get the feeling Gronk plays and the banged-up Bengals defense struggle to slow down Brady and co… The Bengals offense does have weapons in A.J. Green, Giovani Bernard, Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert, but I don’t see the Patriots defense having a lot of problems containing them. One player who does concern me is Mohamed Sanu, the big wide receiver from Rutgers; I expect him to score Sunday. Ok, enough rambling, final score is:
Prediction: New England Patriots 31 – Cincinnati Bengals 20
Martin Antonucci:
The Patriots have a good challenge for the second straight week as the face the 1st AFC East opponent of their schedule. Cincinnati has had a tough start to the season suffering injuries in many key positions. Questions coming into the contest is whether both teams have depth to possibly replace those that are hurt.
I think Gronk will start and play. Amendola to sit for this one. I also don’t think Dobson will play. I consider Austin Collie to atleast have a catch, maybe two in this one. The Bengals and their banged up secondary might have an average night. There’s a lot of questions for both these teams. It’s super hard to predict even if one team is favored by a good margin.